Living to work in Lebanon: working multiple jobs to make barely sufficient income
The economic situation in Lebanon continues to deteriorate almost 2 years since October 2019 protests. As the Lebanese pound trading at around 20,000 to US dollar according to the black-market rate, the minimum wage in Lebanon is now worth less than 50$ per month. With no political or economic solutions in the horizon, Lebanese professionals and students find themselves forced to secure multiple jobs to secure a barely sufficient monthly income.
“There is no such a thing as 9–5 jobs for almost anyone in Lebanon anymore. Even those of us who are employed on a full-time basis, we leave the office to do freelance projects or attend a night shift at a second job”, says Maya Ali, a make-up and tattoo artist, who is currently working as a bartender at her own pub, Hamra FM. Ali noted that tattoo used to be solely a hobby for her, but due to the deteriorating economic situation in the country, she and her partner decided to reduce staff and work in the pub themselves.
To manage between her shifts as a bartender and her tattoo business, Ali started holding tattoo sessions in the bar during weekdays, when the bartending workload is low. Moreover, due to the fact that all tattoo material and equipment are imported, Ali finds herself in constant need for fresh US dollars to make her purchases. “My tattoo customers are rarely surprised when I inform them that the cost for a tattoo is in dollar, as they understand the high cost of imported material,” says Ali. Having the tattoo business bringing income in fresh US dollar, Ali depends on it for a sense of financial stability during what she referred to as unending dark period in Lebanon. “The tattoo business is actually bringing us now more income than the pub itself, so now I am teaching the waitress that works with us how to do tattoos,” Ali told us before introducing us to Taghreed Jaafar, her current tattoo protégé who is also waitressing in Hamra FM.
“I am a political science first-year student at the Lebanese University, I started working here in the pub a year ago when I came to Beirut”, Jaafar told us, adding that her salary from the pub couldn’t cover her rent and living expenses in the capital anymore. Jaafar whose family live in Beqaa, found herself in a hard situation, as her parents couldn’t afford to send her allowances after their financial situation deteriorated with that of Lebanon in general. To be able to cover her expenses in the city, in addition to her university fees, Jaafar decided to work as a bartender. However, as she planned to leave the country once graduated after the events that took place in Lebanon in October 2019, the first-year student decided to train as a tattoo artist in the hope that such a craft would grant her a job opportunity abroad. “Even if I don’t manage to travel abroad for work, becoming a tattoo artist would help me secure a source of income in fresh US dollars, which would help me keep my financial balance while staying in the country,” Jaafar told us.
Ali and Jaafar are not alone in their struggle to make a living in the country, as many young Lebanese are handling more than one job at the same time, while others are actively looking for ways to move overseas, mostly through education scholarships or by securing job offers from abroad. Carine Khoury, a Lebanese University graduate with a bachelor’s degree in architecture share with us her plan to move to Saudi Arabia by January 2022 to work as a beauty expert. “I was in my second year at the Lebanese University, studying to be an architect when the October revolution if I may call her, took place in Lebanon in 2019,” said Khoury as she explained how she took interest in the aesthetic and beauty field to become her steady career. “To support my family in light of the deteriorating financial situation in Lebanon, I had to find a well-paid job while I continued my studies in the University,” Khoury elaborated, adding that her background in art and her talent in drawing and aesthetic drove her to choose nail art and make-up as the fastest and most rewarding source of income possible. “I joined a beauty institute alongside my full-time studies, where I learned how to be a professional nail and make up artist and was granted multiple certifications to prove my expertise in the field,” added Khoury, who chose to pursue a career in a beauty salon in Jeddah, after her graduation to support her family in Lebanon.