Amine Tarhini was born in the southern part of Lebanon, a farming village, known for cultivating tobacco and wheat, growing olive and fig trees, and raising dairy cows and goats.  He lived for 15 years in Beirut, receiving a private school education, coming to America in 1978, graduating from Texas A & M with a degree in Electrical Engineering.

In today’s Rotary program, Amine provided a current glimpse into his home land and the economic challenges of Lebanon along with the current refugee crisis.

Lebanon has plunged into one of the worst economic crisis of modern times.  Now three  years into the economic crisis, inflation is estimated at 210%, nearly 80 percent of  Lebanon’s population live under the poverty line, and the government has repeatedly delayed promised reforms and social protection plans.  Hospitals are struggling to provide care and electricity blackouts are a common occurrence. To date, no one has been held accountable for the catastrophic explosion in Beirut’s port on August 4, 2020.