Lebanon (MNN) — Deepening discontent in Lebanon casts a shadow over upcoming elections. In a recent survey, only 50-percent of Lebanese said they were likely to vote.
“Many people are not going (to the polls to vote), and it’s a shame,” Nuna of Triumphant Mercy Lebanon says.
“We have a civil duty to choose our leaders. Otherwise, the people we don’t want will be in power.”
The global community views May 15 elections as a catalyst for the International Monetary Fund and World Bank loans. These loans are Lebanon’s only option to save a crumbling infrastructure and financial sector.
Lebanon is in a record-breaking economic depression, which began with the meltdown of its financial system in 2019. The collapse, which drove three-quarters of Lebanese into poverty and sunk the currency by 90-percent, resulted from decades of financial mismanagement and corruption by sectarian leaders.
Gospel workers prepare to help queues of Lebanese needing relief aid.
(Photo courtesy of Triumphant Mercy Lebanon)
Hope remains in Lebanon
Politics in Lebanon are based on a complicated structure that, theoretically, balances power among several religious communities. Elections typically provide a chance to start over with different leaders at the helm, but corruption corrodes the process.
“The Sunnis, for example, lost their leader, and none of the Sunnis will be represented [on the ballot]. So now the Sunni people don’t want to elect anyone,” Nuna says.
“Others, like the Christians, say there’s no need to do this (elections) because the same people will be re-elected.”
In a downcast society, believers share their reason for hope. “God is still in control. We are not alone; He is there for us, and He can fight for us. We bring that perspective to people, and it encourages them,” Nuna says.
“We are making a small difference, and I know God gave us this area of influence. But, the big mass of people (the wider public) doesn’t have hope for a future.”
Support Triumphant Mercy Lebanon as they deliver help for today and hope for tomorrow.
Header image is a representative stock image courtesy of jorono from Pixabay.
