Escalating since October 2019, the political and economic crisis is driving Lebanon to the brink of bankruptcy. The tragic situation has been exacerbated by a gigantic explosion of chemicals stored in Beirut’s seaport. The middle class has virtually ceased to exist. Educated citizens are fleeing hyperinflation, rising unemployment, power cuts and fuel shortages.
07.12.2023
“Without your help, life would be unbearable.”
“What do you dream about?”
“I don’t dream about anything anymore. I don’t want to bother anyone with my dreams. I like to talk to people. I miss my son.”
We meet a man in a nursing home on the outskirts of Beirut. His name is Fawzi. He is 80 years old. You can see that he is in pain. He moves with difficulty. He speaks almost in a whisper. He never asks for anything. He doesn’t want to cause trouble. There is so much warmth and gentleness in his movements and words that one gets the impression that he would like to be invisible. His strength and joie de vivre have been stripped away by his illness and by the effects of Lebanon’s bankruptcy. These, in turn, cannot be compared to any financial troubles that we are able to fathom. Absolutely NOTHING – that is all he has.
Fawzi would love to dress up as Father Christmas today. He would like to give at least the slightest pleasure to the people who are Father Christmases to him for the rest of the year.
The man lost his wife. He is left alone in the world with his 30-year-old disabled son, who is in the care of another centre. However, the cost of fuel and transport is so high that they only see each other once a month. He eagerly awaits the reunion. The centre where Fawzi lives is barely making ends meet. We bring him medicine and food.
“I used to be a butler in one of Beirut’s hotels. My job was to take care of the guests so that they weren’t in need of anything. I never thought I would not be able to manage without the help of other people. Thank you.
Today is the day when anyone can become Father Christmas. Fawzi would love to be him, but all he can give us today is a sincere, silent and shy “thank you”. It is only thanks to your purchases at GoodWorks 24/7 that he will not run out of medicines nor will he go hungry.
22.01.2024
On Grandma’s Day, our thoughts turn to the elderly women who will receive no flowers today. Perhaps they are forgotten by all. We think of 80-year-old Laudie, a senior living on the outskirts of Byblos, Lebanon. The nuns took her in when she lost everything. No one visits Laudie, even though she devoted her life […]
03.11.2023
“No one visits me. Fuel is expensive. They probably have no way to come,” explains the 80-year-old. She very much wants to believe that this is the only reason. She hesitates for a moment. Finally, she shakes her head and pushes away unwanted thoughts. She smiles again. Laudie holds a shoebox in her hand. When […]
11.10.2023
When Hamas entered Israel on Saturday morning, Charbel’s list of worries grew even longer. Charbel does not want war. -“Everything has already collapsed in Lebanon. We don’t need a war to not know how to keep living.” Hezbollah has shelled Israeli positions and announced an incursion into Israel. This is enough to drag the whole […]