Lebanese condemn lavish US embassy in Beirut
1 min read 16 May 2023, 03:44 AM ISTThe US is building a massive new embassy on a 43-acre lot at a cost of estimated $1 billon in Beirut
PremiumThe US is building a massive new embassy on a 43-acre lot at a cost of estimated $1 billon in Beirut, Lebanon.
Lebanese on Twitter have condemned the lavish building.
A Twitter user said, “Did the US move to Lebanon??"
“Let them eat concrete," another Twitter user said.
“Maybe you’ll have enough room to work on all those pending visa applications," tweeted Abed A. Ayoub, national executive director of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee.
The new embassy is located approximately 8 miles from downtown Beirut.
The new embassy includes community plaza, offices, a recreational pool area and more. The campus employs resources that are sustainable in nature. It also includes lighting controls, solar adaptive shades, sound masking systems, flexible furniture.
Currently, the US has a Level 3 travel warning which urges Americans to reconsider traveling to Lebanon due to “crime, terrorism, armed conflict, civil unrest, kidnapping and Embassy Beirut’s limited capacity to provide support to US citizens."
Lebanon's economy is in shambles after the 2020 Beirut blast and the COVID pandemic.
According to Human Rights Watch, “Over 70 per cent of [Lebanese] households said they were always behind on basic expenses or having difficulty making ends meet."
More than a third of Lebanese households with children said they were having difficulty paying for their children’s school meals.
Most of the population in Lebanon lives below the poverty line.
Four out of 10 households in Lebanon earn less than $100 per month. The median income ranges from $78 per month to $157.
Lebanon is home to about only 6 million people.
