Why wretched Lebanese are fleeing across the sea
Most people in Lebanon say they want to live abroad
Last August 31-year-old Nader Yusuf embarked with 410 other people on an eight-day sea crossing from Lebanon to Italy. His salary as a delivery driver, priced in Lebanese pounds, had plummeted in two years to barely 5% of its original value against the dollar, leaving him unable to afford his $100-a-month rent. He was promptly evicted, along with his pregnant wife and five children, two of whom were seriously ill.
This article appeared in the Middle East & Africa section of the print edition under the headline “Head west across the sea”
From the June 17th 2023 edition
Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents
Explore the editionMore from Middle East & Africa
Three big lawsuits against Meta in Kenya may have global implications
One was prompted by the murder of an Ethiopian professor
Trump should try to end, not manage, the Middle East’s oldest conflicts
And he should see the region as more than a source of instability and arms deals
Government by social media in Somalia
Cheap data, social media and creativity are filling in for an absent state
The Gaza ceasefire is stoking violence in the West Bank
Hamas and the Israeli far right both want to destabilise the West Bank
How Turkey plans to expand its influence in the new Syria
Its influence could cause tensions with the Arab world—and Israel
The start of a fragile truce in Gaza offers relief and joy
But the ceasefire is not yet the end of the war