A woman is sitting alone in a café that is usually livelier. Geitawi, March 28, 2026. (Credit: Ségolène Ragu/L'Orient-Le Jour)
BEIRUT — As fighting with Israel resumed in March, Joumana’s life was upended twice in the same week. She first had to flee her home in Beirut’s southern suburbs, then her employer told her that her salary would be slashed by half. The 36-year-old product manager at a Lebanese pharmaceutical company was suddenly working part-time, for barely $800 a month.Her employer, however, is not based in an area under immediate Israeli threat, and Joumana says her workload has not slowed. If anything, it has increased — compressed into fewer paid hours. "Until today, we have received no indication that our salaries will be restored," she said.Joumana supports her two unemployed parents and pays rent for the home where her displaced family has sought refuge. "Almost half of what I make now goes toward gas, just to make long...
BEIRUT — As fighting with Israel resumed in March, Joumana’s life was upended twice in the same week. She first had to flee her home in Beirut’s southern suburbs, then her employer told her that her salary would be slashed by half. The 36-year-old product manager at a Lebanese pharmaceutical company was suddenly working part-time, for barely $800 a month.Her employer, however, is not based in an area under immediate Israeli threat, and Joumana says her workload has not slowed. If anything, it has increased — compressed into fewer paid hours. "Until today, we have received no indication that our salaries will be restored," she said.Joumana supports her two unemployed parents and pays rent for the home where her displaced family has sought refuge. "Almost half of what I make now goes toward gas, just to make long...
Humanitarian convoy reaches Rmeish, Ain Ibl, Dibil despite obstacles