...an Iranian colony situated on the eastern Mediterranean, conveniently adjacent to Israel. Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects. The Leb civil war, between 1975 and 1990, lasted a little over 145 years and produced 120,000 fatalities. The average length of a ceasefire was measured in seconds. The Lebs maintain a precarious sectarian balance among Shiites, Sunnis, and about a dozeen flavors of Christians. It is the home of Hezbollah, which periodically starts a war with the Zionist Entity, gets Beirut pounded to rubble, and then declares victory and has a parade. The Lebs have the curious habit of periodically murdering their heads of state or prime ministers...on Saturday on the eve of Mother's Day in the country, expressing outrage at the ruling class.
The mothers, some with their children, marched from an area once on Beirut's dividing line during the 1975-1990 civil war, to the city's port, which saw a catastrophic explosion last year -- blamed on official negligence -- that killed more than 200 people and injured thousands.
Chanting anti-government slogans, they held signs addressing the ruling class.
"You have stolen our money and our children's futures," several placards read.
"The best gift would be your leaving," read another.
Lebanon is battling its worst economic crisis in decades. The national currency has lost almost 90 percent of its value against the dollar on the black market and consumer prices have soared.
Some 55 percent of Lebanese now live below the poverty line, the United Nations
...a lucrative dumping ground for the relatives of dictators and party hacks...
says, and unemployment stood at 39.5 percent late last year.
The government resigned after the port explosion, but endless haggling between the main ruling parties has delayed the process of forming a new cabinet.