| The Daily Star |
 |
WADI KHALED, Lebanon: Two months ago, Farhan Kurdi was shot in the foot while fleeing the Syrian frontier town of Tal Kalakh to Lebanon following a government crackdown on anti-government demonstrators.
Today, he’s safe from the violence, but he still needs medical treatment for his injury, which he says has been delayed because he has no money.
“We were suffering in Syria, and now we’re suffering in Lebanon,” says Kurdi, sitting with his open wound wrapped in a makeshift brace and bandage at the Iman School in Mashta Hamoud near the Syrian border, where he’s staying with his wife and seven children.
“Help here is not enough. I need an operation for the gunshot wound in my leg, but I don’t have enough money.”
Hundreds of Syrian refugees in Lebanon are facing similar predicaments. Having fled to Lebanon with little more than the clothes on their backs, they are living in the shelter or with locals, where several families live in one room. Food and hygiene products are provided, but many have no change of clothes, no hot water, and lack adequate medical care – some refugees are severely wounded and several are pregnant. Because most of the refugees who entered Lebanon, illegally don’t have freedom of movement, which further prevents them from seeking help.
“The conditions here are very basic. There’s just a building,” says Abdel-Rahman Akkar, a former university professor from Tal Kalakh who has become the spokesman for the refugees at Iman School, where they now number 120.
“We’re going to ask for a camp so that we can have a place to live when school starts.”
According to the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, such a move would require a permit from the Lebanese government.
“We’re also going to ask for freedom of movement and residency,” he says. What happens if a woman gives birth? How can she go to the hospital without an identity card?”
Akkar, whose town hosted hundreds of Lebanese refugees during the July 2006 war, says he’s disappointed that Lebanon is not doing more to accommodate Syrian refugees in the same way by allowing them basic rights, such as freedom of movement.
“The Lebanese government harassed us,” he says. “But they need to help [the refugees].”
In addition to losing their possessions and residencies, many Syrian refugees have also lost touch with their families. They say those they left behind are too scared to answer the phone.
Red Cross representatives visited the Iman School Wednesday to try to help them re-establish contact with their families, which they are doing through local mukhtars in Syria and Lebanon.
There are 2,000 registered Syrian refugees in Lebanon, according to an official with the UNHCR. But most are unregistered because they entered the country illegally, and some unofficial estimates put the number much higher.
It is also hard to estimate the flow of refugees entering Lebanon, as many hold dual citizenships, enter as tourists or don’t register with the authorities. And it seems both Lebanon and Syria are reluctant to acknowledge a refugee problem. Hundreds of refugees reportedly crossed into Lebanon this week from Qusair in the northern Bekaa. But when asked, locals told The Daily Star there were no refugees in the area.
However, several minivans carrying suitcases and mattresses from the Syrian towns of Homs, Idlib and Hama, where the most recent violent crackdowns have taken place, could be seen heading into the Bekaa.
Meanwhile, the unofficial border crossing between Tal Kalakh and Wadi Khaled, where most of the migration has taken place, appears to have quieted down, although Syrian guards could still be seen on the other side, and residents say a few refugees continue to trickle in on a daily basis, usually entering Lebanon in the middle of the night.
Ali Hassan, who arrived late Saturday night from Tal Bawat near Aleppo, is staying with relatives in Wadi Khaled. He fled to Lebanon after the police were going door to door looking for weapons, which he says he did not have. In fact, he says he never even demonstrated against the government. Nonetheless, he says he will not return until the situation changes in Syria.
“I need help,” he says. “As you can see, I have nothing here and nothing to return to.”
Today, he’s safe from the violence, but he still needs medical treatment for his injury, which he says has been delayed because he has no money.
“We were suffering in Syria, and now we’re suffering in Lebanon,” says Kurdi, sitting with his open wound wrapped in a makeshift brace and bandage at the Iman School in Mashta Hamoud near the Syrian border, where he’s staying with his wife and seven children.
“Help here is not enough. I need an operation for the gunshot wound in my leg, but I don’t have enough money.”
Hundreds of Syrian refugees in Lebanon are facing similar predicaments. Having fled to Lebanon with little more than the clothes on their backs, they are living in the shelter or with locals, where several families live in one room. Food and hygiene products are provided, but many have no change of clothes, no hot water, and lack adequate medical care – some refugees are severely wounded and several are pregnant. Because most of the refugees who entered Lebanon, illegally don’t have freedom of movement, which further prevents them from seeking help.
“The conditions here are very basic. There’s just a building,” says Abdel-Rahman Akkar, a former university professor from Tal Kalakh who has become the spokesman for the refugees at Iman School, where they now number 120.
“We’re going to ask for a camp so that we can have a place to live when school starts.”
According to the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, such a move would require a permit from the Lebanese government.
“We’re also going to ask for freedom of movement and residency,” he says. What happens if a woman gives birth? How can she go to the hospital without an identity card?”
Akkar, whose town hosted hundreds of Lebanese refugees during the July 2006 war, says he’s disappointed that Lebanon is not doing more to accommodate Syrian refugees in the same way by allowing them basic rights, such as freedom of movement.
“The Lebanese government harassed us,” he says. “But they need to help [the refugees].”
In addition to losing their possessions and residencies, many Syrian refugees have also lost touch with their families. They say those they left behind are too scared to answer the phone.
Red Cross representatives visited the Iman School Wednesday to try to help them re-establish contact with their families, which they are doing through local mukhtars in Syria and Lebanon.
There are 2,000 registered Syrian refugees in Lebanon, according to an official with the UNHCR. But most are unregistered because they entered the country illegally, and some unofficial estimates put the number much higher.
It is also hard to estimate the flow of refugees entering Lebanon, as many hold dual citizenships, enter as tourists or don’t register with the authorities. And it seems both Lebanon and Syria are reluctant to acknowledge a refugee problem. Hundreds of refugees reportedly crossed into Lebanon this week from Qusair in the northern Bekaa. But when asked, locals told The Daily Star there were no refugees in the area.
However, several minivans carrying suitcases and mattresses from the Syrian towns of Homs, Idlib and Hama, where the most recent violent crackdowns have taken place, could be seen heading into the Bekaa.
Meanwhile, the unofficial border crossing between Tal Kalakh and Wadi Khaled, where most of the migration has taken place, appears to have quieted down, although Syrian guards could still be seen on the other side, and residents say a few refugees continue to trickle in on a daily basis, usually entering Lebanon in the middle of the night.
Ali Hassan, who arrived late Saturday night from Tal Bawat near Aleppo, is staying with relatives in Wadi Khaled. He fled to Lebanon after the police were going door to door looking for weapons, which he says he did not have. In fact, he says he never even demonstrated against the government. Nonetheless, he says he will not return until the situation changes in Syria.
“I need help,” he says. “As you can see, I have nothing here and nothing to return to.”
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