Refugees of the Syrian civil war in Lebanon
Since the onset of the Syrian Civil War in March 2011, over 1.5 million Syrian refugees have fled to Lebanon, and constitute nearly one-fourth of the Lebanese population today. Lebanon currently holds the largest refugee population per capita in the world.[1]
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UNHCR statistics indicate a massive influx of Syrian refugees into Lebanon between 2012 and 2014, which overwhelmed Lebanon's already crumbling infrastructure and public institutions. Between August and December 2012, the number of Syrian refugees increased from 36,000 to approximately 150,000; by May 2013, the number had increased to 463,000, and by October 2014, 1,151,057. These numbers only serve as estimates, however, given other refugees’ fear of registering with what they believed to be a pro-Assad Lebanese government.[2] The majority of Syrian refugees reside in Northern Lebanon (Akkar District) or the Beqaa Valley, Lebanon's two poorest regions.[3] Despite cooperation between NGOs and Government Institutions to provide necessary aid to Syrian refugee populations, refugees struggle to access the aid due to legal status, resource scarcity, poverty and lack of information distribution on these resources.
Refugee conditions in Lebanon[edit]
Employment[edit]
The Lebanese government sought to protect its domestic workers from the sudden influx of competing workers by denying Syrian refugees the possibility of legal employment. A 2013 World Bank report found that the influx of Syrian refugees doubled Lebanon's unemployment rate, particularly impacting unskilled youth. To maintain their livelihoods, many refugees resorted to child labor and prostitution, increasing the pressure on them to return to Syria or leave Lebanon for other destinations.[7]
Barriers to Aid Access[edit]
Many factors like legal status, a lack of resources and poverty hinder Syrian refugees in Lebanon from accessing necessary aid to meet their basic needs. According to a 2019 Human Rights Watch World Report, 74% of the 1.5 million Syrian refugees residing in Lebanon do not have legal status.[19] To avoid detainment, arrest, or deportation, illegal Syrian refugees limit their movements as much as possible. Out of fear of prosecution for their legal status, refugees' access to vital aid and services becomes more limited.[20]
A study assessing the impacts of the Syrian refugee crisis on Lebanon found that the large influx of Syrian refugees into the country strained infrastructure including electricity, water, sanitation, municipal services, transportation and schools.[21] A Lebanon Humanitarian Fund report determined that the strain on infrastructure increases poverty and tensions between communities and heightens socioeconomic inequalities.[22] Due to the resource strain, the Lebanese Ministry of Education is unable to meet the needs of the 488,000-school aged Syrian refugee children in Lebanon,[23] causing half of them to remain out of school.[22] Food assistance provision was also determined to be insufficient, with 91% of Syrian refugees experiencing some degree of food insecurity in 2017. Inadequate access to healthcare services is also predicted to cause higher mortality rates within the Syrian refugee population.[22]
Nine out of ten Syrian refugee families currently live under the poverty line, making it difficult to access necessary services.[24] A Human Rights Watch report determined that severe economic strain makes school enrollment difficult for Syrian refugee families because of the necessary enrollment fees, transportation costs and school supply costs.[25] According to the International Labour Organization for Arab States, poverty leads Syrian refugee children to work dangerous jobs to support their families instead of attending school, subjecting them to labor exploitation.[26]
A 2016 RAND Corporation research report on the Syrian refugee crisis in Lebanon found that aside from illegal status, poverty and resource scarcity, the lack of information on aid resources is what prevents refugees from accessing necessary resources. The lack of access to aid resources is attributed to an information gap in understanding what resources are available and under what conditions one can or cannot be eligible for aid. Additionally, Syrian refugees in Lebanon reportedly perceived aid provision as "random, unfair, corrupt, unequal, insufficient, or unresponsive".[27]
Response to the refugee crisis[edit]
Government response[edit]
The Lebanese government's response to the Syrian refugee crisis has been largely shaped by the long-term presence of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon. Following the aftermath of the Palestine War in 1948, Lebanon welcomed Palestinian refugees in the expectation that their presence would be temporary. In response to the continual settlement of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon nearly seven decades later, Lebanon decided not to grant citizenship to Syrian refugees in order to protect its own fragile sectarian balance.[7] The influx of Syrian refugees, mostly Sunni Muslims, has increased the demographic weight of Sunnis in Lebanon. Currently, Sunnis are the third largest confessional group in Lebanon; as political power in Lebanon is distributed on a confessional basis, the demographic shift holds significant implications for Lebanese politics.[28]