Faced with the crisis, the Lebanese parody the pound and the dollar on the networks

Text by: Paul Khalifeh

The protest movement has continued in Lebanon since October 17, the country still being hit hard by an unprecedented crisis. On social networks, the Lebanese refer to the woes of the Lebanese pound with humor, which has already lost more than 30% of its value against the dollar. It is almost impossible to find in the country, which threatens the importation of essential products.

Publicity

From our correspondent in Beirut,

The pages on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram parodying the Lebanese pound have thousands of subscribers and give rise to streams of comments and jokes every day. The Lebanese Lira account, which presents itself on Twitter as the only " official account " of the national currency, already has more than 8,000 subscribers. His slogan ? " Collapse ", in reference to the loss of 30% of its value against the dollar .

On this account, the book keeps a kind of diary where she tells her daily misfortunes . Like this comment where she reports that the World Health Organization (WHO) has declared a state of emergency to fight the epidemic of the coronavirus, while in Lebanon no measures have been taken to curb the collapse of the pound.

"Lirafication and celebrations
When i tell everyone that you've collapsed with me "
-Lebanese Lira

Elsewhere, a surfer praises the benefits of hoarding: " It's all well and good to keep tickets at home, they still don't have to serve rats a meal ," he said, brandishing a 100-dollar bill. 000 pounds, or 50 dollars ... eaten away

The name of another account is suggestive in itself: Waynekyalira, which in Arabic means " where are you delivering ?" », In reference to money which is becoming increasingly scarce.

#Lollar or the chronicle of dollars stuck in Lebanese banks

The #Lollar keyword, contraction of the pound and the dollar, has appeared and is on the rise. Its creator Dan Azzi, a renowned finance expert, gives the following definition: it is the dollar stuck in Lebanese banks .

Because savers can no longer have their funds in dollars at the beginning of November with banking establishments. The withdrawal of the green ticket is subject to very severe restrictions and to draconian rationing.

The Lollar, which even has a logo, is therefore in essence rare and untraceable. This situation gives rise to hilarious comments. T-shirts with the Lollar emblem and the inscription " Wanted, wanted dead or alive " have appeared. Lollar hunts are organized in the form of competitions.

On the Lebanese Lollar Facebook page, we can see a young man carrying a cage with the catch of the day inside: dollar bills.

The Governor of the Banque du Liban, taken as responsible, also parodied

Riad Salamé, governor of the Banque du Liban, is undoubtedly one of the least popular men in Lebanon at the moment and is seen as responsible for this crisis. A fake twitter account bearing his name serves as a forum for more or less serious discussions between experts on the best ways to get the country out of the crisis.

In one of his latest tweets, the one who parodies the identity of the boss of the central bank reports on dollars contaminated with coronavirus and proposes to test and decontaminate them, with the clear intention of picking up what is left of the greenback. on the Lebanese market.

Newsletter With the Daily Newsletter, find the headlines directly in your mailbox

Download the app

• Lebanon
• Economic crisis
• Economy
• Social media

On the same subject

Dangerous mission for the new government in Lebanon

Clashes in Beirut before the Lebanese Parliament

Lebanon: scenes of clashes in Beirut on the 100th day of the protest