Worse than weapons

The war years in Lebanon were particularly ugly near the end. I was 16 years old when the bottom fell out from under the lira, and the currency collapse changed everything. People lost their jobs. Wealth vanished. Desperation reigned. We were used to being terrorized by bombs, bullets and ever-accurate mortar shells. Financial terrorism proved even worse. Crooks preyed on distressed and vulnerable people who, even if they might have known better, still fell for their scams. Fear that your family would starve or be pushed onto the street, however, did not inspire the best decisions. Criminality was everywhere. Certain unscrupulous types were approving loans they knew would fail to get their hands on land or property at obscenely low prices. It was a morality-free zone. Last December, seeing an advertisement designed to dupe people who lack a social safety net brought back some of my worst memories. We’ve been