Beirut: Lyell Assad was already tired of Lebanon’s devastating two-year economic collapse. Now, as Russia’s invasion Ukraine With food and energy prices soaring even higher, she finds herself struggling to put food on the table for her family of four.
The 48-year-old housewife recently stood in the aisle of a supermarket in front of a gallon of cooking oil, saying, “Even bread is not something whose prices have reached all-time highs. ”
From Lebanon, Iraq and Syria to Sudan and Yemen, millions of people Middle East Those whose lives were already affected by conflict, displacement and poverty, are now wondering where their next meal will come from. Ukraine and Russia account for a third of global wheat and barley exports, which Middle Eastern countries rely on to feed the millions who subsist on subsidized bread and bargain noodles. They are also top exporters of sunflower seed oil used for other cereals and cooking.
Even before the war in Ukraine, people in the countries of the Middle East and North Africa were not getting enough food to eat. Now with trade disruptions resulting from conflict, more items are either becoming unavailable or unavailable.
“Simply put, people cannot afford food of the quality or quantity that they need, which are in conflict—and are at greatest risk in crisis-affected countries,” it said. lama fakihoDirector of Middle East and North Africa at Human Rights Watch.
Similar circumstances led to a series of uprisings known as the Arab Spring that began in late 2010, when skyrocketing bread prices fueled anti-government protests in the Middle East, noted Kristalina GeorgievaManaging Director of the International Monetary Fund.
“When prices rise, and poor people cannot feed their families, they will be in the streets,” Georgieva remarked Sunday at the Doha Forum, a policy conference in Qatar. In Iraq and Sudan, public frustration over food prices and a lack of government services has led to street protests on several occasions over the past several weeks.
Fakih said, “People have a right to food, and governments must do everything in their power to protect that right, otherwise we risk not only food insecurity but also the insecurity and instability that leads to severe deprivation on this scale.” can trigger.”
The war has also given rise to concerns that much of the international aid on which many people in the Arab world depend will be diverted to Ukraine, where more than 3.7 million people have fled the war since World War II. Europe’s biggest migration.
An analysis released by Carnegie Middle stated, “For the millions of Palestinians, Lebanese, Yemenis, Syrians and others who live in countries facing conflict, devastating economic downturns and growing humanitarian needs, this is the reason for the closure of vital life support.” would be equivalent to doing.” Eastern expert last week.
14.6 million people in Syria will be dependent on aid this year, 9 percent more than in 2021 and 32 percent more than in 2020, Joyce MsuyaThe United NationsAssistant Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs and Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator, told united nations security council in February.
In Yemen, after seven years of war, it is becoming increasingly difficult to meet the basic needs of millions of poor people. A recent report by the United Nations and international aid groups estimated that more than 160,000 people in Yemen were likely to experience a famine-like situation in 2022. Because of the war in Ukraine, this number could still rise much higher. The UN appeal for the country earlier this month raised $1.3 billion, less than a third of what was sought.
“I have nothing,” said Ghalib al-Najjar, a 48-year-old father from Yemen, whose family lives in a refugee camp outside the rebel-held capital Sanaa since more than four battles broke out in their middle-class neighborhood . year ago. “I want flour, a package of flour. I want rice. I want sugar. I want what people need (to survive).”
In Lebanon, which has been reeling under economic collapse for the past two years, a population starved of electricity, medicine and gasoline has created panic.
In 2020, a major explosion at the port of Beirut destroyed the country’s main grain reserves. Now, with only six weeks of wheat stock, many fear even more in the days to come. There was no flour and corn oil in many large supermarkets this week.
“Whatever is put on the shelves is being bought,” said Honey Bohslik, Head of the Food Importers Syndicate. He said 60 percent of the cooking oil consumed in Lebanon comes from Ukraine and the rest mostly from Russia.
“It’s not a small problem,” he said. Bohsali said alternative places were on to import essential products, but added that other countries have either banned food exports or raised prices significantly.
Meanwhile, the price of 5 liters (1 gallon) of cooking oil in Lebanon is now the equivalent of the monthly minimum wage, which is still fixed at 675,000 Lebanese pounds, or $29, despite the currency losing almost its value since October. 90 percent is lost. 2019. 2019. Families, including Aswad, are spending the bulk of their monthly income on neighborhood generators that light their homes for most of the day in the absence of state-supplied electricity. Even those people are now threatening to shut down saying that they can no longer afford to buy fuel from the market.
“We’re back in the Stone Age, stocking up on things like candles and toast and Picon (a processed cheese brand),” Aswad said.
In Syria, where more than 11 years of brutal war has left more than 90 percent of the country’s population living in poverty, products like cooking oil – when they can be found – have doubled in price in the month since the war. had begun. Ukraine. Recently at a government cooperative in the capital of Damascus, shelves were almost empty except for sugar and napkins.
Egypt, the world’s top importer of wheat, is among the most vulnerable. According to official figures, the country is under increasing economic pressure, including rising inflation, where nearly a third of the population of more than 103 million lives below the poverty line.
An Associated Press journalist who visited markets in three different middle-class neighborhoods in Cairo earlier this month found that the price of food staples such as bread – items that Egyptians called “ish” or life It is said that it has increased to 50 percent. Inflation is likely to increase further due to the coming holy month of Ramadan, which is usually a time of increased demand.
Consumers have accused traders of taking advantage of the war in Ukraine to raise prices, although they have not yet been affected. “They profit from our pain,” lamented Doa al-Sayed, an Egyptian primary school teacher and mother of three. “I have to cut down on everything I used to buy,” she said.
In Libya, a country stricken by a year-long civil war, the latest spike in food prices has people worried that tough times are ahead. And in Gaza, prices began to rise after the war in Ukraine, posing an added challenge to the 2 million residents of the impoverished Palestinian enclave, who have endured years of blockades and conflict.
Faik Abu Aqr, a Gaza businessman, imports staples such as cooking oil, lentils and pasta from a Turkish company. When the company canceled the cooking oil contract after the war broke out, Aker turned to Egypt. But despite the country’s proximity to Gaza, prices there were even higher. A can of four bottles of cooking oil now costs $26, more than double the price before the war. “In 40 years of my business, I have never seen such a crisis,” he said.
The 48-year-old housewife recently stood in the aisle of a supermarket in front of a gallon of cooking oil, saying, “Even bread is not something whose prices have reached all-time highs. ”
From Lebanon, Iraq and Syria to Sudan and Yemen, millions of people Middle East Those whose lives were already affected by conflict, displacement and poverty, are now wondering where their next meal will come from. Ukraine and Russia account for a third of global wheat and barley exports, which Middle Eastern countries rely on to feed the millions who subsist on subsidized bread and bargain noodles. They are also top exporters of sunflower seed oil used for other cereals and cooking.
Even before the war in Ukraine, people in the countries of the Middle East and North Africa were not getting enough food to eat. Now with trade disruptions resulting from conflict, more items are either becoming unavailable or unavailable.
“Simply put, people cannot afford food of the quality or quantity that they need, which are in conflict—and are at greatest risk in crisis-affected countries,” it said. lama fakihoDirector of Middle East and North Africa at Human Rights Watch.
Similar circumstances led to a series of uprisings known as the Arab Spring that began in late 2010, when skyrocketing bread prices fueled anti-government protests in the Middle East, noted Kristalina GeorgievaManaging Director of the International Monetary Fund.
“When prices rise, and poor people cannot feed their families, they will be in the streets,” Georgieva remarked Sunday at the Doha Forum, a policy conference in Qatar. In Iraq and Sudan, public frustration over food prices and a lack of government services has led to street protests on several occasions over the past several weeks.
Fakih said, “People have a right to food, and governments must do everything in their power to protect that right, otherwise we risk not only food insecurity but also the insecurity and instability that leads to severe deprivation on this scale.” can trigger.”
The war has also given rise to concerns that much of the international aid on which many people in the Arab world depend will be diverted to Ukraine, where more than 3.7 million people have fled the war since World War II. Europe’s biggest migration.
An analysis released by Carnegie Middle stated, “For the millions of Palestinians, Lebanese, Yemenis, Syrians and others who live in countries facing conflict, devastating economic downturns and growing humanitarian needs, this is the reason for the closure of vital life support.” would be equivalent to doing.” Eastern expert last week.
14.6 million people in Syria will be dependent on aid this year, 9 percent more than in 2021 and 32 percent more than in 2020, Joyce MsuyaThe United NationsAssistant Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs and Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator, told united nations security council in February.
In Yemen, after seven years of war, it is becoming increasingly difficult to meet the basic needs of millions of poor people. A recent report by the United Nations and international aid groups estimated that more than 160,000 people in Yemen were likely to experience a famine-like situation in 2022. Because of the war in Ukraine, this number could still rise much higher. The UN appeal for the country earlier this month raised $1.3 billion, less than a third of what was sought.
“I have nothing,” said Ghalib al-Najjar, a 48-year-old father from Yemen, whose family lives in a refugee camp outside the rebel-held capital Sanaa since more than four battles broke out in their middle-class neighborhood . year ago. “I want flour, a package of flour. I want rice. I want sugar. I want what people need (to survive).”
In Lebanon, which has been reeling under economic collapse for the past two years, a population starved of electricity, medicine and gasoline has created panic.
In 2020, a major explosion at the port of Beirut destroyed the country’s main grain reserves. Now, with only six weeks of wheat stock, many fear even more in the days to come. There was no flour and corn oil in many large supermarkets this week.
“Whatever is put on the shelves is being bought,” said Honey Bohslik, Head of the Food Importers Syndicate. He said 60 percent of the cooking oil consumed in Lebanon comes from Ukraine and the rest mostly from Russia.
“It’s not a small problem,” he said. Bohsali said alternative places were on to import essential products, but added that other countries have either banned food exports or raised prices significantly.
Meanwhile, the price of 5 liters (1 gallon) of cooking oil in Lebanon is now the equivalent of the monthly minimum wage, which is still fixed at 675,000 Lebanese pounds, or $29, despite the currency losing almost its value since October. 90 percent is lost. 2019. 2019. Families, including Aswad, are spending the bulk of their monthly income on neighborhood generators that light their homes for most of the day in the absence of state-supplied electricity. Even those people are now threatening to shut down saying that they can no longer afford to buy fuel from the market.
“We’re back in the Stone Age, stocking up on things like candles and toast and Picon (a processed cheese brand),” Aswad said.
In Syria, where more than 11 years of brutal war has left more than 90 percent of the country’s population living in poverty, products like cooking oil – when they can be found – have doubled in price in the month since the war. had begun. Ukraine. Recently at a government cooperative in the capital of Damascus, shelves were almost empty except for sugar and napkins.
Egypt, the world’s top importer of wheat, is among the most vulnerable. According to official figures, the country is under increasing economic pressure, including rising inflation, where nearly a third of the population of more than 103 million lives below the poverty line.
An Associated Press journalist who visited markets in three different middle-class neighborhoods in Cairo earlier this month found that the price of food staples such as bread – items that Egyptians called “ish” or life It is said that it has increased to 50 percent. Inflation is likely to increase further due to the coming holy month of Ramadan, which is usually a time of increased demand.
Consumers have accused traders of taking advantage of the war in Ukraine to raise prices, although they have not yet been affected. “They profit from our pain,” lamented Doa al-Sayed, an Egyptian primary school teacher and mother of three. “I have to cut down on everything I used to buy,” she said.
In Libya, a country stricken by a year-long civil war, the latest spike in food prices has people worried that tough times are ahead. And in Gaza, prices began to rise after the war in Ukraine, posing an added challenge to the 2 million residents of the impoverished Palestinian enclave, who have endured years of blockades and conflict.
Faik Abu Aqr, a Gaza businessman, imports staples such as cooking oil, lentils and pasta from a Turkish company. When the company canceled the cooking oil contract after the war broke out, Aker turned to Egypt. But despite the country’s proximity to Gaza, prices there were even higher. A can of four bottles of cooking oil now costs $26, more than double the price before the war. “In 40 years of my business, I have never seen such a crisis,” he said.