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Shortages affect life in Beirut

Atul Aneja

War triggers exodus of the brightest men and women

BEIRUT: After 20 days of war, a shortage of essentials is beginning to hit Beirut. On the roads, vehicles have begun to thin out with each passing day, as fuel becomes scarce.

"I have been allowed to sell six litres to individuals and a maximum of 20 for taxis," says Jamil Matta, owner of a Beirut petrol station.

He added that fuel rationing might also not work for long. "I have only 3,000 litres available in reserves.

The Government might announce a hike in price and, then, we might see more fuel released in the market, says a petrol station owner who introduced himself as Toufic. He said at the port there was enough fuel in storage tanks to last for at least three weeks.

Flight of tourists

On a normal day, that amount would last me only half-a-day."

Some owners, however, say that vested interests have inflated the fuel crisis.

However, private traders, wishing to profit from the shortages, did not want that released. "Maybe, the army should do something or the United Nations, I don't know who," he says shaking his head in dismay.

Already hit by the flight of tourists, fuel shortages are threatening to put an army of cab drivers out of business. Economists point out that at peak time, the tourism industry employs around one lakh people — not a small number for the country of the size of Lebanon.

While wartime speculation might be a factor, most locals blame the economic blockade that Israel has imposed upon Lebanon for the shortages.

There are signs that Israel's economic stranglehold, seen as part of its policy of collective punishment, might tighten in the coming days.

The war is also threatening to trigger an exodus of some of Lebanon's brightest men and women.

In the words of Roy Harb, a businessman, who was seeking a visa to go abroad, many young people were migrating to Dubai.

As the "brain drain" from Lebanon threatens to accelerate, the question many ask is: Who will replace these individuals? Eventually, will the Shias, the relatively poor but hard-core followers of Hizbollah, find a place in Lebanon's new elite?

Rice proposes plan

In Israel, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice proposed a three-part plan that envisages a ceasefire and an agreement on political principles that would underpin a long-term settlement.

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