A humanitarian drama rocks Lebanon. A child died and 45 people were rescued on Saturday after a boat carrying around 60 migrants sank off the country’s coast, where fatal crossings had multiplied due to an unprecedented economic crisis.
“Forty-five people were rescued and the body of a child” was recovered from the boat that sank near the shore of the northern city of Tripoli, Public Works and Services Minister Ali Hamie told local radio. “The research is ongoing,” he said.
A terrible financial crisis
For its part, the Lebanese Red Cross said it had sent 10 ambulances to Tripoli. An AFP correspondent noted that the army had closed the port and only allowed ambulances in and out. Families of some passengers gathered to check in, but were denied access. “It happened because of the politicians who forced the unemployed Lebanese to leave the country,” said a man waiting for word from a relative outside the port.
Lebanon, a country of about six million people, is grappling with an unprecedented financial crisis and, according to the World Bank, on a scale usually associated with wars. The currency has lost more than 90% of its purchasing power and the majority of the population lives below the poverty line.
More and more candidates are leaving
According to the UN refugee agency, between January and November 2021, at least 1,570 people, including 186 Lebanese, left Lebanon illegally by sea or attempted to leave Lebanon. Most were hoping to reach the island of Cyprus, a member of the European Union, 175 kilometers away. That number is up from 270 passengers, including 40 Lebanese, in 2019. Most of those attempting to leave Lebanon by sea are Syrian refugees, but increasing numbers of Lebanese are joining them.