Woman Holds up Beirut Bank with Activists to Withdraw Savings

Improve the News Foundation -

Facts

  • 28-year-old Lebanese activist and designer Sali Hafiz, alongside a group of other activists, stormed a BLOM Bank branch in Beirut on Wed. to demand some of her savings to reportedly fund her sister's cancer treatment.
  • She managed to get $13K from the $20K she claims to have deposited in the bank. According to Hafiz, she was repeatedly denied access to more than $200 a month in Lebanese pounds.
  • Hafiz live-streamed her raid on the bank, in which she seemingly waved a toy gun and yelled at employees while her associates sealed entrances and reportedly threatened to set the place on fire.
  • Shortly after, in Lebanon's mountain city of Aley outside Beirut, an armed man entered a branch of BankMed to try to retrieve his savings. He reportedly obtained some of his money before surrendering to authorities.
  • Last month, another armed man entered a bank in Beirut's Hamra neighborhood and took hostages, demanding some of his savings to pay for his father's medical treatments. After an hour-long standoff, he was given some of his money, and no one was hurt.
  • This string of incidents comes as Lebanon's economic crisis continues to worsen following its onset in late 2019, resulting in banks introducing informal capital controls to restrict the amount of money depositors can withdraw.

Sources: Daily Mail, Independent, Al Jazeera, and Improve the News.

Narratives

  • Narrative A, as provided by Al Jazeera. Sali Hafiz is a hero, and her actions represent the frustrations of an entire nation that has been deprived of its savings for nearly three years. As millions of Lebanese have been thrown into poverty by corrupt politicians and bank managers, such desperate measures are a form of retribution for this injustice.
  • Narrative B, as provided by FDD. While Hafiz's actions may seem noble to some, she, like many others inside and outside Lebanon, is blaming the wrong people. It's the outside influence of Iran, as well as Hezbollah, that has pushed Lebanon to the brink, and the Lebanese people must acknowledge this to truly move forward and fix their country.