Berri Slams Govt. over Expats, Urges It to Bring Them Home

Speaker Nabih Berri on Friday called on the government to hold an extraordinary session to discuss the issue of bringing home Lebanese expats amid the coronavirus pandemic.

"They are facing the threat of the pandemic across the globe and some places lack hospitals and the minimum basics of health care," Berri warned.

"Isn't the attempt to steal their deposits via capital control enough? You are asking them to submit requests to embassies, but they are not seeking citizenship. They are Lebanese or rather the Lebanese," Berri added.

He also noted that the expats are "willing to bear all the burdens of their return, be them financial or medical."

"They welcome the idea that each plane would contain a Lebanese medical team that would examine them prior to boarding the plane. Upon their arrival, they would be subject to precaution measures at places they are willing to provide in coordination with the Health Ministry," Berri went on to say.

The government has announced that it is working on a plan to bring back the Lebanese who want to return home while noting that it will not be ready before April 12.