Due to the banks’ collusion with the political establishment by taking depositors’ money, incidents of bank storming are no longer uncommon in Lebanon.
The fact that the invasions of today were attributed to members of the Lebanese Parliament, however, is noteworthy. Cynthia Zarazer, a member of parliament from Lebanon, won $8000 after staging a sit-in inside a bank in north Beirut to demand a portion of her deposit.
In an interview with “Al Arabiya.
Representative Cynthia Zarazir, speaking from within the bank, affirmed that when the money was confiscated, the banks “placed the Lebanese in front of a fait accompli.”
She continued, saying that her situation is similar to that of all depositors who are unable to access their money, and that in addition to negotiating with the bank, she also wanted to get $8,500 of her deposit as part of the settlement.
She added that although there was no legal requirement for an emergency operation, she nonetheless filed a medical report from the hospital to the bank’s management at some point in the hopes of receiving a response, but to no avail.
She went on to say that she had tried every step that banks required depositors to take, including calling customer service, making an appointment, and so on, but to no avail. Finally, she decided to picket today and brought out the money.
She further emphasised that the sum she was requesting was merely a portion of the $8,500 deposit she had made to bridge the insurance gap between the House of Representatives and the hospital.
It is significant that locals and deputies gathered in support of the deputy in front of the bank.
While Deputy Zarzarzir was staging a sit-in inside the bank, depositors were storming various branches today to demand the recovery of their money and their lives.
More than ten depositors were obliged to enter various parts of Lebanon between the middle of last month and today in order to retrieve their deposits.
In light of the high cost of healthcare in Lebanon caused by the sharp increase in the black market dollar exchange rate, the loss of many medications from the market Mahls, and the requirement that patients purchase their medications in dollars, what was remarkable about the series of intrusions was the medical justifications of the intruders, if they stated that what they were doing was to cover the expenses of treatment for one of their family members.
Prior to Representative Zeraziri’s sit-in inside the bank, a similar operation was carried out yesterday, and its hero was the Honorary Consul of Ireland, George Siam, who stayed inside a bank for approximately 8 hours before coming to an agreement with the management of the bank to release some of his money.
MP Al-Mu’tasem in Beirut received a portion of her deposit and graduated.
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