WEBVTT

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I have always been super fascinated
at humans ability to adapt.

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We are so good at holding onto
the things that make us,

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you know, who we are.

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But if there's anything 
that can throw a wrench at that idea

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is probably 2020.

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But you do have to admit,

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it is pretty awesome 
seeing people globally,

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just sort of figuring out
new ways to survive.

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Let's just take a second, as an example,
and we'll get Lebanon.

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But I'm going to warn you,

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If you're a vegetarian, 
this is probably going to be rough.

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CRISIS DIET

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(Matthew) <i>Since October 2019,</i>

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<i>Lebanon has been on the verge 
of economic collapse.</i>

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The revolution will happen!

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(Matthew) <i>For months, protesters filled
Beirut streets,</i>

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<i>demanding an end to the government
corruption they blame for inflation,</i>

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<i>soaring unemployment
and unaffordable food prices.</i>

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<i>The pandemic only made
the situation worse.</i>

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<i>Now, this crisis upon a crisis
is even changing</i>

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<i>the way Lebanese people eat.</i>

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(Marher) We need to start
slaughtering in a bit.

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(Matthew) How long have you
been doing this job?

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(Marher) I've been a butcher
since I was twelve years old.

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(Matthew) For the Lebanese people,
meat is very important in their diet.

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- (Maher) Of course.
- (Matthew) You eat a lot of meat.

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(Maher) We're very used to meat.
Let's say we have meat almos every day.

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The economy collapsed.

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So the people can't afford
to eat meat anymore.

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I'm one of the people 
in the butchery business

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who hasn't had sheep in a month.

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(Matthew) Really?

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(Maher) It used to be 
Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday,

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I sell three to four lambs every week.

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Then we started bringing two, then one.

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Then I stopped bringing it altogether.

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It's too expensive
and doesn't sell enough.

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(Matthew) <i>Anxiety about money 
has never been higher,</i>

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<i>meaning for many Lebanese,
meat is now only for special occasions.</i>

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<i>Like today,</i>

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<i>when Muslims are preparing
to celebrate Eid al-Adha,</i>

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<i>the feast of the sacrifice.</i>

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(Maher) Praised be to Allah, 
who allowed butchering.

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Allah is the greatest.

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(Matthew) <i>Traditionally, 
that sacrifice is a sheep,</i>

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<i>butchered based on Islamic law
to be halal.</i>

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For outside the butcher shop,

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these guys try to make a run for it,

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but, unluckily for them, they were caught.

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(Matthew) You slaughter it like that
to make it [permissible,] right?

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(Maher) It's all [permissible.]

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You say, "In the name of Allah,"
to express the good intentions

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of the person making the sacrifice.

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(Matthew) Is it still alive?

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(Maher) Five minutes. OK.

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(Matthew) I'm going to become vegetarian.

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(Maher) Yes, the sight of blood...

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But it's normal.

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(Matthew) But it's a good thing
that one eats meat

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knowing where it comes from.

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This is it.

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This is the filet.

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(Matthew) <i>Families like the Rida, 
who can still afford a lamb for the holiday,</i>

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<i>are paying double
what they did for sheep last year.</i>

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- Hello.
- Hi, how are you?

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- Now it's all here.
- All of it is in the bags.

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We will distribute all of these now.

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The family that butchered the sheep
takes a ration.

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Some for their relatives
and the rest for the poor.

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(Matthew) So you've changed 
the way you cook

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because of the economic situation?

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(Tharwat) Sure.

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We started eating more vegetables,
which is healthier.

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- We saw this lamb this morning.
- Yeah.

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It was moving.

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Yeah, it was alive.

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Yummy. It's delicious.

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How's your Eid this year?

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There's no Eid this year.
We haven't felt it.

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- Why?
- I mean,

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- because of the situation.
- There's no happiness or joy.

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(Matthew) <i>A 100% increase 
in the poverty rate</i>

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<i>means life is changed for most in Beirut.</i>

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(Antoine) Hello.

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(Matthew) <i>Even for Antoine El Hajj,</i>

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<i>a celebrity chef who's hosted his own 
daily cooking show</i>

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<i>for the last 30 years.</i>

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(Antoine) We'll first be cooking
cowpeas curry.

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We're cooking this dish
for the first time.

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You're all used to chicken curry,

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but you're not used to cowpeas curry.

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(Matthew) How much have Lebanese kitchen
changed since the coronavirus

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and the economic crisis?

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Since the beginning of the coronavirus,
it's changed a lot.

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The Lebanese people like meat, 
including myself.

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I really liked meat.

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But it's been more than four months now,

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and I've eaten kibbeh
(minced meat-stuffed dough) only once.

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And it's impossible for me-- after hosting
a daily TV show for 30 years,

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which everyone watches.

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These people now can't afford
an ounce of meat,

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then I come and work with a kilo of meat.

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It just doesn't make sense.

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On the contrary, I want to be helping out
with the crisis we're facing here.

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That's why we're using recipes 
that are good and appropriate,

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and at the same time affordable.

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Today, we made green pea curry, 
ma'amoul with walnut,

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and ma'amoul with dates.

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Today's show has ended.

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We'll see you in future episodes,
always on Télé Liban. Goodbye.

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(Matthew) <i>Lebanon's dire situation
got even worse in August</i>

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<i>when a massive explosion in Beirut
killed more than 190 people,</i>

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<i>caused billions of dollars
in property damage,</i>

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<i>and destroyed the country's largest port.</i>

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<i>Lebanon had depended on that port
to bring an 80% of its food.</i>

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<i>That reliance on imported food 
had already driven some people</i>

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<i>to find solutions
beyond just switching their diets.</i>

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I'm going like, I think more than
100 types of foods

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such as trees, avocados, mangoes--

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(Matthew) <i>Karim El Hassan 
was a cafe owner in Beirut</i>

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<i>before closing up his shop
and returning to his hometown.</i>

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(Karim) My decision to come back 
was merely just for security.

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I found that really futile to try to seek 
a flow of income,

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so I can use that 
and come and spend it on food,

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while I can actually just grow my own.

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So here's my lab, that's a sample
of the things we process in stock.

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I plant cucumbers and [inaudible], 
some herbs.

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I don't believe
a lot of people are content.

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They're not satisfied 
and they want to continue

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affording meat and chicken 
almost on a daily basis,

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which is so unhealthy and it's abnormal.

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The system is setting us up for failure

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and they're stretching it out 
as much as possible.

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They're milking us to the last penny.

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I really fear for the future.

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I don't think we have
a bright future coming.

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You don't have a choice.

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Either you sit and you fight,

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or just migrate, leave.