Behind the talk

ENAR

April was a milestone month, not one of celebration but of remembrance. Forty-three years ago last month is considered the start of the country’s civil war that drove many Lebanese to emigrate, displaced others, and killed many more, in addition to the 17,000 who cannot be accounted for. Beside the human toll, the civil war destroyed the country and ruined the economy. From our point of view, and it is not an uncommon one, Lebanon has still not recovered nearly three decades after militia leaders agreed to end the fighting and share the spoils of peace among themselves. Lebanon’s situation is dire as the economy is nearing a breaking point. The prospects for the next few years, which have recently been put by the World Bank at 2 percent real annual growth, cannot alleviate the fears of the Lebanese people. As the World Bank’s MENA Economic Monitor indicates, our country’s