The institutions of Lebanon, plunged into an unprecedented economic and financial crisis, have reached a state of disrepair which reflects the general collapse of the country.
Judge Makki’s printer works, but to use it he has to bring reams and ink cartridges himself because the ministry can no longer afford office supplies.
“There is no paper, no ink, no pens, no envelopes, no toilets in service or even running water,” laments Mr. Makki, a judge for 21 years.
“I try not to drink water in the office because if I need to go to the toilet, I either have to go home or go to the nearby lawyers’ union offices,” he told AFP. .
– Stuck in the elevator –
In the offices of the Department of Justice, it is not uncommon, in the event of a power outage, for employees to find themselves stuck in an elevator or having to use their mobile phones to light up the stairs.
One of Mr. Makki’s colleagues even broke his arm falling down the stairs, for lack of light.
A growing number of civil servants, whose entire salary was spent on transport costs to get to work, have been on strike for months or are staying at home with the agreement of their employer.
“Basic needs for a public institution are no longer guaranteed,” says Makki.
Lebanon has been ravaged since 2019 by an unprecedented economic crisis blamed by a large part of the population on the mismanagement, corruption, negligence and inertia of a ruling class in place for decades.
The Lebanese pound has lost more than 90% of its value against the dollar while public sector salaries do not exceed an average of 40 euros per month.
The president and prime minister have failed to agree on a new government since the term of the outgoing cabinet expired in May. Parliament, which has yet to approve the 2022 budget, has rarely met since.
Christine, a 50-year-old civil servant, will only work at the Ministry of the Interior once every two weeks, just below the 15-day threshold which would imply her de facto resignation.
Due to a lack of electricity, employees have to walk up seven flights of stairs in the dark, says the mother of two who asked to use a pseudonym.
“The slabs of the stairs are cracked (…) you risk breaking your neck,” adds Christine, whose monthly salary has fallen from 1,600 euros before the crisis to just under 75 euros today.
– “Towards a total collapse” –
“There is no air conditioning, no paper, no photocopiers, no pens,” she says again. “You have to take a bottle of water to the toilet because there is no running water.”
Across Lebanon, crumbling institutions deprive citizens of the most basic services.
Power cuts in Parliament have forced MPs to postpone sessions and General Security recently ran out of passports.
The Lebanese army can barely pay its soldiers, forcing many of them to quit or take second jobs.
At the Ministry of the Environment, located near the port of Beirut which was devastated by a huge explosion two years ago like entire districts of the capital, the damage has not been completely repaired.
“The doors are still broken, so they won’t close… The false ceilings are still damaged,” Environment Minister Nasser Yassin told AFP.
The main building of the municipality of Tripoli, in the north of the country, set on fire last year by demonstrators exasperated by the crisis, is another striking example.
Employees work in offices with destroyed and soot-covered walls, without air conditioning and dimly lit.
“Things will only get worse,” Riad Yamak, the city’s former mayor, told AFP. “We are heading towards total collapse and widespread chaos,” he warns.
