An insider's guide to how Lebanon works (or doesn't)

Your first impression when you think of Beirut can seem a bit like this, especially if you'd recently read this horrible Telegraph article:

Residents in Beirut and Mount Lebanon have seen the streets being littered with more and more waste since last Friday after the closure of the Naameh landfill, again . That's right, this has happened before.

Environmental activists had previously staged numerous protests to have the landfill closed and an alternative found. After protesters blocked the entrance to the dump in January  because its contract had ended, the government approved a hasty extenstion until April .

Three months later, the Environment Ministry has shut down the landfill,  despite having no alternative place for the garbage that is piling up in the streets.

While this could be shocking to anyone who thinks Lebanon is a string of beach resorts hosting $100,000 parties, the Lebanese, who have long-standing trust issues with the government, have gotten so used to things going wrong that they've taken this the best way they could: with satire and cynicism.

"Excuse me, can you lead me to the Bandakji building?"

"Not the first garbage or the second, the third one to your right."

Parliament, which extended its term for the second time last November  in order to continue not electing a new president, has also found the time to not solve the garbage issue.

In another instance, some politicians – who form a good bloc of the Cabinet and the Parliament – called on their supporters to take to the streets in order to disrupt a recent Cabinet meeting because one of their ministers was yelled at for speaking out of line.

So basically, to sum up, in Lebanon, citizens have to deal with a government made of crybaby politicians who haven't let them vote but instead let them live in filth – literally. People have gotten so sick of waiting for a solution that they've started taking matters in their own hands :

And while that may seem like a solution (except it's not), we propose Lebanese take it to the next level.