The absurdity of soaring costs has reached an all-time high. Only in Lebanon does car maintenance cost the equivalent of three months’ salary for a Lebanese citizen, including filter replacement, oil, spark plugs, and battery replacement, as well as air-conditioning gas and lamps, which require regular maintenance in addition to mandatory insurance and other requirements. All of the aforementioned shall be settled in US dollars, with earnings acquired in the plummeting Lebanese Pound.

“The cost of renewing the oil filter, brakes, etc. runs between 100 and 150 dollars, which is equivalent to a citizen’s salary,” a car mechanic told Sawt Beirut International’s reporter, Ghassan Farran. “Moreover, with the onset of summer, the air conditioner might need gas filling and repair. We are dealing, and on a daily basis, with people who are outraged by rate increases that are massively higher than their salaries.”

According to a report published by the International Information, the cost of maintaining a modest and regular car plus the cost of gasoline has risen to more than eight million pounds yearly, or approximately 675,000 LBP a month as a minimum, which is equal to the minimum salary, not to forget to mention the pitiful condition of Lebanon’s roads.