People in Lebanon Stage Fiery Protests over Living Conditions

Hundreds of people in Beirut and elsewhere in Lebanon blocked main thoroughfares and set fire to tires and plastic trash bins on Sunday to protest a drop in living conditions and allegations of government corruption. The public sector has long faced economic woes due to political instability, an import-reliant economy and a massive influx of migrants fleeing the civil war in neighboring Syria. Foreign assistance has also been on the wane, as have cash remittances from citizens working abroad. One of the key complaints concerns trash that goes uncollected. The Reuters news agency quoted one protester as saying: “We went down to demand to live with dignity. We want to say to the MPs, the ministers and all the ruling class that if they don’t want to give back what they stole, they should at least stop stealing so the people can live.”