When Murielle el Feghaly chose her profession, she knew that her life would not be easy. Like surgeonThis 29-year-old Lebanese girl had to overcome a series of obstacles, “a job not usually for girls”. try now France, feel how two passions collide. “Lebanon will always be my home“, he admits. But when he thinks about going back, his business is ahead. “First I want to build my career and reputation outside of Lebanon, learn to the end, and maybe one day go back and show my people this: i can be better “More surgeons than surgeons” points to a vital contradiction that torments Lebanese youth. mass exodus of people.
Faced with the impossibility of using the scalpel with dignity in her home country, this young Christian woman joined more than one organisation. 200,000 Lebanese who left Lebanon In the last five years, “We continued to live, but life was not the same as before, and the joy and happiness we experienced before the crisis gradually disappeared, leaving its place to new years. despair And loss of hope In our country and in ourselves,” recalls El Feghaly, who left her home a few months ago. The world’s worst crises since the 19th century, according to the World Bank. The economic collapse forced many to emigrate.
life without life
“Life has become a constant attempt to keep up with rising prices and exchange rates,” he explains. ali hammoud. There was no future because the present suffocates them. This Lebanese Shia left his homeland over a year ago and moved to Lebanon. TrainHe works in the finance department of a hotel located a few hours from Doha. She combines modeling sessions with her profession. “When in Lebanon I couldn’t think of the futureI was just worried about my current situation and the situation of my family,” recalls the 28-year-old. The decision to leave was not an easy one. “We didn’t decide to live abroad or leave our family. we had to do it to survive and to provide myself and my family with a dignified life,” adds Hammoud.
But they are not alone. every few days, airport Beirut is a farewell scene where hearts are broken. These are flights without return tickets. And the number of immigrants in Lebanon multiplied by 4.5 17,721 games between 2020 and 2021 and 79,134 respectively, according to Information International. Between 2017 and 2021, approximately 215,653 Lebanese left their country. “As the situation affected my private and professional life, I decided to: staying was a waste of time and I decided to find a way to move abroad to continue my education, live better and start building my career,” El Feghaly says. In September 2021, the data showed: More than 40% of doctors The Lebanese had already left the country.
Escape by sea or air
Those who have no choice but to suffer days without electricity or public waterwas penalized with one Lebanese pound, which lost 95% of its value and has one of the highest inflation rates in the world. Those who remained in Lebanon, perhaps this savings are locked Because they work in the bank or because they have no money, they are part of the barely surviving three-quarters of the population. below the poverty line. That’s why almost all Lebanese want to leave the country. a Gallup poll, 60% of the people want to immigrate. Those who cannot leave by air try to do so by sea and risk dying in the attempt. Regardless of religion, age or profession, everyone agrees: good life is over from Lebanon.
Therefore, experts already third wave of immigration in the Mediterranean country. The first was at the beginning of the last century. famine and the First World War forced 300,000 Lebanese to emigrate. During civil war (1975-1990), there were about 900,000 people. Now the children of those who decided to resist under the bombs are the children who got on the plane with the encouragement of their parents. Beyond the typical destinations in Europe, the United States, Australia or the Gulf, many Lebanese are finding new life here. Turkey, Armenia, Georgia or Serbia. Many Western countries have reconsidered and stopped offering visas to Lebanese.
No visa, no future
Ziad Al Zayyat She experienced rejection on her own skin. take some 14 months without workhas so far 28 interviews. “I said no to most of them because they tried to harass us with very low salaries,” this Lebanese filmmaker and producer explains. “When I couldn’t find the opportunity in Lebanon, I decided to go to Lebanon. France “To get a master’s degree and find a job,” says the 32-year-old Lebanese Sunni. He managed to get accepted into a university in Paris – “it was my dream that came true“- but he had to go back to Lebanon to wait for that visa, which is actually a passport for his future.
Procedures were delayed, classes started, and he was still in his hometown of Tripoli. It finally came negative. “Maybe I’ll apply to France again next October, where I’m a bit stuck and suffering.” depressionWhile the desire to leave Lebanon is shared by the majority, not everyone has the ability to achieve it. 20.8 percent of those who leave are in debt To finance their travel needs to the new country where they will try to support the family staying in Lebanon.
brain drain
The impact of this third wave of migration is already being felt. Almost Six out of 10 government employees They are breaking up or planning to leave. This brain drain It has a widespread and full impact on industries such as health. Lebanon is already a old countries The march of the youth of the region will have serious consequences such as a decrease in birth rates. Moreover battered economy affected by the reduction in employment supply and productivity.
“If I could be a part of the economic and financial plans to be implemented in Lebanon, very happy to return Hammoud admits: “But the political and ideological system has been in place for thirty years, so I’m not willing to do that. sacrifice my future “The Lebanese accountant and model is trying to change the way people think.”
When you think of your country, a bittersweet feeling Murielle takes over. “You will always have a special place in my heartbut at the same time, every time I think about the situation there and how it has forced its best people to move to other countries, I get sad. A future we can no longer find in Lebanon“The surgeon complains.