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Conflict Incident Report

Beirut mobile shop owners demand subsidies

Date of incident: 
April 7, 2017
Death toll: 
0persons
Number of Injured: 
0persons
Actors/Parties Involved: 
Lebanese Civilians

BEIRUT: Dozens of Beirut cellphone shop owners  gathered outside of the Ministry of Economy downtown, calling for the government to subsidize the price of cellphone charging cards.

"The state wants us to sell cards for $25, when companies distribute the cards for $24.90," Wael Salloum, a cellphone store owner from Achrafieh told The Daily Star at the protest. "Is it worth only gaining a LL50 to LL100 profit per card?"

"Our stores' monthly rents range from $500 to $1000, so if only make a few cents per card, we'll be broke by the end of the month, notwithstanding other costs like electricity and salaries," Salloum added.

They called on the government to "have some corruption for ordinary Lebanese people."

Primary category: 
Collective Action [inc. protests, solidarity movements...]
Classification of conflict (primary): 
Policy conflicts
Conflicts associated with political decisions, government or state policies regarding matters of public concern, such as debates concerning law reforms, electoral laws, and protests of the government’s political decisions, among others.