Lebanon has been mired in an unprecedented economic meltdown since 2019. Its currency has been devalued by more than 90 per cent and soaring prices have turned basic goods and services into a luxury BEIRUT: For decades, Patisserie Cremino, a popular pastry shop in Beirut braced itself for the high demand of cakes, eclairs, tarts and other delectables during the months of Christmas, Easter and Ramadan. This Ramadan, however, proved different. The shop rarely receives customers nowadays. The pastry chef and the owner made a decision to cut down portions and instead focus on maintaining the high quality the patisserie is famous for. “The more time passes, the worse we all get. We live and work day by day; you don’t know if you’ll be able to open tomorrow with all the chaos happening and the fuel crisis,” Ali, one of the shop’s workers, told Arab News “And this is supposed to be a blessed month. Let’s see where we’re headed to. No one knows.” For confectioners and local retailers, Ramadan is usually a time to look forward to. The holy month is capped by Eid Al Fitr, the three-day high point where fasting, faith and discipline are rewarded with delightful treats and a fresh new set of clothes. Shadia, a keeper of a children’s boutique called Hello Baby, told Arab News: “What would usually be a busy time for me has evaporated; a woman comes in with her two or three children but can barely afford to get them a few pieces for Eid, and nowadays most walk out without having bought anything. It breaks my heart really.” In the streets of Beirut, candidates’ posters are hung alongside decorative yet toned-down Ramadan ornaments. With parliamentary and presidential elections due to start next month, political parties have been campaigning with promises of better living conditions for their citizens. Lebanon has been mired in an unprecedented economic meltdown since 2019. Its currency has been devalued by more than 90 per cent and soaring prices have turned basic goods and services into a luxury. Even in a country famed for finding ways of getting by, no matter the circumstance, the continuous crumbling of state institutions has left practically no business unscathed. A report by Save the Children published early this year revealed that an estimated four million Lebanese citizens have been pushed into poverty, with many children skipping at least one meal a day. Children’s diets consist mainly of filling carbs such as rice and potatoes and even that has been cut in half. Jennifer Moorehead, Save The Children’s country director, said that the situation in the country is “rapidly spiraling out of control” facing multiple crises with no sign of relief in sight. In the Beirut suburb of Dahye, Umm Hassan, a 72-year-old grandmother, lamented at how “politicians have left us in utter humiliation, all of them, no one is exempt from the indignity they’ve placed upon us.” “It doesn’t feel like Ramadan. We do not have food, I ration every day and it’s emotionally and spiritually exhausting. No one will get presents this year, no new clothes, no pocket money for my grandchildren. What an Eid, there is nothing to celebrate, nothing to be happy about.”