Lebanese businessman Nsoli, 45, says he is preparing to immigrate with his Colombian wife and three children to Colombia at the end of this year.
Since the end of 2019, Nasuli's work began to decline with a group of his Lebanese partners in a number of restaurants and shops, so they decided to narrow their margin of work, then the decline in revenues accelerated further with the outbreak of the Corona virus, until the port explosion came and destroyed a large part of their revenues, according to what he said. Al-Jazeera Net.
And he continues, "We no longer have the luxury of advancement after all our opportunities have been eliminated by this power that has become carcinogenic and untreatable, and any attempt to rise will not see its results until a whole generation has passed, so we will not sacrifice our children and their future in this ruin."
Nosuli is heading to Colombia to start a new life with his family, after he was totally rejecting the idea of immigration, saying, "We live under the weight of an authority exercising our right for forced displacement."
Mrs. Jamal Al-Qura, 66, a civil activist and retired doctor, agrees, and she finally said goodbye to her daughter at the airport with her two young granddaughters, who traveled to Dubai.
"I am also preparing to bid farewell to my young daughter, who has finished her university education and refuses to stay in Lebanon," she tells Al-Jazeera Net.
The villages acknowledge that there is an illusion in the change that she has lived, and "as if the homeland rejects us and rejects our existence as non-sectarian, so our lives are wasted, while there is a process of slaughtering us."
She believes that the explosion at the port came as a wake-up call to announce defeat, as "our children submitted to the process of systematic displacement, having lost the hope of building a secure future in Lebanon."
Warning in numbers
In reality, it seems that Lebanon will face a new wave of migration of its people, as a result of the acceleration of the economic collapse, and in light of the absence of political stability and security concerns in the country.
In the context, Mohammed Shams El-Din, a researcher at Information International, points out that in 2018, about 33,000 Lebanese emigrated, while by the end of 2019, about 66,000 emigrated, which means an increase of double. With the beginning of 2020, immigration numbers were not clear, as a result of reducing flights and closing airports due to the outbreak of the Corona virus.
But what seemed remarkable to Shams El Din, is that when Beirut airport was opened on the first of last month and until the 4th of this month, the average number of arrivals to Lebanon was 2,300, and the average number of passengers was 3,100. After the August 4 explosion, the daily rate of arrivals decreased. To 2,100, while the number of passengers rose to 4,100.
Shams El Din sees these figures as an indication of the acceleration of immigration from Lebanon, because "most Lebanese have a desire to emigrate, but the means are weak in terms of securing visas and job opportunities abroad," according to Shams El Din.
The Lebanese researcher believes that after the port explosion, the country may witness waves of immigration, especially for those with dual nationalities, after the means of subsistence in Lebanon became "non-existent".
Shams al-Din concludes with his speech to Al-Jazeera Net, that the waves of immigration will not be limited to sects without others, especially that Christians achieved a large emigration during the civil war, and their numbers decreased in Lebanon, which means that immigration in recent years and the coming period will be greater among Islamic sects. ".
But .. What are the economic implications of this increased migration?
Dima Karim, the academic and economic development researcher, considers that the educated young group is the one who emigrates in search of job opportunities outside Lebanon.
In her interview with Al-Jazeera Net, she points out that this type of immigration has a "catastrophic" effect on the Lebanese economy, because it affects the productive group that affects the wheel of production, and "in the foreseeable future, it may lead to a double deterioration in the medical and educational services and various basic sectors."
Karim expects that the emigration of the Lebanese will cause the decline of wealth in a narrow group or circle that is not linked to the general economic cycle. 55% in 2020, up from 28% in 2019. "
Karim ruled out Lebanon receiving any external support, noting that "the economic model based on debt from abroad has fallen, and the international community was clear in sending aid after the port explosion to non-governmental actors, in a message expressing a lack of confidence in the official authorities."
She concluded that Lebanon is on the verge of a bottomless economic deterioration, with the “Banque du Liban” heading to later lift subsidies on imported goods such as wheat, fuel and medicine, as a result of the decline in its dollar reserves.
She emphasized that this reality "pushes everyone who was able to emigrate and take all their savings, because they do not feel safe."