While the Lebanese face hard times with their daily bread becoming scarce, smuggling remains "operational," this time affecting flour as well as bread. However, the big scandal is the failure of those in charge to take any action against the smugglers and those behind them, especially since all information, details, and names are available to all agencies. The smuggler in Lebanon is not a ghost but rather a "shabby" figure, and sometimes reaches a position of authority. Numerous reports have been filed with the judiciary, yet no action has been taken while those concerned pass the responsibility around, raising many questions about the entities that hold such power over the judiciary to tie it up in this manner. How long will "drawers" accommodate cases that could protect the Lebanese in their time of utmost need for basic means of resilience?
Among these reports was one submitted by the Secretary of the Democratic Gathering bloc, MP Hadi Abu al-Hasan, to the Court of Cassation in May 2020 regarding the smuggling of diesel and flour to Syria. What has become of this report after two years? Abu al-Hasan states in a conversation with MTV: "I submitted the report on behalf of the Democratic Gathering about two years ago and included the names of the crossings while relying on media reports that raised the issue. I visited the Prosecutor General, Judge Ghassan Oueidat, and demanded the government of Hassan Diab and the Higher Defense Council at the time to take practical and serious steps in this regard. After a while, I followed up with the Prosecutor General, and he informed me that he had referred the report to the relevant authorities, to our surprise, no practical measures have been taken at this level by the competent agencies, and not a single smuggler has been arrested."
But what is the reason, and who are the ones controlling everything in the country? Abu al-Hasan answers: "From our point of view, this issue is covered by political protection, and it is controlled by a network of local and regional interests. There are considerations for smugglers for various reasons, and a network of interests extends from Lebanon to Syria. This smuggling occurs in both directions, namely the smuggling of subsidized goods from Lebanon to Syria and the smuggling of products entering through Syria without tax duties to the Lebanese state, causing additional bleeding that costs the Lebanese treasury two billion dollars annually, as acknowledged by the World Bank. As for the smuggling from Lebanon abroad, it has cost us more than 15 billion dollars in support funded by the Lebanese people's money, and this is what we warned against and worked to prevent."
He explained that "when we called for tightening control over the crossings and submitted reports and followed up on the issue, we accompanied this matter with a plan to rationalize support which we presented as the Democratic Gathering bloc. The two issues are intertwined; support was lifted after the Lebanese people's funds were exhausted, with 70 percent of it wasted on smuggling while one person claimed this is the lifeblood from which this joint alliance between the Syrian regime and its allies in Lebanon breathes." He added, "We called for an end to smuggling, but we also insisted on rationalizing support to protect the deposits that have been squandered due to mismanagement and the absence of decisions, with those opposing the rationalization decision being the President of the Republic, Hassan Diab, and the president's allies who are allies of the Syrian regime."
It is true that support has been lifted from most foodstuffs and goods, but unfortunately, smuggling has not stopped, and it still threatens the last subsidized materials like flour, with Abu al-Hasan revealing that "30 percent of the subsidized Lebanese flour is smuggled to Syria, in addition to bread bundles." He considers this a "scandal that adds to the report we submitted two years ago; this statement itself is a report on which the Court of Cassation and the relevant authorities should act. It is, in fact, a blatant theft of the Lebanese people's money."
There is an overreach against the citizen, Abu al-Hasan concludes, adding, "If a citizen wants to build a small room next to his house, all security agencies show up, but no one sees the trucks loaded with flour and previously those carrying fuel across the borders." This is another cry added to the voices raised for years, and we do not know if it will help to pass it on to someone or to demand it be considered a report; surely the "drawer" for reports can no longer accommodate more.
