The fire on December 27, 2020, ripped tented shelters apart in Bhanine, Northern Lebanon. Nearly 75 families reside there. UNHCR reported that more than 370 refugees in the camp were forced to leave after. At least four residents were injured. The reason behind the fire is that six Syrian employers living in this camp demanded their rightful wage which the Lebanese employers refused to give. The National News Agency claimed the “altercation” was between Syrian workers and a Lebanese family.¹ Eventually, six Syrian workers and two Lebanese people were arrested. The investigation is ongoing. Until now, no one of who set the fire was legally sentenced.²
Many other public acts of discrimination against Syrian refugees in Lebanon were depicted. For example, the arresting of Syrian workers in Café Em Nazih that tried to clean up after Beirut’s explosion. While the list never ends, searching discrimination or racism and Lebanon, it can be figured out that this phenomenon is not new in Lebanon. The discrimination in Lebanon is mainstream, it does not limit to color, race, religion, and nationality.³ Discrimination in attitudes, verbs and speeches of Lebanese citizens against Syrian refugees in Lebanon is reflective to the government's scapegoating discourse.
Syrian refugees have been blamed for the economic, social and security crises in the country by Lebanon’s leading political forces and elites. These talks created a xenophobic popular culture against Syrians among individuals and group gatherings. Syrian refugees are now the first to blame whenever a small thing happen by the political parties.⁴
Nearly three years ago, President of Lebanon General Michael Aoun stated that “The wave of Syrian displacement has produced negative repercussions that has impacted all Lebanese sectors.” He continues “Lebanon, which has provided all the humanitarian and logistical facilities for refugees during the Syrian war, believes that Syrian territory except for Idlib (province) and its surrounding area, is now stable, making it easier for refugees to return."⁵ Lebanon’s foreign minister and General Michael Aoun’s son-in-law requested the UK to reconsider their act on spending money to keep 1.5 million Syrian refugees in Lebanon, since they are stealing the Lebanese citizens’ jobs and diminishing wages.⁶
The scapegoating discourse does not come from a natural inclination towards discrimination. But, it indicates a big crisis the Lebanese government has been facing since 2005. It shows how the Lebanese authorities and government are unable to manage the Syrian refugees during the economic crisis Lebanon is facing. The Lebanese state is still trying to escape the pressure of being blamed for the economic crisis by blaming the Syrian refugees in return and demanding for their return to their country.
Lebanon is undergoing a deep economic crisis after consecutive governments piled up debts after the civil war 1990. In the face of lack of job opportunities and instability of the situation, skilled Lebanese and youths immigrate to find a better job opportunity or study in better universities. This economic crisis influenced the employment sector negatively. The unemployment rate is increasing, where the Government attributed to the existence of Syrian refugees in the country. These Syrian refugees approved to work with low wages and hard conditions, denying the prestige to live with dignity. Moreover, Syrian families are in urge of money to live even if the parents are working, so child labor is spreading widely.
Even though Syrians agree to work in agriculture, construction and cleaning services, unlike Lebanese people. They do not own a residence permit, so they are unable to get a labor permit. Thus, they work illegally and for a small wage.⁷
Syrian refugees who own a good university degree and a great CV cannot work. The Lebanese government limited their work in cleaning and restaurants’ minor positions, as waiters or waitresses. In addition, Syrian refugees who work as waiters or waitresses must learn the Lebanese accent, since the Syrian accent is believed to annoy the costumers.⁸
Lebanon does not take Syrian refugees’ education in consideration. Syrian students were deprived for almost two years of education due to failure by schools to provide then with distance learning. Education Ministry officials said in a meeting that almost 25000 young Syrians who must have enrolled in first grade did not. Many Syrian students cannot attend public schools, it might be because their families cannot afford the cost of transportation, or it might be because these public schools rejected them. Baccalaureate and Brevet tests, the official tests of Lebanon that every student must take to continue their education in university and high school respectively, are not taken by Syrian refugees since they do not own a legal residency in Lebanon.
To solve this issue, humanitarian aid organizations created non-formal schools near Syrian refugees camps. However, the Education Ministry rejected to let them use the normal school curriculum. They only allowed these organizations to teach basic numeracy and literacy. Syrian students must do placement tests to get approved to enter. It is not obliged for other citizens.
Syrian students who have not studied in Lebanese public schools must complete a donor-funded special accelerated learning program before entering the public school. But this program is not being offered online since Covid-19, so nearly 6500 Syrian students are left without any education.⁹
Families of dead Syrian refugees in Lebanon are struggling to bury their beloved ones. Most of the time, these families leave the dead bodies in hospitals morgues while they are trying to find cemeteries that will accept the body. They usually cannot afford the fees of burying the body and hospital fees, so they carry the body in a card box and dig a hole in the grave with their bare hands. They also cannot afford the cost of burial, performing Islamic rites of cleansing, or shrouds and gravestones.¹⁰ Many refugees that are unable to locate and/or afford official gravesites for their loved ones tend to bury them in secret at night.¹¹ Lebanese law does not ban Syrians to not bury their beloved bodies in Lebanese cemeteries, since they are regulated and managed by religious authorities at the municipal level. Each municipality of a town sets the rules, whether a Syrian can be buried in their cemetery or not.¹² This shows that the Lebanese government is ignoring the xenophobic and discriminative acts towards the Syrian refugees.
Humanitarian aid organizations in Lebanon and outside must stop treating Syrian refugees in Lebanon through a strictly humanitarian view. They should take into consideration the governmental and political acts and discourses that create the negative thoughts of Lebanese citizens towards Syrian refugees. They must put pressure on media institutions, Lebanese citizens and politicians on their speeches, acts, and discourses. This could grab people that are outside the discriminative acts and sectors to focus on the real issues that people Syrians are facing what Lebanese faced in the past, in their struggle against exploitation and survival under oppression, wars, immigration, forced refuge, and social injustice.
Many other public acts of discrimination against Syrian refugees in Lebanon were depicted. For example, the arresting of Syrian workers in Café Em Nazih that tried to clean up after Beirut’s explosion. While the list never ends, searching discrimination or racism and Lebanon, it can be figured out that this phenomenon is not new in Lebanon. The discrimination in Lebanon is mainstream, it does not limit to color, race, religion, and nationality.³ Discrimination in attitudes, verbs and speeches of Lebanese citizens against Syrian refugees in Lebanon is reflective to the government's scapegoating discourse.
Syrian refugees have been blamed for the economic, social and security crises in the country by Lebanon’s leading political forces and elites. These talks created a xenophobic popular culture against Syrians among individuals and group gatherings. Syrian refugees are now the first to blame whenever a small thing happen by the political parties.⁴
Nearly three years ago, President of Lebanon General Michael Aoun stated that “The wave of Syrian displacement has produced negative repercussions that has impacted all Lebanese sectors.” He continues “Lebanon, which has provided all the humanitarian and logistical facilities for refugees during the Syrian war, believes that Syrian territory except for Idlib (province) and its surrounding area, is now stable, making it easier for refugees to return."⁵ Lebanon’s foreign minister and General Michael Aoun’s son-in-law requested the UK to reconsider their act on spending money to keep 1.5 million Syrian refugees in Lebanon, since they are stealing the Lebanese citizens’ jobs and diminishing wages.⁶
The scapegoating discourse does not come from a natural inclination towards discrimination. But, it indicates a big crisis the Lebanese government has been facing since 2005. It shows how the Lebanese authorities and government are unable to manage the Syrian refugees during the economic crisis Lebanon is facing. The Lebanese state is still trying to escape the pressure of being blamed for the economic crisis by blaming the Syrian refugees in return and demanding for their return to their country.
Lebanon is undergoing a deep economic crisis after consecutive governments piled up debts after the civil war 1990. In the face of lack of job opportunities and instability of the situation, skilled Lebanese and youths immigrate to find a better job opportunity or study in better universities. This economic crisis influenced the employment sector negatively. The unemployment rate is increasing, where the Government attributed to the existence of Syrian refugees in the country. These Syrian refugees approved to work with low wages and hard conditions, denying the prestige to live with dignity. Moreover, Syrian families are in urge of money to live even if the parents are working, so child labor is spreading widely.
Even though Syrians agree to work in agriculture, construction and cleaning services, unlike Lebanese people. They do not own a residence permit, so they are unable to get a labor permit. Thus, they work illegally and for a small wage.⁷
Syrian refugees who own a good university degree and a great CV cannot work. The Lebanese government limited their work in cleaning and restaurants’ minor positions, as waiters or waitresses. In addition, Syrian refugees who work as waiters or waitresses must learn the Lebanese accent, since the Syrian accent is believed to annoy the costumers.⁸
Lebanon does not take Syrian refugees’ education in consideration. Syrian students were deprived for almost two years of education due to failure by schools to provide then with distance learning. Education Ministry officials said in a meeting that almost 25000 young Syrians who must have enrolled in first grade did not. Many Syrian students cannot attend public schools, it might be because their families cannot afford the cost of transportation, or it might be because these public schools rejected them. Baccalaureate and Brevet tests, the official tests of Lebanon that every student must take to continue their education in university and high school respectively, are not taken by Syrian refugees since they do not own a legal residency in Lebanon.
To solve this issue, humanitarian aid organizations created non-formal schools near Syrian refugees camps. However, the Education Ministry rejected to let them use the normal school curriculum. They only allowed these organizations to teach basic numeracy and literacy. Syrian students must do placement tests to get approved to enter. It is not obliged for other citizens.
Syrian students who have not studied in Lebanese public schools must complete a donor-funded special accelerated learning program before entering the public school. But this program is not being offered online since Covid-19, so nearly 6500 Syrian students are left without any education.⁹
Families of dead Syrian refugees in Lebanon are struggling to bury their beloved ones. Most of the time, these families leave the dead bodies in hospitals morgues while they are trying to find cemeteries that will accept the body. They usually cannot afford the fees of burying the body and hospital fees, so they carry the body in a card box and dig a hole in the grave with their bare hands. They also cannot afford the cost of burial, performing Islamic rites of cleansing, or shrouds and gravestones.¹⁰ Many refugees that are unable to locate and/or afford official gravesites for their loved ones tend to bury them in secret at night.¹¹ Lebanese law does not ban Syrians to not bury their beloved bodies in Lebanese cemeteries, since they are regulated and managed by religious authorities at the municipal level. Each municipality of a town sets the rules, whether a Syrian can be buried in their cemetery or not.¹² This shows that the Lebanese government is ignoring the xenophobic and discriminative acts towards the Syrian refugees.
Humanitarian aid organizations in Lebanon and outside must stop treating Syrian refugees in Lebanon through a strictly humanitarian view. They should take into consideration the governmental and political acts and discourses that create the negative thoughts of Lebanese citizens towards Syrian refugees. They must put pressure on media institutions, Lebanese citizens and politicians on their speeches, acts, and discourses. This could grab people that are outside the discriminative acts and sectors to focus on the real issues that people Syrians are facing what Lebanese faced in the past, in their struggle against exploitation and survival under oppression, wars, immigration, forced refuge, and social injustice.
References:
1. Al Jazeera. (2020, December 27). Lebanon arrests 8 as Syrian refugee camp set ablaze after fight. Refugees News | Al Jazeera. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/12/27/syrian-refugee-camp-in-lebanon-set-ablaze-after-row#:%7E:text=The%20fire%20on%20Saturday%20night,leaving%20only%20a%20charred%20wasteland.&text=The%20National%20News%20Agency%20(NNA,family%20and%20%E2%80%9CSyrian%20workers%E2%80%9D.
2. Deutsche Welle (www.dw.com). Syrian refugee camp burned to ground in Lebanon. DW.COM. Retrieved April 9, 2022, from https://www.dw.com/en/syrian-refugee-camp-burned-to-ground-in-northern-lebanon/a-56068640
3. Today, P. (2021, February 19). Syrian Refugeehood, Racism and the Lebanese Question. Politics Today. https://politicstoday.org/syrian-refugeehood-racism-and-the-lebanese-question/
4. Understanding racism against Syrian refugees in Lebanon. (2022, February 2). Civil Society Knowledge Centre. https://civilsociety-centre.org/paper/understanding-racism-against-syrian-refugees-lebanon
5. Lebanese president insists on return of Syrian refugees. (2019, June 24). Arab News. https://www.arabnews.com/node/1515711/middle-east
6. Wintour, P. (2019, June 15). Thousands of Syrian refugees could be sent back, says Lebanese minister. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jun/15/thousands-of-syrian-refugees-could-be-sent-back-says-lebanese-minister
7. Azimov, K. (2022). The Situation of Syrian Refugees in Lebanon: Challenges and Prospects. Russia and the Moslem World, 1(315), 73–86. https://doi.org/10.31249/rmw/2022.01.07
8. Lawley, C. (2020, August 26). Beirut: An explosion that exposed the discrimination against Syrians. TRT World. https://www.trtworld.com/opinion/beirut-an-explosion-that-exposed-the-discrimination-against-syrians-39217
9. Lebanon: Action Needed on Syrian Refugee Education Crisis. (2021, March 26). Human Rights Watch. https://www.hrw.org/news/2021/03/26/lebanon-action-needed-syrian-refugee-education-crisis
10. Shaheen, K. (2018, April 14). Tiny graves: Syrian refugees in Lebanon struggle for space to bury children. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/mar/30/lebanon-no-space-syrian-refugees-graves-bury-dead
11. Fernandez, B. (2016, June 15). Even in death, there’s no place of rest for Syrians in Lebanon. Middle East Eye. https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/even-death-theres-no-place-rest-syrians-lebanon
12. A. (2020a, December 1). Lebanon: no country to bury Syrian refugees. Syria Direct. https://syriadirect.org/lebanon-no-country-to-bury-syrian-refugees/#:%7E:text=No%20Lebanese%20law%20bans%20Syrians,grave%20for%20their%20loved%20ones
1. Al Jazeera. (2020, December 27). Lebanon arrests 8 as Syrian refugee camp set ablaze after fight. Refugees News | Al Jazeera. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/12/27/syrian-refugee-camp-in-lebanon-set-ablaze-after-row#:%7E:text=The%20fire%20on%20Saturday%20night,leaving%20only%20a%20charred%20wasteland.&text=The%20National%20News%20Agency%20(NNA,family%20and%20%E2%80%9CSyrian%20workers%E2%80%9D.
2. Deutsche Welle (www.dw.com). Syrian refugee camp burned to ground in Lebanon. DW.COM. Retrieved April 9, 2022, from https://www.dw.com/en/syrian-refugee-camp-burned-to-ground-in-northern-lebanon/a-56068640
3. Today, P. (2021, February 19). Syrian Refugeehood, Racism and the Lebanese Question. Politics Today. https://politicstoday.org/syrian-refugeehood-racism-and-the-lebanese-question/
4. Understanding racism against Syrian refugees in Lebanon. (2022, February 2). Civil Society Knowledge Centre. https://civilsociety-centre.org/paper/understanding-racism-against-syrian-refugees-lebanon
5. Lebanese president insists on return of Syrian refugees. (2019, June 24). Arab News. https://www.arabnews.com/node/1515711/middle-east
6. Wintour, P. (2019, June 15). Thousands of Syrian refugees could be sent back, says Lebanese minister. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jun/15/thousands-of-syrian-refugees-could-be-sent-back-says-lebanese-minister
7. Azimov, K. (2022). The Situation of Syrian Refugees in Lebanon: Challenges and Prospects. Russia and the Moslem World, 1(315), 73–86. https://doi.org/10.31249/rmw/2022.01.07
8. Lawley, C. (2020, August 26). Beirut: An explosion that exposed the discrimination against Syrians. TRT World. https://www.trtworld.com/opinion/beirut-an-explosion-that-exposed-the-discrimination-against-syrians-39217
9. Lebanon: Action Needed on Syrian Refugee Education Crisis. (2021, March 26). Human Rights Watch. https://www.hrw.org/news/2021/03/26/lebanon-action-needed-syrian-refugee-education-crisis
10. Shaheen, K. (2018, April 14). Tiny graves: Syrian refugees in Lebanon struggle for space to bury children. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/mar/30/lebanon-no-space-syrian-refugees-graves-bury-dead
11. Fernandez, B. (2016, June 15). Even in death, there’s no place of rest for Syrians in Lebanon. Middle East Eye. https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/even-death-theres-no-place-rest-syrians-lebanon
12. A. (2020a, December 1). Lebanon: no country to bury Syrian refugees. Syria Direct. https://syriadirect.org/lebanon-no-country-to-bury-syrian-refugees/#:%7E:text=No%20Lebanese%20law%20bans%20Syrians,grave%20for%20their%20loved%20ones