Lebanon (MNN) — From 1975-1990, a civil war ravaged Lebanon. Pierre Houssney of Horizons International explains why Lebanon’s current financial crisis might be even worse. “Even though there was a lot of violence at that time, and there was a war going on, people actually had enough food to eat. Even though there were shortages of fuel at times, and they had to wait in line for bread at certain times, they actually had more resources as a cushion than they do now.”
Since the war, a corrupt ruling class has slowly doomed a once-prosperous nation. Houssney says, “Basically, for the last 30 years since the war, we have slipped into this kleptocracy. The government has literally just stolen everything that they possibly could.”
Hezbollah
Iranian-backed political army Hezbollah has taken advantage of the situation to gain more power in Lebanon. Houssney says, “But at the same time, the dependence of common people on Hezbollah is actually going up, especially among the Shiite people. They’re pledging their allegiance to Hezbollah to be even able to provide for themselves.”
Still, many Lebanese are finding an entirely different source of hope. Houssney says, “People coming to Christ left and right. They are desperate to put their hope in God instead of in the government or the world around them. They’re losing hope and the things that they had been trusting in.”
The header photo shows Horizons International distributing supplies in Beirut, Lebanon. (Photo courtesy of Horizons International on Facebook.)
