Lebanon's restaurants and cabarets reopen their doors and reject the authorities ’decision to close
Dozens held up banners reading "Tourism is the pulse of Lebanon's civilization" and "We will not get drunk but your homes."
Tourism institutions in Lebanon, including restaurants, cafes and cabarets, will reopen their doors tomorrow, according to what its unions announced today, despite the closure measures re-imposed by the authorities with the increase in infections with the new Corona virus.
In the affected area of Mar Mikhael near the port of Beirut, President of the Syndicate of Restaurants, Cafes, Cabarets and Patisserie Tony Al-Rami said during a meeting called by the tourist unions, "Tomorrow morning, we will open our institutions."
Al-Rami read a statement on behalf of the Federation of Tourism Institutions Syndicates in a statement in which he said that “the random and partial and total mobilization decisions do not concern us for any reason anymore,” adding, “We have to live with Corona. Haseeb and Argeb. "
"We will not close our doors after today, except with an understanding between the public and private sectors," he added.
Dozens gathered at the place, according to an AFP photographer, and raised banners reading "Tourism is the pulse of Lebanon's civilization" and "We will not get drunk but your homes," in reference to political officials.
On Friday morning, a new phase of closure began in Lebanon, which will continue until the seventh of next September, and includes a curfew between six in the evening and six in the morning local time.
The decision excludes rubble removal and relief work in the neighborhoods affected by the port explosion, as well as ministries and public institutions, provided that the attendance of their employees does not exceed 50 percent. It also does not apply to Beirut Airport.
The authorities are trying to limit the increase in the number of injuries, which has doubled in recent weeks, bringing the total to 13,155 cases, at least, including 126 deaths.
The unions declared in their statement a "tourist civil disobedience", and said in their statement, "We have stopped the payment, and we will not pay a single penny after today before there is a new and worthy country that knows how to invest our money to build solid ground and tourism infrastructure, then we bargain and negotiate."
The unions estimated their losses after the Beirut port explosion at one billion dollars, including 315 million losses in restaurants only, and called for an international conference dedicated to supporting the tourism sector.