Europe is groaning and creaking under the pressure. Germany is expecting around one million refugees for 2015 alone. At first, that appears to be a large number. But imagine the number instead was 40 million. Exactly that would be the equivalent of the situation in Lebanon. Since the outbreak of the war in Syria, approximately two million Syrians have crossed the border in their attempt to flee the violence. The small Mediterranean country is hence faced with political, economic and demographic challenges.
Lebanon’s social composition is slipping out of balance due to the high number of refugees. What is more, the state finds itself in a politically precarious situation. There has been no one to fill the post of president in over a year, the parliament has taken the liberty of extending its own mandate and the country is shaken up by weeks of protests against corruption, insufficient electricity and water supplies and the stench of waste that has not been collected in over a month. How does this country deal with the refugee situation and which conditions do Syrians face in Lebanon?
Refugees welcome?
Lebanon is divided into various political camps and denominations. Even the opinions on how to deal with refugees differ. On the one hand, some Lebanese people campaign for the refugees through NGOs and private initiatives. On the other hand, Lebanon and Syria look back on historical tensions which extend to modern Syrian refugees in Lebanon. Memories of the brutality of the Syrian occupying power in Lebanon, which was only expelled after the international community put pressure on Syria in 2005, cause many Lebanese people to perceive the new influx of Syrians as a new form of occupation. Prejudices and discrimination against refugees therefore present an everyday challenge which has an impact on the psyche of those who have fled Syria and which makes them feel unwelcome.
Political measures
Since recently, this sentiment is being promoted through political measures. Up until 2015, Lebanese borders were open and Syrians were merely required to present their ID cards when entering the country. However, the Lebanese government introduced visa requirements for Syrian nationals in January 2015 in an attempt to decelerate the high influx of refugees from the neighboring country. Since this point in time, Syrians must reveal their reason for entry and need to demonstrate that they are financially secured when crossing the border. In addition, they require a valid hotel booking.
It seems abstruse that refugees should be obliged to apply for a visa. However, Lebanon did not sign the 1951 Refugee Convention and hence is not bound to its regulations. The goal of the newly introduced measures was to contain the influx of Syrians. In reality, it has only led to the problem being shifted. Syrians now increasingly cross the border illegally. The regulations have therefore not led to the desired increase in immigration control, but to reduced control over the number of people present on state territory.
Why stay in Lebanon?
Many Syrians chose to remain in Lebanon because it made their sojourn feel temporary and seemingly left them the option of returning home whenever they wished. They have left parents, siblings, relatives and friends behind in Syria. Only seventy kilometers separate Beirut and Damascus. And yet, their home is a lost paradise to many, a place they cannot return to. Syrian refugees feel homeless and also do not feel welcome in Lebanon. “Our own country no longer wants us. And it is the same here in Lebanon, they do not want us.” Ahmad has already made a choice. He will leave Lebanon behind and plans to start a new life in Istanbul. He says it was an easy decision to make. However, the tension is noticeable on the evening before his departure. “Now, just before leaving Beirut, I suddenly realize that I also am a refugee. That there is no place I can call home.” He looks down at his cigarette with sad eyes. It goes out.
The situation is different for 26-year-old Youssef. He neither has a valid passport nor a visa. He cannot afford to renew his documents and to resume his journey. He feels forced to stay: “Lebanon has become a prison to me. There is no way out,” he tells me. This is also owed to the geographical location of Lebanon. The arch-enemy in form of Israel is located to the south while the civil war forms a blockade at the country’s eastern border and the west of Lebanon borders on the Mediterranean Sea. Coast guards are vigilant here and in order to access a boat, travelers are required to fly to Turkey – granted they are in possession of valid documents. Youssef is not alone with his expired passport. Whilst the Assad regime has made the decision in May 2015 to resume issuing passports, the renewal costs approximately 400 dollars when done by the embassy in Beirut. However, critics of the regime, as well as deserters and opposition members who had “run-ins” with the regime in the past are left only with the option of bribing officials in order to obtain valid passports. The price then increases to 1000 to 2000 dollars. Not many can afford the renewal due to the underpayment of Syrian workers, who typically cannot obtain work permits. Hardly any Syrians have been issued a work permit in Lebanon. Some live off their savings which melt away rapidly given the high living costs in Lebanon. Many struggle along – with small businesses, on construction sites, as day laborers or as errand boys for corner shops. With an average income of 600 dollars a month, not many Syrians can afford any additional expenses.
Even those who can afford new documents face another problem: The passports issued in Damascus lack the signature of the document holder as the passports are not renewed at the applicant’s location. Most countries, including Germany, do not accept passports without signatures. Their departure is not possible with these documents.
They could only use them to apply for the renewal of their stay permits in Lebanon, which themselves are tied to barely realistic requirements as finding a Lebanese guarantor presents an immense challenge in itself. “Unfortunately, we observe how people’s distress is taken advantage of. Some demand payment of several hundred dollars from refugees in exchange for their role as a guarantor,” Elza Seferian of the Danish Refugee Council explains.
As a result, the residence of countless Syrians has become illegal and they fear of being caught at checkpoints. Even those who manage to satisfy the constantly changing visa requirements and even find a Lebanese person willing to act as a guarantor find themselves at the mercy of those in positions of power. There are no guarantees.
Life in improvised camps
The circumstances are no better in the refugee camps in the east of the country. The camps are not officially recognized as refugee accommodation and are only tolerated by the government. They are erected on private land and landlords demand up to 200 dollars from refugee families for rent every month. That is a large sum for people who have lost everything. They need to obtain and furnish tents themselves. The camps resemble slums, populated with makeshift sheds which are protected by plastic covers and lined with cardboard and foil. They cannot adequately shelter their inhabitants from rain and cold temperatures.
“Nobody here is starving, we have enough to eat. But we lack everything else,” Majd Chourmaji, head of the NGO Women Now, describes the situation in the camps. She works in the small Lebanese town of Chtoura, halfway between Beirut and Damascus. The Syrian border is located only ten kilometers away. On the other side, the civil war has entered its fifth year. The Bekaa Valley alone accommodates around one million refugees.
“Everything is a problem here. If you have a child, that’s an issue. If you die, that is also a problem,” Majd summarizes while telling us about situations in which authorities have refused to register newborns and about the struggle to find a cemetery which accommodates Syrians. When a relative of hers passed away, the family was forced to search for two days. “Just for keeping her in the cold chamber of the morgue we were charged 100 dollars a day. We pleaded with them and explained that we really have no money, and they reduced the price to 50 dollars.”
Many children suffer from diarrhea and gastritis and their parents cannot afford any visits to a doctor. The hopelessly underfunded UNHCR is of little help. A woman with children living in Lebanon without a male head of family receives only 13 dollars per month through the World Food Program. Only last year, it was still 27 dollars. “Some women are pushed into prostitution,” Majd tells us. She adds that in many cases, children are also sent out to support their families. They sell roses or chewing gum, work on farms or as shoeshine boy – provided that they not roped into the grim business of “survival sex”.
Only 30 percent of the approximately 400,000 Syrian children in Lebanon attend a school. “These children need to be taken off the streets and need to go to school instead. They risk being radicalized on the streets,” Majd fears. Yet, on the one hand, authorities are not able to provide sufficient places and on the other hand, the Lebanese curriculum differs greatly from its Syrian counterpart. The language of instruction in Syria is exclusively Arabic while Lebanese schools also teach French and English. For that reason, many Syrian children cannot keep up with the pace in Lebanese schools. In addition, tuition fees and the cost of university education in the country’s largely privatized education system are unattainable for the majority of families.
The situation is catastrophic. “Some return to Syria. ‘Rather the bombs than life here,’ they say.”
Remain silent and hold out
Hani recently moved into a different apartment, located in a part of Beirut which accommodates many supporters of the Amal Movement, the second largest Shiite group in Lebanon. “Whatever you do, make sure not to display any dissident books in the living area. You never know who will drop in,” he warns his flat mates. Many dissidents are fearful, whether justified or not. Though Lebanon attempts to stay neutral regarding the acts of war in Syria, in reality, it is not. While Hezbollah is the strongest party within the Lebanese parliament, it still operates like a state within the state: It is the only party which did not officially have to surrender its weapons following the end of the civil war in 1990. The party nominates ministers and delegates and rules over internal security - and its military branch joined forces with Assad in Syria long ago. Insofar, many critics of the Syrian regime in Lebanon also feel threatened by Hezbollah and recognize familiar patterns.
This fear has led to some people not daring to register with the UN in Lebanon. That is fatal in view of the changes made in January which now prohibit the registration of further refugees. Admittedly, these programs do not offer any substantial financial support. However, registration does allow for the registered person to fall into one of the rare resettlement programs and is the basis for the application for various international university scholarships for Syrian refugees.
Back to Syria or onwards to Europe
Whether back to Syria or into Europe – even Lebanese citizens consider emigrating more than ever in light of the current government crisis. Political stagnation and an unresolved waste crisis reflect the lack of prospects faced by numerous people in Lebanon. Whoever speaks to Syrians in Lebanon discovers: Europe, there are more to come. Many, perhaps thousands, more. That is why Lebanon should not be left to its own devices when faced with the refugee crisis.
However, support alone is no long-term solution. As long as there are no promising attempts made to end the conflict in Syria, as long as the killing feverishly proceeds at a large scale, people will be forced to abandon their homes in Syria and to search for new beginnings elsewhere. It is thus of even greater importance to perseveringly insist on a political solution. Failing this, the stream of Syrian refugees will persist.