The media have been saying that the Government of Lebanon does not control the southern part of the country, that all governmental functions there are performed by the Hezbolah milita. Well, suppose I live in that area and I want to send a letter to, say, France. What do I use for a postage stamp? Is Hezbolah issuing its own stamps?
The Lebanese postal carrier seems to be an outfit called Libanpost. From its site:
It appears to be a private company, so possibly doesn’t fall under the category of “government functions”.
It lists four offices in the south of the country: LibanPost | صفحة غير موجودة
I wouldn’t bother with trying to post it uless I could go inside.
Otherwise I’d stick it in my pocket and look for the first and quickest way OUT.
Hezbolah is issuing bullets and rockets not stamps from all that I can see on the news.
I know nothing specific about Lebanon, but the typical practice in such war-torn, divided areas is that private companies like this pay ‘fees’ (bribes) to whatever warlord currently controls the territory, in order to carry on their activities without interference. Sometimes that means a private company will be paying bribes to both sides in a civil war. Whatever it takes for them to be able to operate.
The warlord groups are willing to do this because:
- they want the money.
- they want services to operate somewhat normally, to satisify the local population.
- they want services to operate, so that they look like a legitimate government.
- they really, really want the money!
So no doubt Hezbolah is extorting money from LibanPost for this.