Abdul Samad Apologizes to the Lebanese People

Information Minister Manal Abdul Samad apologized to the Lebanese people on Wednesday for an economic crisis that pushed many into poverty, saying that “the people are hungry and prices are soaring.”

The Minister said her work at the Ministry prevented her in the last few months from communicating directly with the people.

“I went down to the street Tuesday evening. I talked to the people. I was upset to see the generous people (of Lebanon) suffer like that. The prices are burning and the people are hungry,” she said in a tweet.

Abdul Samad added: “Some have lost their confidence in the government because of the practices of previous terms. I apologize. I am doing my best at my ministry and will be their voice in the Parliament.”

Lebanon's economic crisis has led to a collapse of the local currency and purchasing power, plunging whole segments of society into poverty.

Earlier this year, Lebanon defaulted on its debt and, while the peg to the dollar remains unchanged, the pound has since nosedived on the black market.

Prices have soared almost as fast as the currency has plummeted, meaning that a salary of one million pounds is now worth around $200, instead of almost $700 last year.

The crisis is sounding the death knell of a middle class that is sliding into the half of the population the World bank now estimates lives under the poverty line.