Lebanese Man Hailed A ¡®Hero¡¯ For Robbing Bank For His Own Money

Robbing a bank is likely to land you behind the bars and label you a criminal. That's an expected consequence. But can it make you a hero? Sounds weird, right? Perhaps that is exactly what a recent happening in Lebanon depicts.

Abdallah Assaii, a 37-year-old cafe owner, is accused of storming into a bank last week in the Bekaa Valley with a gun and grenade.

Thetimes.co.uk

He even doused himself in petrol and threatened to burn himself after he was told he could not withdraw the cash from his savings account.

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Support From People

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Assaii has been hailed a ¡®hero¡¯ by many people in Lebanon, a country where people have only been allowed to take out a limited amount of cash from their accounts since October 2019. Even upon getting to know this extreme action from Assaii¡¯s side, many Lebanese were ready to excuse him, with members of his community rather saying that he needed his money to pay for the expenses of his cafe.

As per Assaii¡¯s family, his coffee shop was robbed of up to $15,000 a few weeks before the incident, and he also owed 200 million Lebanese pounds (about $8,700) for purchases towards a fruit and vegetable stall that he operated.

His wife is reportedly on the run with the cash.

Assaii¡¯s lawyer claimed that the bank had refused his repeated requests for checks in the week preceding this extreme incident of robbing the bank.

An NGO worker in Assaii¡¯s hometown told The National newpaper, "Abdallah managed to do what no one could do in all of Lebanon. He didn¡¯t steal the money. It was his.¡±

Supporters of Assaii had gathered later after Friday prayers in Jeb Jannine, wherein a local Imam Alaa Baalbaaki said ¡°We are asking from the state to release Abdallah Assaii because he is in the right. We are all Abdallah Assaii.¡±

But an unnamed BBAC employee who was one of Assaii¡¯s hostages, said to local news website SBI ¡°I¡¯m not against people taking their money, no one is saying that what¡¯s happening is right, but it¡¯s not the branch employees¡¯ fault¡±. If [people] want their rights they should go to the [bank¡¯s] main offices and to politicians. They are behind what¡¯s happening in the country¡±.

Bank unions have argued that Assaii¡¯s actions can endanger bank employees all around the country, and have demanded that local authorities must take steps to increase security measures to prevent copycat incidents in future.

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Lebanon¡¯s Crisis

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Lebanon, a country with a population of over six million, has been experiencing its worst-ever financial crisis, with its currency Lebanese pound having lost around 90% of its value since 2019.

The country's economic meltdown has been described by the World Bank as one of the world's worst since the 1850s, which has pushed an estimated 4 million families into poverty in the last two years, trapped people¡¯s savings in banks, and resulted in qualified labour emigrating in droves.

The Reasons Behind Crisis

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This crisis isn't a sudden or new occurrence in Lebanon. Lebanon¡¯s ongoing economic crisis is deep-rooted in decades of corruption and mismanagement by the ruling class, along with a sectarian-based political system that thrives on patronage and nepotism.

The economic crisis has also resulted in severe shortages in fuel, which have led to crippling power cuts and hours-long waits at gas stations.

In 2021, the UN had estimated that 78% of Lebanese people live below the poverty line.

Meanwhile, Assaii has been jailed and reportedly started a hunger strike against his detention, according to local media of Lebanon.

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