IN a bleak world, while Afghanistan is rightly getting a lot of attention, there’s a common theme that runs through the tragedy there and several others: the international community has plenty of money for arms, less for aid and almost nothing for what many places need most: state-building.

The international community responds, shocked, to a flare up of one sort or another, yet attention and resources drop away once the crisis is over. Nowhere proves this better than Lebanon.

Two weeks ago marked the one-year anniversary of the Beirut port blast that killed more than 200 people and injured thousands more. At the time of the blast, it was felt that this was the nadir for Lebanon’s long-suffering people. Yet a year later, and not only does the damaged port remain unrepaired, but so do the rotten institutions of the state.

Lebanon is going through one of the most severe economic crises the world has seen in 150 years. Its GDP shrank by 20% last year. Inflation surged by 84% and is projected to be 100% this year. Its debt-to-GDP ratio is projected to be 197%. It defaulted on $1.2 billion of debt in March 2020. The currency has collapsed. Officially it remains pegged to the US dollar at 1500 Lebanese pounds; in reality, it now costs 20,000 Lebanese pounds for one US dollar on the black market.

The National: A protester in Zouk Mosbeh, Lebanon

The consequences of these faceless numbers are the destruction of people’s lives. More than half of the population lives below the poverty line. Shops are forced to close early when the power cuts out. A nurse’s monthly salary, once worth about £800, is now worth less than £50. Basic medical supplies are non-existent. Fuel is scarce, with people fighting over what little remains. In a fuel explosion on Sunday in Lebanon’s northern region of Akkar, at least 20 people were killed and 79 injured; yet local hospitals were unable to treat many of the injured because they lack the capabilities to treat severe burns.

Lebanon’s diaspora is three times larger than its population of around five million. It is only getting larger as many choose to emigrate rather than suffer in a broken state any longer. Those who cannot leave remain stuck in a place with no change, no hope and no future. Seventy-seven per cent of Lebanese youth want to leave the country. That’s a higher percentage than young Syrians who have been living in a country torn apart by civil war for 10 years or young Palestinians living in land occupied by Israel.

I have not even mentioned the 890,000 Syrian refugees which make up around 13% of Lebanon’s population, 89% of which live under the extreme poverty line. Having already fled one failed state, they are now trapped in another.

How did Lebanon get into such a mess?

After the civil war ended in 1990, many of the warlords became politicians. Lebanon’s political system of consociationalism ensures that all 18 religious groups are guaranteed representation in the government, military and civil service. It has also provided a convenient cover for plundering public funds and entrenching political patronage.

As such, despite money flooding into Lebanon, much of it was squandered by political elites. Bribery became rampant whilst talks of anti-corruption reform went nowhere. Political elites enriched themselves but bankrupted the state.

Things came to a head when protests rocked the country in 2019, after the government unveiled plans for a tax on WhatsApp calls. Elections were held for the first time in nine years, but the economic situation continued deteriorating. Inflows of dollars dried up and banks refused to allow people to withdraw dollars as the fiscal crisis spiralled out of control.

The National: Beirut explosion

Then, on August 4, 2020, there was the Beirut port blast. Lives were lost and infrastructure was destroyed. The destruction of Beirut’s harbour has become an ugly monument to the failures of Lebanon’s politicians.

On the contrary, the consequences of human greed were wholly predictable. As I noted this time last year, Lebanon needs significant assistance to strengthen democracy, the rule of law and address the issue of massive state and private debt. The international community has offered help on the condition that the Lebanese government engages in systematic reforms to tackle the culture of corruption.

Yet despite the dire straits the country finds itself in, the political system remains deadlocked. The cabinet that resigned in the aftermath of the Beirut blast remains in place as a caretaker government. Lebanon is now preparing for its third prime minister in as many years. The prime minister-designate also just so happens to be Lebanon’s richest man.

As for the UK’s role in resolving this crisis, it could do better. For the 2021/22 period, the UK will not be sending any bilateral overseas development assistance. It has also ended support for an International Rescue Committee-led project providing protection services to women and children in Lebanon.

Instead, it only chooses to do the bare minimum recommended by the UN. So much for Global Britain’s leadership prospects.

Scotland has a global solidarity. We are happy to be a refuge for those who need it whilst we continue to advocate passionately for democracy, rule of law and human rights. If the UK wants to be taken seriously, it must realise that working with others will be more successful than empty words and lonely posturing.