Regional differences in the conditions of Syrian refugees in Lebanon (original) (raw)
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Syrian refugees in Lebanon: a spatial study
Applied Economics Letters, 2019
Almost seven years of catastrophic conflict and unrest in Syria have resulted in a colossal flow of the displaced population. According to The United Nation Refugee Agency (UNHCR), by the end of 2016, there were over one million registered Syrian refugees in Lebanon. This means compared to any other host country, Lebanon has the highest rate of refugee per local population. In this paper, we focus on refugees' placement and residence, which have shown an uneven distribution among different regions of Lebanon. Maps generated by the available data show that districts with high refugee population rates are surrounded by districts with low population rates. Our results indicate that among other variables, access to credit is the most critical variable for explaining this spatial pattern.
Refugees of the Arab Spring: The Syrian Refugees in Lebanon
Refugees of the Arab Spring: The Syrian Refugees in Lebanon, 2012
“Refugees of the Arab Spring”: The Syrian Refugees in Lebanon, Research Paper Series No. 1/2012, Carthage Center for Research and Information (CCRI) of the Lebanese Development Network (LDN) and the Lebanese Emigration Research Center (LERC) of Notre Dame University (NDU), published by the Center for Migration and Refugee Studies (CMRS) of the American University of Cairo (AUC), 2012, [ISSN 2221-3333]. This review of one year's influx of Syrian refugees into Lebanon is meant to reveal the political, communitarian, and humanitarian factors that shape the State of Lebanon's policy towards it. The Lebanese government has lately adopted a ‘disassociation’ policy regarding the Syrian conflict with the objective of preventing the spill-over of the conflict and the destabilization of the country. Regional and international powers well understand the reasons for this policy, given Lebanon's geopolitical situation, its history, and its "special ties' with Syria. However, while Lebanon might be able to disassociate itself from the political entanglements of the Syrian crisis, it cannot distance itself from dealing with the growing numbers of Syrian refugees on its territory. A policy of neglect has characterized the Lebanese government’s de facto relationship to the humanitarian crisis of Syrian refugees in Lebanon. Their basic needs for shelter, education, and medical assistance have been met by a combination of packages devised, without Lebanon’s participation, by the UN and the latter’s implementing partners. The Lebanese government has also allowed unsupervised religious charities to dominate refugee assistance, adding to a sectarian approach to the Syrian refugee crisis. This policy is beginning to feed back into the tensions that already divide ethnic and religious groups in the country. Against the background of these findings, this report analyzes the need for the Lebanese authorities to design an adequate refugee protection framework in consultation with the UNHCR and to devise a temporary protection status for Syrian refugees in Lebanon. A new agreement or Memorandum of Understanding between Lebanon and UNHCR should take into consideration Lebanon's complex history with refugees on its territory and the political consequences of hosting refugees from a neighboring state. This approach would facilitate Lebanon's obligation to abide by international refugee protection laws while, most importantly from the point of view of Lebanese sovereignty, preventing a further spillover of the Syrian conflict into Lebanon. Consequently, such a framework could provide a model for an adequate regional response to other migration flows of Arab Spring refugees in the Middle East.
No Place To Stay? Reflections on the Syrian Refugee Shelter Policy in Lebanon
The research seeks to contribute to the policy debates pertaining to the question of establishing camps for Syrian refugees in Lebanon. In response to the critical need for research and analysis on this topic, this report addresses the emerging challenges of providing shelter for Syrian refugees in Lebanon, hosting them and ensuring their protection. The matter of securing adequate shelter for Syrian refugees, the report argues, cannot be understood without unpacking the complex web of historical, political, socioeconomic and governance conditions specific to the Lebanese context. Based on evidence collected from extensive literature review, fieldwork, interviews and focus group discussions conducted in Lebanon for this study, the report provides the myriad of concerned actors involved in refugee shelter issues, such as local authorities, governmental institutions, non-governmental organizations, UN agencies, and other international organizations, with recommendations to make informed decisions and enact effective policies that apply to the Lebanese context.
The Impact of the Syrian Refugee Crisis in Lebanon
One of the most dramatic consequences of the Syrian civil war has been the massive displacement of civilians in and outside of Syria. Syrian refugees now constitute more than a quarter of the population in Lebanon. Although the government declared a policy of disassociation – a policy of professed neutrality regarding Syria – this has been undermined due to the presence of a plethora of actors with differing interests. Refugee flow has had severe impacts on national security and the economy, leading to further destabilization in Lebanon. The refugee flow has placed a serious burden on public services delivery including education, healthcare, housing, sanitation, water, and electricity, as well as on physical infrastructure which has lacked adequate capacity. Labor competition and the feeling that Syrians receive different financial treatment has generated ambivalent attitutes and resentments among locals. Both government and public concerns regarding the Syrian crisis and refugees may increase sectarian volatility and deepen pre-existing tensions due to the long and tortured history of Syria-Lebanon relations and increasing involvement of Hezbollah in Syria. One extreme risk might be the militarization of refugees. A strong government and regional/international support are vital for Lebanon to ensure stability in such a destabilizing situation.
Lebanon has witnessed multiple waves of displaced peoples throughout its recent history, including the displacement of Palestinians to Lebanon after the occupation of Palestine in 1948, the internal displacement of families from occupied Southern Lebanon after the Israeli invasion of 1978, and the influx of Syrian refugees after the outbreak of the Syrian crisis in 2011. Many Syrian families had to reconstitute their lives in Lebanon because of the crisis in their country, often in tented and informal settlements or in overpopulated or even abandoned buildings. This article focuses on the process of hosting Syrian refugees in Saida in Southern Lebanon after 2011. It explores service provisions and the two dominant types of housing for Syrian refugees: collective shelters and single apartments within local neighbourhoods. The article argues that mechanisms of exclusion emerge with intensity in cities like Saida that have received and accommodated multiple waves of displacement. Such mechanisms of exclusion in Saida are politically attuned to the historical depth of the hosting experience and emerge at multiple levels, both social and spatial. This is despite Saida's mobilization to provide aid, and its departure from housing refugees Keywords displacement Syrian refugees Lebanon social exclusion housing urban services
11 Years On: Revisiting the Syrian Refugee Crisis in Lebanon
Lebanon's plummeting economic crisis has put Syrian refugees in a precarious condition. The cycle of dispossession, exile, and persecution continues to permeate the lives of Syrian refugees who are sprinkled across the region and live in a constant state of fear. Freelance Journalist, Mikail Malik speaks to those on the ground to get a clearer picture of what is at stake for Syrians and the region at large.
Refugee crisis in Lebanon - the security and insecurity of refugee encampment
2018
Lebanon is currently home to over 1 million refugees as a result of the civil war in neighboring Syria. Syrian refugees currently make up ¼ of the population in Lebanon, and as a result have strained Lebanese infrastructure, the political stability, and relationships between refugees and hostcommunities. With a deeply rooted history of the Palestinian refugee community in Lebanon, who remain in a perpetual refugee state, the response has been predominantly concerned with maintaining national security. Consequently, the Lebanese government has enacted policies that further marginalize the Syrian refugee community. In contrast to the Palestinian refugees who were placed in official UN camps, the Lebanese government has been adamantly opposed to the establishment of official UNHCR camps for Syrian refugees. This has led to a scattered refugee community throughout Lebanon, and as the conflict is going into its seventh year, Syrian refugees are more vulnerable than ever before. This thes...