Having robbed her own bank to withdraw her money, the activist tried to alert the public authorities to the desperate financial situation of many Lebanese. A gesture that is emulated.
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This Wednesday, September 14, promised to be a new day in slow motion at Sodeco Square, a Beirut shopping center: since 2019, many shops have closed under the effect of the economic and financial crisis that strikes Lebanon. It was that day that Sali Hafez chose to force the door of the Blom Bank, located on the street. Essence is sprayed on the scene, according to witnesses. Standing on a desk against petrified employees, the young woman dressed in black brandishes a revolver. “I came today (…) to recover my sister’s money who is dying in the hospital,” she said in a video of the robbery that she broadcasts live on social networks. Just over 13,000 dollars – out of the 20,000 detainees with his sister – are given to him. Sali flees. She will later assure her pistol was a toy borrowed from her nephew.
a beirthine on the run
Sali Hafez, 28, grew up in Beirut, where she lives. The interior designer has been working in freelance but has not had any projects for two months and has in debt. “It belongs to a large and united siblings, from a family that lived comfortably before the crisis,” said one of her friends. But the clan has been facing colossal expenses since the discovery seven months ago, one of Sali’s sisters. His family even had to sell goods to pay the operation in emergency but the sums necessary for treatment are impossible to withdraw: banks have imposed drastic restrictions on customer accounts since 2019, without legal framework. Shortly before his radical gesture, Sali said he was ready to die so that Zeina could be treated. Now on the run, the young woman has maintained contact with her lawyers.
the cry of a collective
Two associations, the cry of depositors (which Sali had recently joined) and Moutahidoun, claimed the organization of the punch operation. Indeed, before taking action, Sali was concerted with these activists as well as a lawyer. “Sali was very determined,” said one of these groups. The interior designer, aged 28, is known for her commitment: she demonstrated with the families of victims of the double explosion at the port of Beirut, with savers … During the fall of 2019, Sali Hafez had participated in the Large movement of protest against the political class at the heart of the capital.
a popular heroine
The robbery led by Sali Hafez to “claim [s] on rights” has aroused the sympathy of many Lebanese. The fate of her sister Zeina moves. The Lebanese recognize themselves in humiliation and despair described by Sali in the face of the obstruction of the banks. Before her, two savers, provided with a real weapon, had stormed their banking agency to obtain their money. Since then, five similar hold-ups have taken place on September 16. Several collectives of depositors campaign so that more fair rules are found for individuals: these groups envisage actions before the home of bankers. But the authorities have promised to harden the answer, and the banks, which denounce these hostage -taking, intend to barricade themselves more.