FILE PHOTO: A man counts Lebanese pounds at a currency exchange shop in Beirut, Lebanon October 1, 2020. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
Fouad Khamasi fills his taxi every day with about 40,000 Lebanese pounds' worth of fuel. It could cost at least four times that much if subsidies come to an end.
The Beirut cab driver, 53, can just about afford to buy fuel and feed his kids. He worries the price of subsidized foods and key imports - wheat, fuel, medicine - will skyrocket.
"These are the toughest days I've ever seen," Reuters quoted him as saying. "Some days, you stick your hand in your pocket and find nothing ... I leave the house and just pray. Whatever I make, it does nothing. It's a joke."
Time and money are running out for Lebanon.
Foreign reserves have dropped far below what the state already deemed "dangerous levels" when it defaulted on its huge debt in March, meaning it cannot afford to keep subsidies for long.
Leaders in power for decades have yet to enact a financial rescue plan, a year after huge protests against them swept the country, and they have failed to secure aid from foreign donors.
Talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) stalled earlier this year when Lebanese government officials, bankers and political parties could not agree over how big the losses were in the financial system and who should bear them.
After a massive explosion at Beirut's port in August that killed nearly 200 people and caused billions of dollars worth of damage, France stepped in.
But rival sectarian politicians could not get past the first hurdle on the French roadmap towards financial aid: naming a new cabinet quickly.
The currency, which has lost more than 80% of its value against the US dollar since last autumn, weakened after the French effort faltered.
Meanwhile, comments from officials indicating an end to some subsidies within months have triggered panic buying, raising the specter of food shortages and a more dramatic crash in the currency.
In the nation of some six million people, more than 55% of whom are below the poverty line, many are bracing for hunger and cold as winter looms.
"Everything that happened since last October could have been avoidable," Nasser Saidi, a former vice central bank governor, told Reuters.
He said targeted aid to the poorest Lebanese would be more effective than subsidies across the board, which had benefited smugglers taking goods into Syria.
"It's all kicking the can down the road. What should have been done is a full economic and financial plan," Saidi said.
Importers of key commodities said they had not been given a timeline to plan for how long subsidies could last.
Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh has said the bank could not finance trade indefinitely, although he gave no timeframe.
President Michel Aoun said recently of reserves: "The money will run out. What can we say?"
An official source close to the government told Reuters the money left for subsidies would last six more months by cutting support for some goods.
The state, which critics say is mired in corruption, and the paralyzed banking sector, its biggest creditor, have traded blame for the crisis.
Meanwhile, the wealth gap, already one of the region's largest, widens. In a country that relies heavily on imports and produces little, prices for many items including diapers have tripled.
In Beirut, men and women, some with young children, can often be seen digging for food in dumpsters near city intersections.
Two months after the port blast, Lebanese expect life to get even harder.
Many families now rely on charity. The meltdown could render people more dependent on political factions for aid and security, in a throwback to the militia days of the civil war.
Some analysts have warned that security forces, their wages fast losing value, would not be able to contain rising unrest. Hospitals fighting a surge in COVID-19 cases are overstretched. Fuel shortages have left city streets dark. Cars line up at petrol stations for rationed fuel.
"We're scared we won't be able to go on," said Siham Itani, a pharmacist who fears price hikes and being robbed. She said supplies of insulin and blood pressure medication had dwindled.
Another pharmacist said a masked man had held her up at gunpoint, asking for baby food.
Mostafa al-Mohalhal, who at 62 suffers from diabetes, stored four insulin vials in his fridge, but the daily power cuts spoiled them.
"If the price rises, how will I pay for them?" he said. "People will die in the streets."
Jamal Mustafa: Saddam and Other Iraqi Officials Headed to the Gallows with Heads Held Highhttps://english.aawsat.com/features/5085096-jamal-mustafa-saddam-and-other-iraqi-officials-headed-gallows-heads-held-high
Jamal Mustafa: Saddam and Other Iraqi Officials Headed to the Gallows with Heads Held High
Jamal Mustafa al-Sultan. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Saddam Hussein’s entourage never expected that they would one day find themselves in jail. It never occurred to them that the American military machine would use all of its might to oust Saddam’s regime and overthrow the ruling party and army. They never believed that forces allied to Iran would assume positions of power in the new regime.
Times changed and Saddam, who controlled the fate of the nation and its people, found himself in prison where he counted the days until his execution. The man was unyielding until his last breath and his will remained unbroken.
The men who made up the Revolutionary Command Council or government soon found themselves in prison. They were interrogated by the Americans and Iraqis and a death sentence was always going to be their fate.
In the second installment of his interview to Asharq Al-Awsat, Dr. Jamal Mustafa al-Sultan, late Iraqi President Saddam Hussein’s son-in-law and second secretary, recalled the execution of his colleagues and relatives. He also recalled how he married Hala, the youngest of Saddam’s daughters, and how the late president acted around his family, away from state affairs.
Other officials who were held along with Saddam included “Vice President Taha Yassin Ramadan, my uncle and member of the Revolutionary Command Council Ali Hussein al-Majid, my other uncle Abed Hassan al-Majid, head of the Revolutionary Command Council Awad al-Bandar, Saddam’s half-brother Barzan Ibrahim al-Hassan, Secretary Abed Hammoud and aide to the intelligence chief Farouk Hijazi,” said Mustafa.
He showed Asharq Al-Awsat a video that recently came to light of Khodair al-Khozaei, the former vice president during the American occupation. “In it, he said that he saw no justification for the death sentence against Abed Hammoud. Most dangerous of all, he confessed that he visited Iran and consulted with a judicial official, who encouraged him to sign the death sentence, which he did,” added Mustafa.
“The truth is that we sensed from the beginning that our trial was a means of revenge acting at Iran’s orders. One day, Abed Hammoud was informed that he was going to be moved to hospital and later that day the guards informed us that he was executed,” he continued.
“Mr. President (Saddam) expected to be executed. The truth is that his very existence, whether in jail or otherwise, was a source of concern for them. I can firmly attest that the members of the leadership bravely faced their death sentence. None of them showed any weakness or faltered,” he revealed.
He recalled the day they informed Barzan and Awad that they were going to be executed. “I was working out with al-Bandar when we received the news. I am not exaggerating when I say that he maintained his optimism even in that moment. They were executed the next day. Days later, I learned that Abed Hassan al-Majid, Farouk Hijazi and Hadi Hassan, an intelligence officer, were executed,” Mustafa said.
“Let me tell you what used to happen. One day, they came up with false charges that before the US occupation, I gave Mr. Khamis al-Khanjar (a Sunni politician) a sum of 250,000 dollars. Of course, the charge is baseless. They told me that I would remain in jail for life if I did not confess to the charge. I refused and told them that I enjoyed normal relations with Khanjar,” he went on to say.
“They later came up with a different scenario. They told me that they would take me to the Iraqi embassy in Jordan if I confessed to the charge and that I would late be released in Amman with a hefty sum of money. I told them that I would reject whatever they have to offer because I would not abandon my values to betray Khanjar, who was a friend,” he stated.
“They later accused me of complicity in the draining of the Mesopotamian Marshes, which I had nothing to do with,” he added.
Saddam Hussein with his daughter Hala in this undated photo. (Getty Images)
First call after Saddam’s execution
Mustafa recalled the first telephone call he had with his wife Hala and her mother, Sajida Khairallah Talfah, right after Saddam’s execution. “Five days after Mr. President’s martyrdom, I contacted my family. I spoke with my wife, and she was in very good spirits. She had very high faith and patience. I asked her about her mother, and she reassured me that she was also doing very well despite the pain,” he said.
“I pray that Gold Almighty will give her health and a long life. We have always derived our strength from her. My mother-in-law lost her two sons, Uday and Qusay, and then her husband. She had played a major role in supporting her husband from the beginning of his struggle. She always used to support him and stood by him throughout his career,” he remarked.
First meetings with Saddam
Mustafa recalled the early days of his meeting with Saddam. “They started when I began working for his special guard. That was when I first met him. Like most Iraqis and Arabs, I believed that he would be a difficult person, but the truth is that I saw him as a paternal figure,” he added. “When you work with him, you begin to develop a different opinion than the public impression. He was a very paternal figure.”
During their first meeting, they learned that they came from the same tribe and were distant cousins.
“I stayed by Mr. President’s side for around 20 years. I started off as part of his personal guard and he then tasked me with people’s affairs, meaning seeing to their needs and addressing their problems. He was very concerned with the people’s affairs and refused any one of them to be wronged. The truth is that many laws were amended or changed at the time following complaints from the people,” he revealed.
“There were two telephones at Mr. President’s office, and both were connected to my office. Whoever had a problem could call the president through the citizens’ line. I used to answer their calls and listen to their problems and set an appointment with the president. Sometimes I used to ask the caller to come in person with their request so that their problem could be tackled. Sometimes Mr. President would interject on the call to ask about the issue and would request to talk to the citizen on the line,” Mustafa said.
“He would listen to the person’s grievance and tell him to head to the dedicated office to tackle the issue. (...) So we used to receive hundreds of citizens every week to solve their problems. Mr. President was very concerned about these issues,” he stressed. “I have never met another person like him. He would listen, care and then come up with a solution.”
President’s son-in-law
Asharq Al-Awsat asked Mustafa about when he asked Hala to marry him. “It was in 1994. As is the tradition in Iraq, I headed with my uncles to Saddam’s family to ask her hand in marriage,” he said. “One of my uncles made the request to Mr. President on my behalf and he agreed and welcomed it.”
“A judge was summoned immediately for the ceremony, and we were married. We had lunch at the president’s house that same day. I first met Hala on September 12, and we were married on September 26. It was a short engagement in line with tradition.”
“Mr. President used to separate state affairs from his relationship with his family. His work was completely separate from family, which had nothing to do with political or state affairs. It never intervened in those issues. Mr. President was a man of state when he was doing his job, and a father when he came home. He treated his family as if he were its father – the perfect father. Every family wishes to have a father that can measure up to him because he looked after all of his children and all of his relatives,” Mustafa said.
“When he sat down to the dinner table, he himself used to serve his own food and ask his children about their day. He would serve them food and generally cared very much for them. The state is one thing and family is another. At the same time, he acted as a father to all Iraqis. He treated them fairly. This is Saddam Hussein,” stressed Mustafa. “He was always keen that Iraqis be treated justly and that none of them be wronged. He was also very firm with his children if they made any mistake.”
Saddam’s hobbies
Saddam was a “very traditional Arab man. He loved traditional Arab and Iraqi dishes. He himself used to cook his own version of the traditional Iraqi dish al-Habeet. (...) He also loved seafood and would cook the Masgouf fish dish himself,” Mustafa told Asharq Al-Awsat.
His hobbies included horseback riding, hunting, swimming and sharpshooting. “Occasionally, before heading to the front to fight against Iran, he would visit the al-Amarah region, where gazelle and geese are abundant, to hunt. As circumstances became more challenging, he limited himself to fishing, which he did regularly,” he added.
He was a skilled shooter from his youth. “Generally, growing up in a tribe, children are taught at a young age how to become a good shooter. This is part of our upbringing. He was also an avid reader. He was always reading something,” Mustafa said of Saddam.
