BEIRUT: With Ramadan, the Muslim holy month of daytime fasting, coinciding this year with the latter half of Lent, the Christian season of personal sacrifice leading up to Easter, the Lebanese people face additional challenges during this time but remain hopeful of better days ahead.
For Muslims, obtaining essential food supplies required for iftar, the evening meal with which they break their fast each evening during Ramadan, places additional burdens on many families already facing hardship as a result of the long-running economic crisis in the country, during which the currency has lost about 95 percent of its value.
More recently the fear of an escalation of Hezbollah’s conflict with Israel in southern Lebanon, and the effect it is having on local agriculture, has added another dimension to the crisis.
Fattoush salad, an iftar staple, now costs the equivalent of about $10, as do basic meat dishes, as a result of a lack of official regulation of prices. The cost of a lettuce is more than 130,000 Lebanese pounds ($1.46), packs of other greens are 80,000 pounds and 1 kilogram of onions costs 160,000 pounds.
Vendors say demand is high but supply is low, in part because it is difficult for farmers to work their fields in the south of the country because of cross-border fighting.
“Everything is now priced in US dollars,” said Fatima Al-Masri as she shopped for produce at a vegetable market in Tarik Al-Jadidah, Beirut.
“What about those who are paid in Lebanese pounds? On normal days, our salaries are entirely spent on the first week of the month, let alone during Ramadan.
“Without receiving food boxes containing essential items, such as rice, sugar, oil and cereal, from benevolent people, we wouldn’t have been able to diversify our iftar meals amid the austerity.”
Ibrahim Tarchichi, head of the Bekaa Farmers Association, said cold weather and frost have affected crop yields in Bekaa Valley, pushing up the cost of farm produce. Prices are expected to drop as warmer weather arrives, he added.
“Additionally, there is a high demand for vegetables from both Christians, who depend on them for their fasting, and Muslims, who consider them key ingredients for their iftar meals,” Tarchichi said.
The economic crisis has forced many Lebanese to change their fasting habits during Ramadan in the past few years, especially those who were used to enjoying sweets, juices and pastries at iftar.
Aida, a 50-year-old mother of four young men, said the average cost of a Ramadan meal for her family of six is more than $30, or about 2.7 million Lebanese pounds.
The financial challenges have not only affected meal tables during Ramadan but also the traditional festive decorations that normally brighten up neighborhood streets during the holy month. They have been replaced by posters urging people to fulfill their charitable obligations during Ramadan through donations to help orphans, the sick and other needy people.
The Beirut Bkheir Association, for example, donates money to some mosques in Beirut to help facilitate Taraweeh prayers, a special evening prayer during Ramadan, in cooperation with Dar Al-Fatwa, Lebanon’s highest Sunni religious authority, and its affiliated institutions.
Beirut, like many coastal towns and cities in Beirut, bustles with shoppers during the day and cafes remain open until dawn during Ramadan. This contrasts sharply with the situation in southern border regions affected by the current conflict, however, where population centers have become ghost towns.
In addition to the effects of the political and financial crisis, Beirut is also still coming to terms with the devastating effects of the massive explosion at the city’s port on Aug. 4, 2020. In an attempt to revitalize the city, efforts are being made to attract and entertain people, from the breaking of the fast at iftar until late into the night.
Carts filled with dates, nuts and sweets line illuminated streets bustling with people walking around, chatting in cafes or listening to traditional Ramadan music. Again, an aspect of the festivities involves encouraging people to help others
Zeina Seif from the charitable Ajialouna organization said she sees these efforts during Ramadan as daily opportunities to help people who need medical treatment, provide assistance to the elderly, or empower women.
“Our concern is to help people and revitalize Beirut’s struggling downtown area,” she said. “The situation in the south is difficult and scary but we have relied on God and decided to take the step, and we are working based on Islamic ethics.”
A Ramadan village has been established in Beirut’s city center to bring a spirit of tranquility to the streets. A few hundred yards away, a Ramadan square was set up at the Forum De Beyrouth, which faces the port and was destroyed by the 2020 explosion. Now it has become a gathering point for artists and craftspeople to exhibit their work, a place for Ramadan celebrations, and a food market.
Still, for many people Ramadan is a challenging time as they struggle to make ends meet. When Ramadan began, commentators in traditional and social media urged people who can afford more extravagant iftars and celebrations to refrain from posting pictures of them online, out of respect for those who are hungry, especially Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
Meanwhile tourism experts said that the Israeli escalation of its military operations at the start of Ramadan, targeting areas deep inside Lebanon, has caused many tourists to cancel planned trips to Lebanon during the holy month and Eid holidays.
Jean Abboud, head of the Association of Travel and Tourist Agents in Lebanon, said the sector is “waiting for a ceasefire on the southern border. If security stabilizes, the tourist movement will be better.”