Sunday is the only chance for the Lebanese to peacefully make a change. We shouldn’t blame anyone if the same politicians are recycled.

By Ali Hussein

Fellow Lebanese

This Sunday May 6, 2018 is a unique opportunity for all of us to exercise our right to get rid of the trash .

Trash in Lebanon has come to mean more than garbage on the streets.
Trash in Lebanon are the corrupt politicians who have corrupted the institutions that are supposed to provide us with the minimal comforts in life.
Like water
Like electricity
Like phone and internet service
Like clean air
Like clean environment
Like decent roads
Like job opportunities

Everywhere I go in Lebanon all I hear is complaints about the corrupt Lebanese politicians.
Frankly I get tired of hearing the complaints.

Yesterday one close relative told me she was waiting for instructions from the politician in her district to tell her the name of the preferred candidate she should vote for . This close relative always complained about the electricity blackouts , the lack of water , the slow internet , the high cost of phone calls, the terrible smell of the garbage that was burning in the streets , the potholes in the roads that damaged her car the fact that her children had to emigrate to earn their living for lack of job opportunities in Lebanon

I frankly dont blame the politicians . they are having a great time taking advantage of us
I blame the lebanese sheep in us .

To be told by the politician whom we should elect as the preferred candidate means we have given up on exercising our sacred right .

When you give up  your rights you have no right to complain because you are a slave
you elected to be treated like one.

While the rest of the world is moving forward we are going in the opposite direction.
Lebanon was hailed as the Paris and the Switzerland of of the east but now it is its one of its most corrupt .

In the past People in the region used to travel to Beirut to make a phone call,
now lebanon has the worst phone and internet service in the region.

Lebanese politicians have allowed some organizations in this country to be merceneries of foreign powers and have been openly acting against Lebanon’s interests

These proxies have turned our friends into enemies and our enemies into unwanted friends.
They have deprived Lebanon of its right to develop a modern economy that attracts foreign investments to create job opportunities for the tens of thousands of university graduates that emigrate every year.
These proxies have hijacked the tourism industry which was the backbone of the Lebanese economy

Lebanon has over 300 days of sunshine a year and yet we are in the dark several hours a day because the Lebanese corrupt politicians have refused to use the sun as the source of power . They are happy to subsidize a corrupt electricity company and rent Turkish power ships at exorbitant rates and add more public debt without figuring out how to pay off this enormous debt. Lebanon has become one of the most indebted nations in the world ( currently at 150 per cent of GDP but could mushroom to 180 % by 2023 if no reforms are enacted according to IMF ). Luckily we have few unelected officials who have been guarding the Lebanese economy and preventing the collapse of the Lebanese pound .

Lebanon Corruption

Lebanon is the 143 least corrupt nation out of 175 countries, according to the 2017 Corruption Perceptions Index reported by Transparency International. Corruption Rank in Lebanon averaged 113.73 from 2003 until 2017, reaching an all time high of 143 in 2017 and a record low of 63 in 2006.

Fellow Lebanese

This is your only chance to peacefully get rid of our trash
It is stinking real bad
It doesn’t matter whom you vote for as long as you don’t recycle the trash we now have.
We need to get rid of the corrupt politicians who failed for decades in governing this wonderful country of ours
We , the Lebanese people deserve better
We need to tell the old guard your time is up .
We need a new breed of leaders that will move this country forward
We the Lebanese have built other countries from scratch , have a disproportionate influence throughout the world but have failed badly in building a modern state in Lebanon
This Sunday don’t let anyone tell you to whom you should vote
Be free and exercise your right.

Vote your conscience

We should hold corrupt officials accountable. The electoral system they have created was intended for renewal and extension of corruption. Do not re-elect them.

Lets rebuild the Lebanon we deserve

*Ali Hussein is a Lebanese  political analyst who    is extremely concerned about the future of Lebanon