In light of the irresponsibility of the ruling class that brought the country to a state of collapse, Agence France-Presse published yesterday a video investigation presenting the state of the army and security forces in light of the economic and financial hardship, entitled: In Lebanon, military and security personnel engage in one or more second jobs to secure the sustenance of their families.
Among what was stated in it: In light of the economic collapse and the loss of the Lebanese pound, approximately 98 percent of its value, the leadership of the military and security forces turns a blind eye to the issue, in order to allow its elements to secure what the bankrupt state is unable to provide…
The economic crisis has affected, according to what Dina Araqji, a researcher at the Control Risks Center, told AFP, “the ability of the security services to work appropriately and the morale of their members.”
With the disregard for security and army personnel practicing other professions, the agencies’ ability to “respond to the country’s internal security needs is threatened,” according to her, in a country witnessing political division and stagnation affecting the work of all institutions.
Samer’s salary, a soldier in the Lebanese army, is no longer enough to provide him with the basic needs of his house, so he found the solution to work as a mechanic in addition to his military service, hoping to secure a better life for his young family amid the economic collapse ravaging the country.
Samer is one of the thousands of members of the army and security forces in Lebanon who are now practicing a second profession, to compensate for the low value of their salaries after the deterioration of the value of the national currency, although the military regulations prohibit this and their violators are subject to penalties.
However, in light of the economic collapse and the lira’s loss of nearly 98 percent of its value, the leadership of the military and security forces turns a blind eye to the issue, in order to allow its members to secure what the bankrupt state is unable to provide.
Samer, 28, who asked to use a pseudonym, told AFP, “The military establishment knows that we are working, but it turns a blind eye, because the military can no longer bear it.” Eighty percent of the population in Lebanon lives below the poverty line.
And the young man, who currently works in a car repair shop run by his uncle in the city of Tripoli (north), one of the poorest cities on the eastern basin of the Mediterranean, adds, “If we had not done that, everyone would have fled and not a single member of the army would have remained.”
Samer, a father of a young child, joined the military when he was 19 years old, thinking that he would “guarantee his future,” with the continuity, medicine, and social advancements offered by the job in the public sector in Lebanon, but the crisis turned his life upside down.
He explains, “My salary was equal to 800 dollars before the crisis, today I only get one hundred dollars,” with the temporary increases and measures that were approved to support salaries.
The economic collapse has put all sectors, including the army and security forces, in front of several challenges, most notably continuing to secure basic needs such as food, medicine, fuel, maintenance of equipment, and maintaining medical care at its level.
Since the beginning of the crisis, the army leadership has relied on austerity in its budget. For example, meat has been reduced from the military meals. Then, in 2021, it launched helicopter tours for civilians, in return for a fee.
After he tried to reconcile his military service with working as a waiter in a well-known restaurant near Beirut, Ahmed decided to flee the army and devote himself to his work.
Ahmed (29 years old), who is a pseudonym, told AFP, “I grew up loving the military uniform. I still love her, but we suffocated.” Ahmed has spent ten years at the Foundation.
“I left the army because I found that there was no hope of staying,” the young man explains, adding, “I felt like I was living in the gutter. I only got better when I fled.”
The fields in which the soldiers work are varied, such as restaurants, bakeries, agriculture, hairdressing, taxi driving, construction, and even as private security personnel.
The army command did not respond to AFP’s questions on the matter.
The same suffering applies to the security forces, whose situation appears to be more difficult than the military institution, which receives aid from several countries, most notably the United States, to confront the economic crisis.
