Lebanon: Deepening fuel crisis in south cripples key sectors

У вашего броузера проблема в совместимости с HTML5

The fuel crisis in southern Lebanon has dramatically worsened, crippling the transport, health, and water sectors, as seen on Tuesday.

The crisis in Bint Jbeil government hospital threatens the lives of patients, especially those in ICUs who need electricity-powered medical equipment.

As for the water sector, the shortage of fuel has brought all water pumping stations to a halt, forcing locals and farmers to rely on tankers to get water. Dozens of tankers could be seen queuing for water in Airaroun village.

The crisis has also negatively affected bus drivers, forcing many of them to stop working, whereas others had to buy fuel from the black market despite the high prices, in a bid to feed their families.

The fuel crisis, as importers argue, is due to the failure of the Banque du Liban to open sufficient lines of credit to import the quantities needed by the local market, in addition to smuggling to neighbouring Syria.

SOT, Tawfeq Faraj, Chairman of Board of Directors at Bint Jbeil Government Hospital (Arabic): “We are part of the [Lebanese] people so we are affected by the [fuel crisis]. Diesel is a vital material for hospitals, for various reasons. First, the government rarely provides power. One of the gaps in Lebanon is that hospitals must be provided with electricity 24 \ 24, not like residential buildings. There must be a specific and constant supply line in order to preserve the lives of patients”

SOT, Tawfeq Faraj, Chairman of Board of Directors at Bint Jbeil Government Hospital (Arabic): “Diesel is the most vital material for hospitals, particularly for surgeries, ICU patients, cardiac care and dialysis”

SOT, Tawfeq Faraj, Chairman of Board of Directors at Bint Jbeil Government Hospital (Arabic): “Now we have patients in dialysis and ICUs who survive on ventilators, and of course are at risk of death”

SOT, Bilal Al-Kharsa, Bus driver (Arabic): “Sometimes we buy [fuel] from the black market, actually we always do. We need to work in order to feed our families; this is why we buy diesel from the black market. Everybody buys from the black market. Those who don’t have money, what would they do? We are being humiliated in order to but diesel”

SOT, Bilal Al-Kharsa, Bus driver (Arabic): “When there is no fuel, we will be jobless. I have been sitting jobless for the last 3-4 days because there is no diesel”

SOT, Youssef Mouasi, Owner of water tanker (Arabic): “This is suffering, not just for the tanker owners, but also for customers as well. Nowadays, when a customer asks for water, the tanker owner remands diesel first”

SOT, Youssef Mouasi, Owner of water tanker (Arabic): “The water service from the state is completely cut off, and this is what causes a crisis on artesian wells and causes these queues to obtain water.”

#Lebanon #FuelCrisis

Video ID: 20210727-037

Video on Demand: https://ruptly.tv/videos/20210727-037
Contact: [email protected]

Twitter: http://twitter.com/Ruptly
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/Ruptly