Libanon: Selbstmorde und Gewalt steigen als Folge der Krise

Im Libanon verschlimmert sich die eh schon katastrophale Lage weiter, die Lira fällt erneut und Banken zahlen kein oder kaum noch Geld aus. Über die Folgen schreibt Al-Monitor:

The economic crisis has contributed to a state of social unrest and general desperation that may explain this violent response.

Almost three quarters of the Lebanese population are living in poverty, according to the United Nations.

Sevana Topalian is a crisis hotline supervisor at Embrace, a Lebanese nongovernmental organization that works in mental health. “It is not a surprise that the crime rates are increasing because people have to do everything to survive,” she told Al-Monitor.

Lebanon has been rated the angriest country in the world by Gallup, which surveyed over 100 countries for its Global Emotions Report. Nearly half of respondents in Lebanon reported experiencing anger regularly, including on the day before they took part in the survey. The Mediterranean country is also one of the saddest and most stressed.

“The current economic situation is a daily stressor that you know is never going to go away,” said Topalian from Embrace’s offices in Beirut. “In the streets, you can observe these behaviors as people being more sensitive to everything,” she added.

One of the most affected groups by the increasing violence is women. The rise of aggression towards them, specially in the household, and the lack of a public response to violence against women condemns them to daily uncertainty. Many organizations such as Kafa and Abaad have been raising awareness and aiding these women.

Kafa researcher Fatima el Hage told Al-Monitor, “There’s an increase in the incidents and in violence against women, especially since the COVID-19 lockdowns.” Many of these women were forced to live for months under the same roof with their aggressors. (...)

Every 2.1 days, a life is lost to suicide in Lebanon, according to Embrace, which found that in the first seven months of 2022, there were 83 cases of suicide, compared to 72 in the same period during 2021. One person attempts suicide every six hours. But this data cannot fully capture the crisis. Topalian explained, “Some suicide might not be reported due to stigma, taboo or religious issues.”

People dealing with mental health issues also face a shortage of medications, increasing prices of psychological services and an exodus of mental health providers for better employment opportunities abroad.

“It’s getting worse and worse,” Topalian concluded.