Philippe Leveque, the executive director of CARE France has just returned from Lebanon, the country that hosts the greatest number of Syrian refugees. During CARE’s assessment, Philippe Leveque has met numerous refugees that told him how they are coping with their new situation, what their difficulties and what their hopes for the future are.
70 percent of the Syrian refugees live in cities
When we talk about the refugee camps, we imagine villages made out of tents. However, Sabra and Chatila, two Palestinian camps that were created in 1948, resemble a labyrinth made of steep pathways. The sewage is dumped in the streets. We can barely see the sunlight because the buildings are so tall, built in an anarchic way, one floor made out of cinder block after another, sometimes close to collapsing. The population density is huge.
Before 1982, a big hospital was built here, called the Gaza hospital. The hospital was destroyed by the bombings and today the poorest people have settled there. Three families, around 20 people, have found shelter in what used to be the laundry room of the hospital. They are Palestinians who came as refugees to Syria in 1948. This is their second exile, this time in Lebanon. Strangers, who enter into their private space where everything is perfectly clean, frighten them. The children stand next to their grandmother and mother, whilst the grandfather looks exhausted. He is ill and cannot afford to pay for the treatment. The leader of the family is about 30 years old. He is very skinny and his legs are wrapped in bandages. He is the only one to speak to us.
The entire family has been living here since December 2012. The leader of the family immediately found a job as a carpenter, but one of his legs was severely injured using one of his machines. A Palestinian association helped him pay for the treatment. The family has to pay 400 dollars per month to rent these two tiny rooms. They must share their kitchen and toilets with the other families.
Additional economic, social and political pressures for Lebanon
The family receives a little bit of money from the UNRWA, a United Nations agency which assists Palestinian refugees. Also, they receive assistance from our partner, the association PARD which distributes 37 dollars per family per month. This money can be spent in approved supermarkets to obtain essential goods, for a price negotiated in advance. This system is built in a way that respects individual choices of beneficiaries and also supports local commerce without creating inflation. These steps are a cornerstone to limit the tensions between the different communities. But of course there is a “black market” for vouchers.
The massive arrival of 545.000 refugees (it is forecasted that one million refugees will have arrived in Lebanon at the end of 2013) heavily affects the economic, social and political lifestyle in Lebanon, a country that is already fragile. Lebanon’s refugees are using many of the country’s infrastructures such as electricity, water and schools, which are overcrowded. Shops are firing their Lebanese saleswomen to hire Syrian ones in order to pay them less. Syrians are accepting wages much lower than they used to, because Syrian refugees are desperate for their families to survive. Before the Syria conflict, a typical Syrian would be paid 20 000 Lebanese pounds a day (or 10 euros) but today the new refugees are willing to work for half that price, which is the strict minimum to survive in cities where the rents have skyrocketed due to the increase in demand.
Numerous Lebanese think that Syrians are neighbours and brothers who helped to build Lebanon – as Syrians represent a large part of the construction workers- and so they must be welcomed. Others fear that the social, economic and political situation in Lebanon may become worse due to the Syrian crisis and the massive arrival of refugees in their country.
International aid is insufficient
We must salute the Lebanese government for its decision to keep the borders open and for facilitating the work of UN agencies and NGO’s. We must also salute the Lebanese people for their hospitality. Yet, this situation cannot persist as it is. The international financial aid assistance is too low compared to the needs. France in particular has not managed to find additional financial support at the same level like Britain and Germany have managed to do. A political peace agreement in Syria is necessary, but from what the latest international discussions show, such an agreement is yet to emerge.
For how long would we in France accept 15 million Belgium or Spanish refugees without a social crisis? This is the reason why CARE is not only helping Syrian, Palestinian or Iraqi refugees, but also Lebanese people who used to live in Syria and now live in conditions that are not any better than those of the refugees and the Lebanese host communities. We are focusing our action on the region of Beirut and Mount Lebanon (40 km north and south of the capital) and within the northern region of Tripoli.
For now, we are following a path in the labyrinth of Chatila. We were aware of the insecurity in the settlement. Yet, we do not feel any pressure or see any unpleasant look. People are smiling and ask us where we come from. Thanks to support from our French and Canadian donors CARE and our partner PARD will repair water pumps and electric plugs. I hope these actions will motivate more institutional donors to assist Syrian refugees in need.
Read another story written by Philippe Leveque, the executive director of CARE France about increasing rent costs in for Syrian refugees in Lebanon.
Click here to read more about our work with Syrian refugees in Lebanon.
About CARE: Founded in 1945 with the creation of the CARE Package, CARE is a leading humanitarian organization fighting global poverty. CARE has more than six decades of experience delivering emergency aid during times of crisis. Our emergency responses focus on the needs of the most vulnerable populations, particularly girls and women. Women and girls are at the heart of CARE’s emergency relief efforts because our experience shows that their gains translate into benefits for families and communities. In Lebanon, CARE has set up operations in 2013 to support the growing needs of Syrian refugees.