The bread crisis in Baalbek-Hermel has worsened after one of the two functional bakeries was closed, leaving people desperately searching for alternatives to secure their livelihoods amidst the silence and absence of parliamentarians and officials regarding the humiliation faced by the residents. The simplest living essentials are lost, making bread increasingly difficult to obtain, as the people of Baalbek-Hermel have also lost numerous necessities since the onset of their ongoing crisis. They queue in humiliation in front of bakeries, a scene that has previously occurred with fuel and subsidized food items.
Residents flock to the only operational bakery in Baalbek, located in the commercial district, fulfilling needs that exceed its capacity. It cannot serve more than six hundred thousand people across the province, especially with the suspension of bread distribution to shops and supermarkets. While the Shamsin bakeries at the southern entrance of Baalbek used to accommodate a significant portion of the population from various towns and villages, they halted bread production due to the depletion of flour supplies, retaining other products until they secure enough flour to resume operations.
The dire situation in the province, where securing bread is impossible amidst the total absence of responsible officials advocating for supported flour to last a month, as stated by the Ministry of Economy, has driven residents to purchase traditional wood-fired bread, with prices for a loaf soaring to thirty thousand pounds yesterday. However, necessity compelled citizens to buy it. Many families have reverted to their traditions by preparing homemade bread on wood and gas stoves. To avoid the humiliation of queuing and not providing food for their children, many housewives have started making bread at home after purchasing flour according to their family’s financial capacity.
As flour becomes scarce in the bakeries, some traders and sellers have exploited the situation, increasing the price of a "sack" of flour to one million four hundred thousand pounds, which is sufficient for a month for a family of six. One woman we encountered purchasing flour by the kilogram mentioned that despite rising prices, it remains cheaper than bakery bread. "We cannot stand idle while our children are hungry without securing bread," she stated, thus beginning to prepare it at home on wood stoves due to the high price of gas.
In parallel, a number of residents in Baalbek organized a protest march against the bread crisis, electricity outages, and water scarcity, starting from the municipality of Baalbek in the Serail square. The march moved through the markets, involving several community leaders and Baalbek’s commercial and social figures, denouncing the long daily queues for bread, the decline in economic and living conditions, and continuous power cuts in Baalbek for about five days.
Spokesperson for the protesters, Mukhtar Hamid Bayyan, stated, "Days before the launch of the Baalbek International Festivals, the city of the sun has turned into a city of darkness and hunger. We find ourselves standing in humiliating queues to obtain bread for our children, and we do not know what festivals they are talking about without water, electricity, or bread in Baalbek." He confirmed preparations for a general strike if the basic service issues within the city are not resolved.
