The increasing presence of Syrian refugees in Lebanon tops the crisis-hit country’s latest concerns as popular and political moves gain momentum to address the matter impacting its fragile economy.
Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri has called for a parliament session early next week to address the matter and to discuss the EU one billion dollar grant aimed at helping stem flows of irregular migrants. The majority of Lebanon’s parliamentary blocs are expected to attend.
The Maronite Center for Documentation and Research, led by Maronite Patriarch Beshara Al Rahi, held a closed meeting to address the matter.
Several ministers took part including: Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi who represented PM Najib Mikati, Minister of Social Affairs Hektor Hajjar, Minister of the Displaced Issam Sharafeddine, Justice Minister Henri Helo, Minister of Education and Higher Education Abbas Halabi, Army Chief Joseph Aoun, in addition to representatives of the security apparatuses and governors.
“You will soon hear about the voluntary return of Syrian refugees back to their homeland”, said Mawlawi before the meeting, assuring that the controversial EU grant has not been approved.
He affirmed that all necessary measures will be taken with the assistance of the country’s municipalities, “we will not accept the presence of illegal Syrians in Lebanon”, he said.
Last week, EU chief Ursula von der Leyen announced $1 billion in aid to Lebanon to help tackle illegal migration, as rights groups warned against forced returns to Syria.
The grant drew criticisms as some considered it a bribe to keep the Syrian refugees on Lebanese soil.
The education minister said he will make sure to raise the situation of Lebanon’s educational sector “mainly the Syrians” during the meeting in Bkerke.
In 2013, the Lebanese government adopted an educational response to the Syrian crisis, enrolling Syrian refugee children in second shifts at public schools to access education.
On Thursday, the Free Patriotic Movement held a popular movement in Downtown Beirut “rejecting external interferences to solve the Syrian displacement crisis on its own soil”. An FPM bloc held talks with several officials and met with Speaker Berri on that matter.
The Lebanese Forces party also held meetings with several officials closely connected to the refugees issue, and met with Filippo Grandi, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
“Lebanon is not suitable to be a country for refugees”, they stressed.
Similarly, the Progressive Socialist Party has also called for dialogue with the Syrian state to address the matter of refugees.
The recent activity comes one week before the parliamentary session that Berri has called for at the request of Mikati. The PM was largely criticized after the EU grant matter.
Some have considered the EU grant as a “bribe” to keep the Syrian refugees on Lebanese soil.
Unnamed sources have accessed the latest momentum on the refugee crisis and Bkerke’s call for a meeting on the matter, describing it as a “popular mobilization heralding the beginning of a solution”.
Lebanon's economy collapsed in late 2019, turning it into a launchpad for migrants, with Lebanese joining Syrians and Palestinian refugees making perilous Europe-bound voyages.
Lebanon says it currently hosts around two million people from neighboring Syria -- the world's highest number of refugees per capita -- with almost 785,000 registered with the United Nations.
