This is Popular Front, a podcast focused on the niche details of Modern Warfare and underreported

conflict with me Jake Hanrahan. Today we're speaking to Joey Aube. He is a

Lebanese writer, researcher, activist. He does all sorts of stuff very interesting guy today he's going to be speaking to us about the

Diet situation in Lebanon you might remember last year there were serious clashes against the government.

The government has just been messing about this corruption all over the place.

Things have not gotten any better. In fact it's got a lot worse.

Joey is going to be explaining to us how Lebanon is fast becoming a powder keg once more.

If you like what we're doing, please do consider supporting us at patreon.com slash popular front.

We last spoke I think like just over a year ago now, you know the situation was pretty bad in Lebanon.

I understand not a lot has changed for the better and I have seen recently within the last month or so they've been kind of renewed clashes, renewed protests.

Maybe just give us an idea of, you know, what the most immediate situation is right now for the people of Lebanon.

Okay well nothing too sure what to start to be honest.

Well one thing again I mean I was listening to our conversation back then it was like during the uprising and I think

Hariri had just resigned as Prime Minister and I remember telling you basically like I don't actually

know if he's really gone and you know lo and behold as we're talking now he is in

line to reform government there's basically like you know a great powers game but on on a tiny tiny scale like just on Lebanon scale

where they're all just fighting for power and in the meantime the economy has

completely tanked the currency has basically lost something like 85% of its value since the

crisis started. So to give some kind of, I don't know, some kind of equivalent.

I think that it's worse, I think now it's slightly better, but it's only by bit.

But like, before the crisis started started the Lebanese lira or the Lebanese

pound was 1500 to the dollar and at some point it got up to 15,000 and so a good example that I sometimes use. I have a relative who is working three jobs,

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