Beirut 2020: The Collapse of a Civilization, a Journal

Product Description

When Charif Majdalani begins to walk the streets of his native city in the early months of 2020, the first hints of unrest within a vibrant culture are creeping to the fore. This is the Paris of the Middle East, its neighbourhoods are bustling, its restaurants are alive with chatter and friends across tables, but an existential pestilence loiters in the shadows, one that is revealed quietly at first as Majdalani notes what he observes. Then it takes hold.
Chariff's riveting journal through that fateful year bears witness to the way in which an ancient civilization slowly, then rapidly, descends into the abyss: corruption and vice infect the corridors of power; the country's currency plummets into free fall; rats scurry between rubbish piles that grow higher along the pavements until an overwhelming stench chokes the air. In the summer's heatwave and born from the rancour of a society pushed to its limits, protestors swarm and block the avenues. In revolt, Beirut's citizens find themselves in violent stand-offs with law enforcement.