On Wednesday, a woman accompanied by activists carrying what she said was a toy pistol, held several people hostage for almost an hour. The incident occurred at the BLOM bank in Beirut, where the staff was forced to hand over $12,000, sources said. Later in an interview, she said the money was for her sister’s cancer treatment.
The Lebanese woman later identified as Sali Hafez, also live streamed the heist, and subsequently became a folk hero on social media in the country. In a separate incident that took place shortly after, an armed man entered a branch of BankMed in Lebanon’s city of Aley and tried to retrieve his trapped savings. The man received some money before he turned himself over to the authorities, said security personnel and an activist group called Depositors’ Outcry.
In the BLOM bank incident, Hafez entered the bank along with activists from Depositors’ Outcry and stormed the manager’s office. During her live stream, she can be heard yelling, “I am Sali Hafez, I came today…to take the deposits of my sister who is dying in the hospital.” She went on to assure people that she did not come there to kill anyone or start a fire but to claim her rights.
In an interview after the incident, she told local media, “I had begged the branch manager before for my money, and I told him my sister was dying, didn’t have much time left.” She added, “I reached a point where I had nothing else to lose.” Hafez reportedly also said that the toy pistol belonged to her nephew.
Hafez and the group forced the employees to hand over $12,000 which is approx $1,000 in Lebanese pounds. According to Hafez, she has a total of $20,000 in savings trapped in that bank and took this step after selling many of her personal belongings and even considered selling her kidney to fund her 23-year-old sister’s cancer treatment.
Lebanese citizens are desperate to access their savings and furious at the banking sector, which has locked most depositors out of their savings. This move was following an economic crisis that took place three years ago has reportedly left most of the citizens struggling to pay for basic necessities.
Since 2019, the cash-strapped banks have imposed strict limits on withdrawals of foreign currency. Meanwhile, the local currency has lost more than 90% of its value and three-quarters of the population has slipped into poverty.
WATCH | Explained: Economic crisis in Lebanon and reasons behind it
A bank customer, named Nadine Nakhal, who was present at the time of the BLOM bank incident, said “They doused gasoline everywhere inside, and took out a lighter and threatened to light it.” She added that the armed woman threatened to shoot the manager if they refused to give her the savings. The group escaped with the cash through a smashed window at the back of the bank before the security personnel arrived. While some activists were with Hafez, others from the Depositors’ Outcry held a protest outside the bank.
Lebanon, for over two years, has tried to implement key reforms for its banking sector and the economy. However, it has failed to reach an agreement with the International Monetary Fund on a recovery program which would allow billions of dollars in international loans and aid. The country is also facing power outages and soaring inflation and unemployment.
ALSO READ | Lebanese man who held up bank for trapped savings walks free
The banks have reportedly indicated that they make an exception for humanitarian cases including hospital care, but people in Lebanon disagree. “All we have is this money in the bank. My daughter was forced to take this money – it’s her right, it’s in her account – to treat her sister,” said Hafez’s mother to the local media.
These incidents are just some among several others that have been witnessed over the past year.
In August, a local man held employees and customers hostage for hours, after storming a Beirut bank demanding some of his $200,000 which is frozen in savings for his father’s hospital bills.
Earlier this year, in January, a bank customer who was unable to withdraw his savings held dozens of people hostage, in a bank in eastern Lebanon. Reportedly, he was eventually given some of his savings and he later surrendered to the security forces.
(With inputs from agencies)
