Because of the power outages, the scarcity of fuel and medicines, and the closure of the horizon
Lebanese invade the island of Cyprus to escape the inferno of the crisis in their country
Many Lebanese have enrolled their children in Cyprus schools.
EPA
Shadi Abi Haidar, his wife Nanor Absheyan and their two children pose for a memorial photo before they leave for Cyprus to live there.
AFP
Georges Shahwan: “Our company sold 400 apartments to Lebanese families between 2016 and 2021.”
picture
Hundreds of Lebanese, during the past months, have flown the 200 kilometers that separate their country from the island of Cyprus to settle there, albeit temporarily, to escape the inferno of the crisis in their country, where electricity is cut off, fuel and medicine are scarce, and the horizon is blocked.
After an eagerly awaited flight, although it did not exceed 25 minutes, the Lebanese woman, Nanour Abashian, 30, with her husband and two children, exited Larnaca Airport from Beirut, dragging seven suitcases, most of them large.
She told AFP: "My pain is very great because I left my country and my family, but I am forced to do so, because I want to raise my children with dignity and dignity and guarantee their future."
severe economic crisis
Lebanon has been witnessing a severe economic crisis for nearly two years, which the World Bank has ranked among the worst in the world since 1850. The Lebanese are unable to withdraw their money from banks due to restrictions resulting from the lack of liquidity, the deterioration of the Lebanese pound exchange rate by more than 90%, and many people have lost their jobs.
At the same time, electricity is cut off most of the day and night, and there is no diesel in the market to operate generators, and this is reflected in all aspects of life.
The country is also experiencing crises of medicine, bread and other essential items.
Thousands of Lebanese left the country in the wake of the crisis, and many of them chose Cyprus, and Agence France-Presse was unable to obtain their exact number, because there is no official census yet, and some entered with non-Lebanese passports.
However, the Lebanese ambassador to Cyprus, Claude Al-Hajal, confirmed that since October 2019, with the outbreak of popular protests in Lebanon against the political class, “we noticed a significant increase in the number of family files opened at the embassy, and we recorded the largest increase after the August 4 explosion” in the port of Beirut, which resulted in More than 200 dead and 6000 wounded, and entire parts of the capital were destroyed.
It is not the first time that the Lebanese have taken refuge extensively in Cyprus. During the civil war (1975-1990), a large number of them moved to the island, and a large part of them returned to the country after the end of the war.
"In the 1980s, there were 100,000 family files registered at the embassy," Al-Hajal said.
Also, during the July 2006 war between Israel and the Lebanese Hezbollah, Cyprus formed a rear base for Lebanon. In light of the closure of Beirut's airport, which was subjected to Israeli bombardment, evacuation ships set out from Beirut and transported foreign nationals to the island to leave for their countries.
It also transported Lebanese who lived in Cyprus for a temporary period, pending the end of military operations.
Agence France-Presse had met Nanour's family in their home north of Beirut two days before they traveled to Cyprus. The young mother said while packing her belongings with a sigh: "I decided to leave Lebanon because we no longer feel safe... We are in the unknown, we are living in humiliation."
Save the school year
The family moved to a friend's house in Larnaca, waiting to rent an apartment close to the school where her two children were enrolled.
Over the past weeks, dozens of families have competed to enroll their children in schools.
The Lebanese George Obeid was forced to enroll his three children in two different schools in Larnaca, due to the lack of places for them in one school.
The man in his forties said: “We do not see a horizon for the school year in Lebanon.
Gasoline is not available to run generators, teachers will not get a raise to be able to teach, and they will not be able to fill their cars with gasoline to go to schools.”
However, the family's suffering does not end here. George will not settle with his wife and two children in Cyprus, due to his work between Lebanon and Africa, but will visit them on weekends.
In the capital, Nicosia, the French school, in particular, received dozens of applications for registration due to the proximity of its study program to the programs of the many Francophone schools in Lebanon.
She was unable to meet all of them, as recently arrived Lebanese reported.
Agence France-Presse tried to contact the school administration to inquire, but did not receive a response, because officials were busy preparing to receive a large number of new students, while the date for entering the school was postponed for students who registered after August 24.
Lebanese and Cypriot officials spoke of more than 250 requests to enroll Lebanese in the school.
safe haven
And if some families went to Cyprus in search of safety, education and stability, even if only temporary, other Lebanese also found a place to work and invest there.
The official in charge of the Department of Commerce and Industry at the Ministry of Commerce, Konstantinos Karaioribes, said that the Cypriot authorities “launched a fast track to register foreign companies last October,” and that “this mechanism has received great interest from Lebanese companies, as seven large and medium companies have so far registered in the sector. Information and Communication Technology and has transferred 200 Lebanese employees with it.
He expected the number to rise by the end of this year, due to the fact that the families of many employees will also move to the island.
The Lebanese ambassador pointed out that "Cyprus helps the Lebanese a lot," adding that under the fast-track mechanism for company establishment transactions, "it takes 10 to 15 days instead of two or three months, as was the case in the past."
Karayoris believed that the transfer of this large number of Lebanese companies will reflect positively on the Cypriot economy through “the employees of these companies spending their high salaries in total” in the Cypriot market, noting that “the most important benefit is the transfer of knowledge from foreign companies to local ones.”
The real estate sector in the quiet Mediterranean island witnessed a rise in the demand for the purchase of apartments by the Lebanese.
"Our company sold 400 apartments to Lebanese families between 2016 and 2021 (...) 100 of them during the last six months," said Lebanese businessman George Chahwan, who owns dozens of real estate projects in Cyprus.
He pointed out that the Lebanese choose the island, a member of the European Union, for investment and stability, because it offers them several incentives.
"Since 1975, Cyprus has been a safe haven for the Lebanese," Shahwan said, adding, "It is close and enjoys security and stability (...).
They feel like they are in their second country.”
The Lebanese are unable to withdraw their money from banks due to restrictions resulting from the lack of liquidity, the deterioration of the exchange rate of the Lebanese pound by more than 90%, and many people have lost their jobs.
Electricity is cut off most hours of the day and night, and there is no diesel in the market to run electric generators, and this is reflected in all aspects of life. The country is also witnessing crises of medicine, bread and other basic materials.
• This is not the first time that the Lebanese resorted extensively to Cyprus. During the civil war (1975-1990), a large number of them moved to the island, and a large part of them returned to the country after the war ended.
Follow our latest local and sports news and the latest political and economic developments via Google news