Lebanon: Financial Crises Turn to Bartering As Cash Runs Out

Lebanon: Financial Crises Turn to Bartering As Cash Runs Out

Published July 27th, 2020 - 01:30 GMT

































Highlights





With economic implosion accelerating at an alarming pace, the Facebook group 'Lebanon Barters' attempts to stem the tide by facilitating trade of essential goods between distressed citizens.















Known for being a sanctuary of stability during the past decade of turmoil in the Middle East, Lebanon is rapidly descending headfirst into its worst economic crisis since the 1975-1990 civil war.

Decades of economic mismanagement and corruption, coupled with the fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic, has pushed the country to the brink. Much of the chaos stems from the banking system, which has been compared to a Ponzi scheme.

The spectre of a Venezuela-style collapse appears imminent: acute shortages of essential products and services are the norm alongside hyperinflation and increasing lawlessness.

The Lebanese pound, or lira, has lost over 60 percent of its value in just the past month alone, and 80 percent of its value on the black market since last October. The lira's freefall has been so precipitous that a satirical Twitter account exists to react to its own decline in real