Lebanon is suffering from its worst economic crisis in 30 years. Across the country, tens of thousands of people have lost their jobs and millions more struggle to buy basic necessities – all amid the continuing coronavirus pandemic. The crisis has caused the value of the Lebanese pound – or lira – to plummet to record lows. Lebanon imports about 80 percent of the goods it consumes, so a weak lira has had a serious effect on people’s purchasing power. Food items today cost about five times more than they did in 2019. Since October 2019, thousands of people have protested across the country to demand an end to widespread corruption and tax increases. At the time, 10,000 lira were officially worth $6.63 and could buy basic necessities such as milk, rice and vegetables. Today, you would be lucky to buy a litre (one quart) of milk for 10,000 lira, which is worth less than $1 on the black market.