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Lebanese woman holds up bank with toy gun to access her own savings

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A Lebanese woman is being hailed a hero after going viral for holding up a Beirut bank with a toy gun. She pulled off the caper just to access $13,000 of her own money to help pay for her sister’s cancer treatment. She walked away from the bank with her cash in a plastic bag, the Associated Press said.

The woman, Sali Hafez, said she attempted the heist because she had made repeated visits to the bank to get her money but was told she could have only $200 per month.

“I had begged the branch manager before for my money, and I told him my sister was dying, didn’t have much time left,” she said, according to the AP. “I reached a point where I had nothing else to lose.”

But she is not the first person in Lebanon so pull such a stunt and be praised by the populace. This summer, a man armed with a shotgun and carrying a canister of gasoline was arrested after going into a Beirut bank and holding 10 people hostage for seven hours. He threatened self-immolation unless he was permitted to withdraw his thousands of dollars in savings to help pay the medical bills of his ailing father, NPR said.

There is a reason these people are taking drastic measures and then being celebrated by the public. Since 2019, the nation has been experiencing a serious economic and financial crisis, one that the world bank has labeled one of the worst in centuries. The country’s currency collapsed, and now about 75% of the population is living in poverty.

The situation is a result of decades of government corruption and mismanagement coupled with piles of debt. The massive and viral explosion in 2020 at the Port of Beirut that killed hundreds and wounded thousands more only exacerbated the problem.

Now banks across Lebanon have closed their doors and imposed strict limits on cash withdrawals, leading to anger and desperation.

The country has a new Parliament but is still deeply divided. A new presidential election is slated for later this year.

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WOMAN IN LEBANON IS GOING VIRAL FOR HOLDING UP A BANK WITH A TOY GUN – SHE WALKED AWAY WITH *GET THIS* 13 THOUSAND DOLLARS OF HER OWN SAVINGS IN ORDER TO FUND HER SISTER’S CANCER TREATMENT

THIS COMES JUST MONTHS AFTER A VERY SIMILAR INCIDENT TOOK PLACE WHERE A MAN WAS ARRESTED AFTER HE HELD A BEIRUT BANK HOSTAGE TO TAKE YET AGAIN THOUSAND OF DOLLARS OF HIS OWN SAVINGS

SO WHY ARE PEOPLE IN LEBANON RESORTING TO THESE EXTREME MEASURES? WELL SINCE 2019 – THE COUNTRY HAS BEEN GOING THROUGH AN ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL CRISIS – *THE WORLD BANK CALLS IT ONE OF THE WORST IN CENTURIES*

THE CURRENCY COLLAPSED AND ABOUT THREE QUARTERS OF THE POPULATION NOW LIVE IN POVERTY

THE DISASTER IS A COMBINATION OF PILING UP DEBT AT THE HANDS OF THE GOVERNMENT AND DECADES OF CORRUPTION AND MISMANAGEMENT

AND THAT MASSIVE VIRAL EXPLOSION THAT HAPPENED IN 2020 MADE MATTERS ONLY WORSE

THE COUNTRY’S CASH-STRAPPED BANKS HAVE SHUT THEIR DOORS IMPOSING STRICT LIMITS ON WITHDRAWALS – TYING UP THE SAVINGS OF MILLIONS OF PEOPLE – CAUSING WIDESPREAD ANGER AND DESPERATION

LEBANON RECENTLY ELECTED A NEW PARLIAMENT BUT IT REMAINS DEEPLY DIVIDED. THE TERM OF THE INCUMBENT PRESIDENT ENDS OCTOBER 31ST PAVING THE WAY FOR A NEW ELECTION