Lebanon
»I hate this country! I would love to leave it and never return!« What this young cab driver expresses is what many Lebanese think. The deeply fractured country is on the brink of the abyss politically, economically and socially.
After the civil war (1975-1990), the balance of power between the sometimes bitterly hostile population groups was fixed. Since then, top state posts, as well as positions down to the lower administrative levels, have been awarded on the basis of a confessional system. The personnel composition of the administration must reflect the religious and confessional makeup of the country. What seems harmonious, however, has overridden the merit principle and opened the door to corruption among former militia and later party leaders.
The overburdened state is also home to more than 1.5 million Syrian refugees who have lived a life of exile in Lebanon since the beginning of the Syrian civil war. These have to serve as scapegoats for the misery. They are accused of taking away jobs and housing. But in reality, many of them still live in precarious conditions in refugee camps and do simple field work. Many Syrian children are illiterate because there is no place for them in Lebanese schools.
