Beirut (AFP)

A few weeks ago, Laeticia Nicolas was summoned by her employer to be fired. Like her, thousands of Lebanese are affected by the severe economic crisis shaking the country and resulting in an unprecedented popular uprising.

The economic difficulties have been felt since well before the start of the demonstrations on October 17, amid recurring political crises, exacerbated by the repercussions of the conflict in neighboring Syria.

"It's been a year since the number of projects (the company) is down," laments the interior designer of 28 years, who participated in mass demonstrations denouncing a political class deemed corrupt and incompetent.

"Before the beginning of the revolution, they warned us that they would pay us half the salary in exchange for a reduction of working time," she continues.

But after the launch of the movement, she received the fateful call. "I was asked to come to the office to withdraw my last salary," she says.

In a country in economic turmoil for several years, the World Bank forecasts negative growth of 0.2% in 2019.

Thousands of people have either been dismissed without notice or their pay divided by two.

That's what happened to Marie, a saleswoman for 16 years in a clothing store in Beirut.

- "We fear the worst" -

This forty-year-old speaking under a pseudonym explains that since early November, she works only four days a week.

"Our employer informed us that he had no choice but to pay us half a salary," she regrets. Neither she nor her colleges - after about twenty - have dared to protest.

"We fear the worst: no one will take the risk of losing their job in these conditions," she says. "In recent days, the store has not even cashed 50,000 Lebanese pounds" (30 euros).

In 2018, at an international conference, Lebanon pledged to adopt structural reforms, notably to reduce its deficit, in return for promises of loans and donations of $ 11.6 billion.

Due to lack of progress, the amounts have never been released.

With the worsening of the current crisis, half of the population could sink into poverty, warned the World Bank. About a third of Lebanese already live below the poverty line.

The unemployment rate could also increase - it is more than 30% among young people, according to the institution.

"Thousands of companies are threatened with closure, and tens of thousands of employees could lose their jobs," a major association of private sector companies recently warned.

In two months, 265 restaurants and bars have closed, according to a statement from their union. A figure that could climb to 465 by the end of the year.

The country is also experiencing a liquidity crisis that threatens imports and has led to higher prices. Importers of fuels, but also medical equipment, sounded the alarm.

Because if the dollar is commonly used daily, increasingly severe restrictions have been adopted for several months on obtaining the greenback in banks, and the situation has worsened with the challenge.

- "Going abroad" -

As a result, if the official exchange rate is still 1,507 Lebanese pounds for a dollar, in the exchange offices the greenback can be bought for more than 2,000 pounds.

Owner of a small company specializing in road marking and road safety equipment, Bilal Dandachli is no longer out there.

His clients have difficulty in settling it and therefore he can not pay his suppliers abroad.

"Someone owes me $ 20,000, he comes to me with a check for $ 1,000, how can we continue?" He asks.

Employing ten people, he believes he can still "hold a few months" before having to put the key under the door. "I'm going to see everything I've built crumble in front of me."

For her part, Laeticia tries to find another job. "If I have to go abroad, I'll do it," she says.

"I got a job offer in Kuwait, I'm studying the question," she says. "I'm going to start all over again, but not here, because there is no hope."

© 2019 AFP