The Lebanese economy in freefall – a photo essay

Photojournalist Achilleas Zavallis travels to Lebanon and finds a country struggling with the effects of economic decline and mismanagement. Inflation is out of control, destroying the spending power of all but a wealthy minority

Lebanon has long been a country that somehow held it together. Through war, insurrection, chaos and intervention, it always prevailed. It remains a country of contrasting realities, but it is steadily becoming a place where dreams died. Beirut long ago lost its claim to be the Levantine equivalent of Paris. Its vibrant nightlife has been dulled by an economic implosion, its skyline disappears into darkness as we drive to my hotel at night.

With the power grid functioning only two to four hours a day, there are no traffic lights to guide us. Buildings seem empty, or abandoned. Car headlights illuminate a couple walking along an empty street. The centrepiece of the city's shopping and nightlife, Hamra Street, is deserted.