For Muslims across the world, Eid Al Adha festivities are synonymous with a lavish meal of home-cooked mutton.
But this year, many Lebanese will have to forgo meat altogether. Prices have soared in the past months and their purchasing power has plummeted.
“Eid? There is no Eid this year,” said the lone client at a butcher shop in Saida, in the south of the country. “I used to buy seven or eight kilos of meat that would last me two weeks. Now, I buy the same amount for one month.”
The price of mutton has more than quadrupled, from 7,000 Lebanese pounds a kilo to 33,000 Lebanese pounds, said the shop's owner, Muhammad Al Jamal.
As hyperinflation hits the country, basic goods have become unaffordable.
The local currency has crashed in a country that imports nearly everything it consumes. Meat, like baby milk or spare car parts, must be bought with dollars purchased on the black market, driving up prices. But salaries have not changed.
A sheep to slaughter for Eid now costs more than twice the monthly minimum wage, or 1.6 million Lebanese pounds.
“I have lost 70 per cent of my customers,” said Mr Al Jamal, who pulled out his mobile phone to show a video of an empty slaughterhouse in Saida shot one month ago. “Around 15 sheep and 40 cows would be slaughtered there a day. Look, there is nothing now,” he said.
To limit the spread of Covid-19, authorities implemented a five-day shutdown during Eid Al Adha, compounding the general feeling of hopelessness. “We will stay at home like poor people,” said Mr Al Jamal’s client, a father of two.
Half an hour south of Saida, in the city of Nabatieh, hundreds of people queued for free mutton and rice on Thursday.
“The last time I ate meat was five months ago,” said one woman, who declined to give her name, as she left with two kilos of mutton that she said she would freeze and cook in small portions to last her an entire month. “I can’t afford it, even at half price.”
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Eid Al Adha around the world
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A man offers Eid Al Adha prayers at the Thai Islamic Centre in Bangkok, Thailand. Reuters -
A child looks as Indonesians Muslims attend an Eid Al Adha prayer at the Baiturrahman grand mosque in Banda Aceh. AFP -
TOPSHOT - A cleric leads a prayer to celebrate Eid al-Adha at Maryam Mosque in the city of Caen northwestern France on July 31, 2020. Eid Al-Adha is celebrated each year by Muslims sacrificing various animals according to religious traditions, including cows, camels, goats and sheep. The festival marks the end of the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca and commemorates Prophet Abraham's readiness to sacrifice his son to show obedience to God. Mosques started to reopen as France eases lockdown measures after the spreading of the COVID-19 (novel coronavirus) while respecting barrier gestures. / AFP / Sameer Al-DOUMY -
Bosnian Muslims wearing face masks take part in the Eid Al-Adha prayer outside of Gazi-Husref Bey's mosque, in Sarajevo, on July 31, 2020 as a large number of believers remained on the outer perimeter of the mosque, due to limited numbers of attendants. Eid al-Adha, the Festival of Sacrifice, is celebrated throughout the Muslim world as a commemoration of Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son for God, and cows, camels, goats and sheep are traditionally slaughtered on the holiest day. / AFP / ELVIS BARUKCIC -
Nigerian Muslims are seen during Eid al-Adha prayers at the National Mosque, during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Abuja, Nigeria July 31, 2020. REUTERS/Afolabi Sotunde -
Muslim men take part in Eid Al-Adha prayer in a mosque in the village of Dinos near capital Podgorica on July 31, 2020. Eid al-Adha, the Festival of Sacrifice, is celebrated throughout the Muslim world as a commemoration of Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son for God, and cows, camels, goats and sheep are traditionally slaughtered on the holiest day. / AFP / Savo PRELEVIC -
epa08576317 Muslims wearing face mask gather and pray in a Turkish mosque to pray and mark the Muslim religious holiday of Eid aL-Adha, at the northern suburbs of Paris, France , 31 July 2020. Eid al-Adha is the holiest of the two Muslims holidays celebrated each year, it marks the yearly Muslim pilgrimage (Hajj) to visit Mecca, the holiest place in Islam. Muslims slaughter a sacrificial animal and split the meat into three parts, one for the family, one for friends and relatives, and one for the poor and needy. EPA/Mohammed Badra -
Muslim worshippers perform their prayer at the Mosque of Divinity in Dakar on July 31, 2020 ahead of prayers for the Muslim Eid al-Adha (Festival of Sacrifice), known as Tabaski in Western Africa. / AFP / JOHN WESSELS -
Muslim devotees wash their hand before attending Eid Al Adha prayers at Baiturrahman Grand Mosque, Banda Aceh, Indonesia. EPA -
Muslims offer prayers outside a mosque in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. AFP -
A Muslim woman takes a selfie after Eid Al Adha prayers at a mosque in Jakarta, Indonesia. AP Photo -
Muslim devotees pray outside a mosque in Taguig city, south of Manila, Philippines. EPA -
Indonesian families perform Eid Al Adha prayers with social distancing in Semarang, Central Java. AFP -
Muslims take part in Eid Al Adha prayers at Al Mashun Grand Mosque in Medan, North Sumatra, Indonesia. AP Photo -
Members of the Muslim community leave after Eid Al Adha prayers at the Auburn Gallipoli Mosque in Sydney, Australia. EPA -
People get on a truck as they travel back to their homes on the eve of the Muslim festival of Eid al-Adha or the festival of sacrifice, in Dhaka on July 31, 2020. Eid al-Adha, feast of the sacrifice, marks the end of the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca and commemorates Prophet Abraham's readiness to sacrifice his son to show obedience to Allah. / AFP / Munir Uz zaman / Munir Uz zaman -
A Palestinian lights fireworks to celebrate Eid Al Adha in Khan Younis town, southern Gaza Strip. EPA
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During the last Ramadan, a local NGO, Nabatieh First Aid, set up a tent in the city centre for people to buy half-price meat and vegetables every Sunday.
Volunteers selected 320 local families with an income lower than 350,000 Lebanese pounds a month to benefit from the discounted market which continued to operate after Ramadan. Goods were given away for free for Eid Al Adha.
“We help as much as we can, but of course, the need is greater than our capacities,” said Mahdi Sadek, a volunteer at Nabatieh First Aid, which is supported by private donations and is not politically affiliated. At the tent’s entrance, a desperate man waited, hoping that someone would give him medicine for his diabetic son even though the NGO distributes only food.
Salma Salloum, a 50-year-old pharmacy employee, told The National she could barely make ends meet for her family of three with her monthly salary of 700,000 Lebanese pounds. "I stopped buying meat from butchers when prices started going up," she said. "My salary is not enough to pay for electricity, water, and the private generator."
To have electricity round the clock, Lebanese households must subscribe to a private neighbourhood generator. Their charges have doubled recently because of a diesel shortage. Daily power cuts were the norm before the crisis, but they have increased to more than 20 hours a day.
“This is the first year that I cannot buy meat. Before, our salaries were sufficient. The dollar was at 1,500,” said Ali Chahrour, an employee at a local mosque, referring to the pound’s official peg to the American currency. For 22 years, it allowed the Lebanese to enjoy strong purchasing power. The remains in place officially but is rarely used in everyday life.
“Unfortunately, our officials stole from us,” Mr Chahrour said, echoing an oft-heard criticism of the Lebanon’s politicians. Although the economic situation is worsening by the day, the government has been unable to implement anti-corruption reforms that are demanded by the International Monetary Fund in exchange for a bailout.
“If they stay in power, our situation will worsen,” said Mr Chahrour. “We need reforms.”
Last October, hundreds of thousands of Lebanese took to the streets as the first cracks in the country’s economic model started to appear. For the first time, people of all religions hurled insults at the ruling political class, which has been in power for decades.
But the movement only lasted a few months. Most Shiite Muslims, who constitute roughly one third of Lebanon's population, quit protesting after a few weeks. The two parties that represent their community, Hezbollah and its ally Amal, criticised protesters. Some were offended by what they perceived as lack of respect for their leaders.
In some cities, including Nabatieh, an Amal stronghold, protesters were beaten. Activists accused supporters of the party, which did not comment on the incidents.
“I protested at the beginning, but then there were insults, and I stopped,” said Mr Chahrour. “A revolution should not be like that. It should be civilised.”
