The Lebanese in Africa Edition

Colin here. With the Lebanese economy in tatters, there has been an outflow of some of its most talented minds. Many leave their homeland and land in the States, Dubai, and Europe, but I caught an Al Jazeera English report saying there was a sizable influx of Lebanese into Côte d'Ivoire. I was intrigued! 

According to the Africa Report:

With the Lebanese people fleeing massacres and wars since the 19th century, the country has one of the largest diaspora communities in the world, totalling around 12 million people, i.e., four times its population. Out of this group, a few hundred thousand people – many of whom hail from southern Lebanon – have moved to Africa, especially Côte d’Ivoire, Nigeria and Senegal.

There’s a long history dating back to the 1920s of The Lebanese moving to Côte d'Ivoire, and according to a 1999 piece in African Affairs, the communities are segmented into two: the durables, eminent families who have been in the country for two or more generations, and the nouveaux, people who have only arrived in the country in the past two decades. They are a distinctly different economic and political class.

Why is this interesting? 

Part of the reason for the historical movement to West Africa is the lack of friction to move, relative to other countries. A visa can be obtained based on a resident family member’s invitation letter. And once arriving, many Lebanese find work in various industries, including hospitality and restaurants, sending remittances home that help family members blasted by inflation and unstable banks. But now, there is a logjam of new arrivals and not enough jobs. The Al Jazeera piece I caught on TV highlighted long waiting periods for people to find jobs in the existing business ecosystem. The end goal for all is often sending money home, a process that keeps getting harder. 

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The Africa Report continues:

Sending money isn’t easy. Before the crisis, members of the diaspora funneled some of their money through the traditional financial system. But over the past year, Lebanese banks have been limiting cash withdrawals to just a few hundred euros per month. Though money transfer agencies are still open for business, there is no trace of this valuable financial assistance at the Western Union branch in Zrarieh.

…But the vast majority of money flooding into the country arrives in the form of cash. “To get around commission fees, cash-filled suitcases are brought into Lebanon. Everyone uses this system, otherwise we couldn’t keep living here,” he tells us in French with a hint of an Ivorian accent.

One has to believe there are a few customs officials turning a blind eye (or bribes) to that immigration hallway at Beirut’s Hariri International Airport. But it begs the question of just how much suffering and logistical hacking is needed to keep families and extended family members afloat. (CJN)  

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Thanks for reading,

Noah (NRB) & Colin (CJN)

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