Beirut 2020: Diary of the Collapse

Lebanon, once a jewel of the Middle East, has become synonymous with decline and state capture and nothing captured that more than when over 2,000 pounds of ammonia nitrate exploded in Beirut, killing hundreds and rending the fabric of society even further. Award-winning author Charif Majdalani started recording his thoughts about the current situation in Lebanon and actually began the work a couple of months before the explosion. He details how successive governments have stripped the country, how nothing works, and no one is ever held responsible for the situation. He describes the country as a mafia-like kingdom, and that is exactly what it has been since the end of the civil war in 1990. Readers will learn about how inconveniences can become tragedies, and the effort needed to keep some semblance of order slowly slip into the sea. The country was already on the verge of total collapse, with a worthless currency, crippled banks, and no jobs or prospects. Young people are chronicled leaving the country en masse, leaving a remnant that is both poorer and more at risk of total state failure.