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Exile and desperation
In Tripoli, a clandestine departure from the port carried about a fifty people, including Samir, a Lebanese army retiree whose pension was “correct” before the economic crisis that erupted in 2019.
“La nuit est tombée sur Tripoli”
After the Lebanese pound “dévisse encore et encore,” Samir said he had to seek a visa to try his chance abroad, but he received a refusal and became “prisonnier de son pays.”
To attempt a crossing, Samir bought a pleasure boat with other Lebanese without double nationalities to reach Italy’s coasts and then Germany by land, but the attempt ended in an arrest in Greek waters and a return to Lebanon by plane from Turkey at the expense of those involved.
Samir returned with “les mains vides” after selling all his property to pay for the journey, and he now juggles two jobs as a tourist guide and a concierge.
“Pour survivre, il faut soit travailler 24/24h, soit voler,” said Samir in the account of life in Lebanon’s streets where bank walls and shop windows are covered with graffiti calling for revolution.
CMA CGM in Beirut
CMA CGM, backed by Emmanuel Macron, won the bid to manage the container terminal of the Port of Beirut, with a contract lasting 10 years and an investment of 33 million dollars.
The lobbying described in Mondafrique began during Macron’s trip to Lebanon immediately after the explosion of the Port of Beirut, and “Dix huit mois plus tard” CMA CGM won the largest terminal of the Port of Beytouth.
Mondafrique says the terminal of the Port of Beirut is equipped with 16 “grues géantes,” and that the contract would begin in March 2022 while extending for 10 years.
It also states that the group acquired in 2021 all shares of the terminal operator in Tripoli, the Sunni Lebanese capital at the border with Syria, and that the minister Ali Hamié—described as close to Hezbollah—announced the bid results during a press conference in his ministry office.
In the same account, Mondafrique says CMA CGM built and rebuilt a headquarters after 4 août 2020 and established a “port sec” in the Békaa to be closer to regional producers.
Tripoli port milestone
In North Lebanon, Tripoli port marked a milestone on Monday by welcoming the largest container ship ever to dock at Lebanon’s second port, with port officials and CMA CGM Tripoli present.
“NORTH LEBANON — Under clear skies on Monday, Tripoli port marked a milestone as it welcomed the largest container ship ever to dock at Lebanon’s second port, in the presence of port officials and CMA CGM Tripoli”
L’Orient Today quotes Iskandar Bandalai, chairman of the port’s board of directors, saying, “It took several months of preparation and training to carry out this maneuver ... safely and in accordance with international standards.”
Bandali also thanked Public Works and Transport Minister Fayez Rasamny for giving the board of directors and port management the “freedom of action” to implement development strategies for the infrastructure.
The article also quotes Charlie Darazi, executive director of CMA CGM Tripoli, describing the event as embodying “a successful example of collaboration between the public and private.”
L’Orient Today frames the docking as a development step for the port in Tripoli, tying the milestone to the presence of CMA CGM Tripoli and the participation of port officials.
