Roadblocks were set up by demonstrators across much of cash-strapped Lebanon after the currency plummeted to a historic low.
Protesters across Beirut, Tripoli, Saida, and other cities closed highways and intersections on Monday morning with their vehicles and put tires and rubbish dumpsters on fire.
They called on the government to control the plunging Lebanese pound, which for the past week has hovered at about 25,000 to the US dollar. The pound has lost about 90 percent of its value in about two years.
Mohammad, a taxi driver with his rental car parked at an intersection on Beirut’s bustling Hamra Street, said it has become less costly to be unemployed than to work.
“I can’t afford to pay my weekly rental fees for my car, not including gasoline prices and my monthly expenses for the family,” he told Al Jazeera. “And there are barely any customers.”
The taxi driver said he has lost hope in political change, be it from the country’s governing parties, or the slew of opposition political groups.
“I don’t trust anyone anymore. They’re all liars and thieves. And I don’t want charity. I want to just have a decent living,” said Mohammad, who gave only his first name.
The Lebanese army was able to clear some closed intersections and thoroughfares. However, in Sports City just south of Beirut, protesters doused the highway with petrol so cars could not drive through, even if the army cleared the roadblock.
Anonymous calls to protest from across the country circulated on WhatsApp and other messaging apps over the weekend. Some political opposition groups said the demonstrations were organized by some of Lebanon’s sectarian parties.
