Money - المال والذات السائلة

It was the turn of this year when the Lebanese lira exchange rate peaked against the almighty dollar. Abdullah Al-Saaei, a doe-eyed bushy-faced man, father of two, walked into a bank with a tank of gasoline in his final attempt to withdraw his money. In 2019, he had sold a piece of land and deposited $400,000 in his bank account only to soon unwittingly join the millions of others whose money was suddenly inaccessible due to the illegal capital controls set by the Central Bank of Lebanon. He opened a grocery store and an espresso kiosk having recuperated some of that money by selling banker’s checks at a fraction of their value. This was one of the creative ways the bankers and hustlers could placate their customers while still stealing...