Jumblat Says Lebanon and Mt. Lebanon 'on Brink of Hunger'

Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat has warned that the Chouf and Aley regions and the entire country are “on the brink of hunger” due to the dire economic crisis.

“The economy is on the verge of collapse if it is not already collapsing. Lebanon cannot continue on the same path it has followed for tens of years – a country of services, tourism, hotels, restaurants and banks without production – this is unhealthy,” said Jumblat in a phone call with a number of Lebanese expats in the U.S. and Canada, according to Lebanon’s official news agency.

“There is also a need to control legitimate and illegitimate border crossings, because the source of income in Lebanon has various standards,” he added.

He warned: “Lebanon and Mount Lebanon are on the brink of hunger, that’s why the party’s preliminary steps are backing needy families with diesel for a period of four months, distributing food parcels as of December 1 and encouraging the cultivation of wheat, lentil and grains.”

“We are in the beginning of a long or rather very long crisis. The old Lebanon has ended but what’s more important is endurance in Mount Lebanon,” Jumblat added.

As for his bloc’s vote for former Lebanese ambassador to the U.N. Nawaf Salam in the binding parliamentary consultations to name a new premier, Jumblat said he chose Salam because he supports “change.”

“He is a reputable man who does not belong to the political class that we know and I wonder why (caretaker PM Saad) Hariri and the Lebanese Forces did not support him. This is a mistake, unless they want to keep the old system,” the PSP leader added.