9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
I have always been super fascinated[br]at humans ability to adapt.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
We are so good at holding onto[br]the things that make us,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
you know, who we are.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
But if there's anything [br]that can throw a wrench at that idea

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
is probably 2020.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
But you do have to admit,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
it is pretty awesome [br]seeing people globally,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
just sort of figuring out[br]new ways to survive.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Let's just take a second, as an example,[br]and we'll get Lebanon.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
But I'm going to warn you,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
If you're a vegetarian, [br]this is probably going to be rough.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
CRISIS DIET

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
(Matthew) <i>Since October 2019,</i>

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
<i>Lebanon has been on the verge [br]of economic collapse.</i>

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
The revolution will happen!

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
(Matthew) <i>For months, protesters filled[br]Beirut streets,</i>

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
<i>demanding an end to the government[br]corruption they blame for inflation,</i>

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
<i>soaring unemployment[br]and unaffordable food prices.</i>

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
<i>The pandemic only made[br]the situation worse.</i>

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
<i>Now, this crisis upon a crisis[br]is even changing</i>

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
<i>the way Lebanese people eat.</i>

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
(Marher) We need to start[br]slaughtering in a bit.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
(Matthew) How long have you[br]been doing this job?

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
(Marher) I've been a butcher[br]since I was twelve years old.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
(Matthew) For the Lebanese people,[br]meat is very important in their diet.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
- (Maher) Of course.[br]- (Matthew) You eat a lot of meat.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
(Maher) We're very used to meat.[br]Let's say we have meat almos every day.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
The economy collapsed.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
So the people can't afford[br]to eat meat anymore.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
I'm one of the people [br]in the butchery business

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
who hasn't had sheep in a month.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
(Matthew) Really?

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
(Maher) It used to be [br]Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
I sell three to four lambs every week.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Then we started bringing two, then one.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Then I stopped bringing it altogether.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
It's too expensive[br]and doesn't sell enough.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
(Matthew) <i>Anxiety about money [br]has never been higher,</i>

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
<i>meaning for many Lebanese,[br]meat is now only for special occasions.</i>

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
<i>Like today,</i>

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
<i>when Muslims are preparing[br]to celebrate Eid al-Adha,</i>

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
<i>the feast of the sacrifice.</i>

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
(Maher) Praised be to Allah, [br]who allowed butchering.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Allah is the greatest.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
(Matthew) <i>Traditionally, [br]that sacrifice is a sheep,</i>

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
<i>butchered based on Islamic law[br]to be halal.</i>

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
For outside the butcher shop,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
these guys try to make a run for it,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
but, unluckily for them, they were caught.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
(Matthew) You slaughter it like that[br]to make it [permissible,] right?

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
(Maher) It's all [permissible.]

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
You say, "In the name of Allah,"[br]to express the good intentions

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
of the person making the sacrifice.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
(Matthew) Is it still alive?

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
(Maher) Five minutes. OK.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
(Matthew) I'm going to become vegetarian.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
(Maher) Yes, the sight of blood...

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
But it's normal.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
(Matthew) But it's a good thing[br]that one eats meat

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
knowing where it comes from.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
This is it.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
This is the filet.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
(Matthew) <i>Families like the Rida, [br]who can still afford a lamb for the holiday,</i>

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
<i>are paying double[br]what they did for sheep last year.</i>

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
- Hello.[br]- Hi, how are you?

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
- Now it's all here.[br]- All of it is in the bags.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
We will distribute all of these now.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
The family that butchered the sheep[br]takes a ration.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Some for their relatives[br]and the rest for the poor.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
(Matthew) So you've changed [br]the way you cook

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
because of the economic situation?

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
(Tharwat) Sure.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
We started eating more vegetables,[br]which is healthier.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
- We saw this lamb this morning.[br]- Yeah.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
It was moving.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Yeah, it was alive.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Yummy. It's delicious.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
How's your Eid this year?

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
There's no Eid this year.[br]We haven't felt it.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
- Why?[br]- I mean,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
- because of the situation.[br]- There's no happiness or joy.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
(Matthew) <i>A 100% increase [br]in the poverty rate</i>

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
<i>means life is changed for most in Beirut.</i>

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
(Antoine) Hello.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
(Matthew) <i>Even for Antoine El Hajj,</i>

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
<i>a celebrity chef who's hosted his own [br]daily cooking show</i>

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
<i>for the last 30 years.</i>

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
(Antoine) We'll first be cooking[br]cowpeas curry.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
We're cooking this dish[br]for the first time.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
You're all used to chicken curry,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
but you're not used to cowpeas curry.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
(Matthew) How much have Lebanese kitchen[br]changed since the coronavirus

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and the economic crisis?

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Since the beginning of the coronavirus,[br]it's changed a lot.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
The Lebanese people like meat, [br]including myself.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
I really liked meat.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
But it's been more than four months now,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and I've eaten kibbeh[br](minced meat-stuffed dough) only once.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
And it's impossible for me-- after hosting[br]a daily TV show for 30 years,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
which everyone watches.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
These people now can't afford[br]an ounce of meat,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
then I come and work with a kilo of meat.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
It just doesn't make sense.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
On the contrary, I want to be helping out[br]with the crisis we're facing here.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
That's why we're using recipes [br]that are good and appropriate,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and at the same time affordable.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Today, we made green pea curry, [br]ma'amoul with walnut,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and ma'amoul with dates.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Today's show has ended.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
We'll see you in future episodes,[br]always on Télé Liban. Goodbye.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
(Matthew) <i>Lebanon's dire situation[br]got even worse in August</i>

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
<i>when a massive explosion in Beirut[br]killed more than 190 people,</i>

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
<i>caused billions of dollars[br]in property damage,</i>

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
<i>and destroyed the country's largest port.</i>

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
<i>Lebanon had depended on that port[br]to bring an 80% of its food.</i>

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
<i>That reliance on imported food [br]had already driven some people</i>

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
<i>to find solutions[br]beyond just switching their diets.</i>

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
I'm going like, I think more than[br]100 types of foods

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
such as trees, avocados, mangoes--

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
(Matthew) <i>Karim El Hassan [br]was a cafe owner in Beirut</i>

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
<i>before closing up his shop[br]and returning to his hometown.</i>

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
(Karim) My decision to come back [br]was merely just for security.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
I found that really futile to try to seek [br]a flow of income,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
so I can use that [br]and come and spend it on food,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
while I can actually just grow my own.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
So here's my lab, that's a sample[br]of the things we process in stock.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
I plant cucumbers and [inaudible], [br]some herbs.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
I don't believe[br]a lot of people are content.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
They're not satisfied [br]and they want to continue

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
affording meat and chicken [br]almost on a daily basis,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
which is so unhealthy and it's abnormal.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
The system is setting us up for failure

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and they're stretching it out [br]as much as possible.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
They're milking us to the last penny.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
I really fear for the future.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
I don't think we have[br]a bright future coming.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
You don't have a choice.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Either you sit and you fight,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
or just migrate, leave.