In its 20 years of reporting, rarely has this magazine witnessed a Lebanon that feels as vulnerable as it does today. It seems that the Lebanese citizen has totally surrendered under the weight of seven long years of geopolitical turmoil, which has depleted our self-confidence and enthusiasm along with our economic resources and infrastructure. The little excitement and hope for a better Lebanon that accompanied this year’s elections were quickly replaced with a bitter reality that confirmed the return of the same old faces. Lebanon is once again hijacked politically and economically, and is being used as a bargaining chip on negotiation tables by global powers that have no regard whatsoever for our lives, hopes, aspirations, or dignity. Lebanon’s private sector has never been deterred or discouraged in the absence of a government, which has always been perceived as irrelevant relative to our larger-than-life resilience and ambition. Not anymore. We’ve
