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Bartering in Lebanon is nothing new (see ‘Barter frenzy’,October 1999). In fact, it is common in construction,advertising and insurance, where goods and services aretraded in a cashless transaction. For example, …

As darkness descends on Beirut’sinternational airport, couriers arebusy clearing incoming shipments.Enter one colonel from the army’s customsbrigade. He barks orders that shipmentsover 20 kilos should be stopped, quoting anobscure 1959 …