A Lebanese woman, along with her associates, held up and robbed Beirut banks on Wednesday for $13,000 worth of their own money in trapped savings for her sister's cancer treatment.
The incident comes as the country was forced into a national financial meltdown that resulted in restrictive withdrawal policies. One of the suspects was armed with what she said was a toy gun that she used to hold hostages at a branch of BLOM Bank.
Stealing Trapped Savings
Shortly after the incident, in the mountain city of Aley, an armed man entered a Bankmed branch and retrieved some of his trapped savings, before handing himself in to authorities. Lebanon's banks have locked most depositors out of their accounts since the economic crisis started three years ago.
In another example of how bad the situation has become, the robbery comes after last month when a man held up another Beirut bank to withdraw funds for his sick father's treatment. BLOM Bank said that a customer and accomplices arrived armed with a gun, threatened to set people on fire, and forced the branch manager and treasurer to bring money from a safe, as per Reuters.
Before she went into hiding, the suspect, identified as Sali Hafiz, said that the weapon she brandished was just a toy. She argued that she was in desperate need of the money to pay for her sister's cancer treatment.
Hafiz said, "I have nothing more to lose, I got to the end of the road. I got to a point where I was going to sell my kidney so that my sister could receive treatment," adding that she paid a visit to the bank manager two days prior and was not given an adequate solution.
According to ABC News, the suspect said that the only solution she was provided was that the bank would give her $200 a month in Lebanese pounds. Hafiz argued that she begged the bank manager, and told him that her sister was dying and did not have much time left.
Lebanon's Financial Crisis
Lebanon's cash-strapped banks have imposed strict limits on withdrawals of foreign currency that have tied up the savings of millions of people. Roughly three-quarters of the country's population has slipped into poverty as the Mediterranean nation's economy continues to spiral downward.
The suspect said that she had a total of $20,000 in savings trapped in her bank account, adding that she was already forced to sell off many of her personal belongings. A bank customer, Nadine Nakhal, said that the intruders "doused gasoline everywhere inside, and took out a lighter and threatened to light it."
Hafiz live-streamed the incident and posted it to her Facebook account, saying that she did not intend to harm anyone. "I did not break into the bank to kill anyone or set the place on fire. I am here to get my rights," the suspect said.
Across various social media platforms, Hafiz was celebrated as a hero as she encouraged others to take similar action to gain their rights. Some of the activists that were with Hafiz staged a protest at the entrance of the bank, The Guardian reported.
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