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Lebanon Crisis Diet (clip)

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    I have always been super fascinated
    at human's 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 in that idea,
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    it's 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 figure 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) Since October 2019,
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    Lebanon has been on the verge
    of economic collapse.
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    The revolution will happen!
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    (Matthew) For months,
    protesters filled Beirut streets,
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    demanding an end to the government's
    corruption they blame for inflation,
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    soaring unemployment,
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    and unaffordable food prices.
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    The pandemic only made
    the situation worse.
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    Now, this crisis upon a crisis
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    is even changing
    the way Lebanese people eat.
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    (Maher) 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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    (Maher) 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.
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    Let's say we have meat almost 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) Anxiety about money
    has never been higher,
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    meaning for many Lebanese
    meat is now only for special occasions.
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    Like today,
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    when Muslims are preparing
    to celebrate Eid al-Adha,
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    the Feast of the Sacrifice.
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    (Maher) Praised be to Allah, who allowed
    butchering. Allah is the greatest.
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    (Matthew) Traditionally,
    that sacrifice is a sheep,
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    butchered based on Islamic law
    to be Halal.
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    (Maher) Run away.
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    (Matthew) We're outside the butcher shop
    and these guys try to make a run for it
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    but, unluckily for them, they were caught.
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    (Maher) Put it up, please.
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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) Families like the Rida,
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    who can still afford
    a lamb for the holiday,
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    are paying double
    what they did for sheep last year.
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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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    (Tharwat) 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) A 100% increase
    in the poverty rate
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    means life is changed for most in Beirut.
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    (Antoine) Hello.
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    (Matthew) Even for Antoine El Hajj,
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    a celebrity chef who's hosted
    his own daily cooking show
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    for the last 30 years.
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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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    (Antoine) 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.
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    Goodbye.
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    (Matthew) Lebanon's dire situation
    got even worse in August
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    when a massive explosion in Beirut
    killed more than 190 people,
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    caused billions of dollars
    in property damage,
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    and destroyed the country's largest port.
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    Lebanon had depended on that port
    to bring in 80% of its food.
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    That reliance on imported food
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    has already driven some people
    to find solutions
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    beyond just switching their diets.
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    (Karim) I'm growing like,
    I think more than 100 types of foods--
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    citrus trees, avocados, mangoes...
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    (Matthew) Karim El Hassan
    was a cafe owner in Beirut
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    before closing up his shop
    and returning to his hometown.
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    (Karim) My decision to come back was...
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    merely just for security.
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    I found it really futile to try to seek...
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    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--
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    That's a sample of the things
    we process on stock.
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    Eggplant, cucumbers,
    and mekti pickles, some herbs.
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    I don't believe
    a lot of people are content.
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    They're not satisfied
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    and they want to continue
    affording meat and chicken
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    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.
Title:
Lebanon Crisis Diet (clip)
ASR Confidence:
0.77
Description:

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Video Language:
English
Team:
Eating With My Five Senses
Project:
COUNTER SPACE_(CLIPS)_The Issues - (Ep01-Ep08)
Duration:
07:01
Jenny_PM published English subtitles for Lebanon Crisis Diet (clip) May 29, 2024, 4:30 PM
Jenny_PM edited English subtitles for Lebanon Crisis Diet (clip) May 29, 2024, 4:30 PM
Jenny_PM published English subtitles for Lebanon Crisis Diet (clip) May 29, 2024, 4:30 PM
Jenny_PM edited English subtitles for Lebanon Crisis Diet (clip) May 29, 2024, 4:30 PM
Jenny_PM edited English subtitles for Lebanon Crisis Diet (clip) May 29, 2024, 1:48 AM
Jenny Lam published English subtitles for Lebanon Crisis Diet (clip) Mar 15, 2023, 10:55 PM
Jenny Lam edited English subtitles for Lebanon Crisis Diet (clip) Mar 15, 2023, 10:55 PM
Jenny Lam published English subtitles for Lebanon Crisis Diet (clip) Feb 28, 2023, 7:56 PM
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