RAMAH, Lebanon: Despite tighter security measures by both countries, refugees from Syria are continuing to cross the border into Lebanon, arriving to face an uncertain future as many worry that they may be unable to return.“We knew they had closed off border crossings so we headed [in another direction] and made our way through the river,” said one Syrian refugee from the town of Talkalakh, who found shelter at an abandoned school in the north Lebanon village of Ramah in the Wadi Khaled region of Akkar.Fourteen families are currently sheltered in the school. Living off aid from the United Nations Higher Commission for Refugees and Lebanon’s Higher Relief Committee, the families try to lead as ordinary lives as possible but anxiety creeps into their expressions as they recount their experience of crossing into Lebanon, or when asked about the future.Residents of Ramah, one of a score of villages in Wadi Khaled, have opened their arms to the refugees and a mosque nearby houses another group of Syrian families.A refugee at the school, a man in his 40s who preferred not to give his name, said he hadn’t participated in the protests in his country. But he feared persecution at the hands of the Syrian military, in the wake of a mid-March uprising that rights activists describe as a brutal crackdown on those calling for reforms and President Bashar Assad’s departure.Mohammad Masri, a refugee who also resides for the time being in the same school, says the number of people coming into Wadi Khaled has declined as the Syrian army has closed all major crossings into Lebanon.“A small number of people crossed Thursday and Friday but the number of people coming has decreased drastically because they have shut down all kinds of crossings,” said Masri, who has been living at the school for the past three months.Refugees recalled their dilemma of having to choose between staying or leaving their country, as either option had its risks. Once in Lebanon, they would unlikely be able to return, given the tightened security by the military, and if they even did manage to cross back, they said would likely be pursued by the authorities.“Who can ever return? If you go to the border, you would be committing suicide … the Syrian army would arrest you,” explained one refugee, a father who said his two children had been shot and wounded while trying to cross into Lebanon three months ago. The two were treated in local hospitals.Refugees fear that “Syrian agents” have infiltrated several towns in north Lebanon. These concerns are compounded by a policy enforced by the Lebanese Army that restricts their movement to the area of Wadi Khaled.“The army has asked us to keep an eye on the displaced and to monitor their whereabouts,” said Ali Hasan Saeed, the mayor of Mqaybleh, who is urging the refugees to remain in their designated towns.
“If they are stopped by the [Lebanese] Army, they either send them to Wadi Khaled or back to Syria if that person is wanted by the Syrian authorities,” he said, adding that in recent days this measure was relaxed, meaning most refugees would be returned to Wadi Khaled.The U.N. says there are nearly 4,000 registered Syrian refugees in Lebanon but local officialssay the number could be between 5,000 and 6,000 people.Local officials and refugees denied recent media reports saying the Lebanese Army was actively seeking out activists who were coordinating with the opposition in Syria and handing them over to the relevant authorities.
“The Lebanese Army is not going around and apprehending those who participated in the protests,” said Masri, who claimed he had fled his country after a picture of him at a protest appeared on a leading Arab TV station.“Most of the people who fled to Lebanon participated in the protests. That is the reason why they escaped in the first place, out of fear of persecution,” he added.Assad has described unrest in his country as a foreign conspiracy and has warned against intervention by the international community.Lebanese soldiers patrolling the Nahr al-Kabir, the shallow river separating Lebanon and Syria, say the army has beefed up its presence since the uprising began on March 15.The river is located near the Bqayaa border crossing, the only official crossing in the Wadi Khaled region. Soldiers confirmed that in the area of Waldi Khaled there were more than 45 illegal crossings, passages that many refugees have used to get into the country.Members of General Security at the Bqayaa crossing said there was little activity at the border, with most of the traffic involving Syrian laborers heading in and out of the country.Despite increased patrol by the Lebanese Army near the river and other areas where Syrian tanks are visible, local officials say more needs to be done to protect Lebanese villages.“We are always concerned when we hear shooting in the direction of the town, which on one occasion resulted in the death of a woman,” said Ali Hammoud, the mukhtar of Kneisseh, adding that the army should bolster its presence around villages rather than occasionally patrolling them.A security source told The Daily Star earlier this week that the Lebanese Army had taken measures to patrol and secure the area of Wadi Khaled.According to the source, the army’s measures represent an effort by the government to identify the whereabouts of the refugees and ensure that they are not coordinating with members of the Syrian opposition.“This is a semi-routine measure by the government, to learn why they have arrived in Lebanon,” the source said, adding that refugees’ reasons for arriving here might be to escape unrest in their home country or to undertake certain activities in Lebanon part of the Syrian opposition.Saeed, the mayor of Mqaybleh, said that all the local officials of Wadi Khaled were invited Sunday to attend a coordination meeting with the Lebanese Army to advise them on how to survey the displaced and keep an eye on them.
“If they are stopped by the [Lebanese] Army, they either send them to Wadi Khaled or back to Syria if that person is wanted by the Syrian authorities,” he said, adding that in recent days this measure was relaxed, meaning most refugees would be returned to Wadi Khaled.The U.N. says there are nearly 4,000 registered Syrian refugees in Lebanon but local officialssay the number could be between 5,000 and 6,000 people.Local officials and refugees denied recent media reports saying the Lebanese Army was actively seeking out activists who were coordinating with the opposition in Syria and handing them over to the relevant authorities.
“The Lebanese Army is not going around and apprehending those who participated in the protests,” said Masri, who claimed he had fled his country after a picture of him at a protest appeared on a leading Arab TV station.“Most of the people who fled to Lebanon participated in the protests. That is the reason why they escaped in the first place, out of fear of persecution,” he added.Assad has described unrest in his country as a foreign conspiracy and has warned against intervention by the international community.Lebanese soldiers patrolling the Nahr al-Kabir, the shallow river separating Lebanon and Syria, say the army has beefed up its presence since the uprising began on March 15.The river is located near the Bqayaa border crossing, the only official crossing in the Wadi Khaled region. Soldiers confirmed that in the area of Waldi Khaled there were more than 45 illegal crossings, passages that many refugees have used to get into the country.Members of General Security at the Bqayaa crossing said there was little activity at the border, with most of the traffic involving Syrian laborers heading in and out of the country.Despite increased patrol by the Lebanese Army near the river and other areas where Syrian tanks are visible, local officials say more needs to be done to protect Lebanese villages.“We are always concerned when we hear shooting in the direction of the town, which on one occasion resulted in the death of a woman,” said Ali Hammoud, the mukhtar of Kneisseh, adding that the army should bolster its presence around villages rather than occasionally patrolling them.A security source told The Daily Star earlier this week that the Lebanese Army had taken measures to patrol and secure the area of Wadi Khaled.According to the source, the army’s measures represent an effort by the government to identify the whereabouts of the refugees and ensure that they are not coordinating with members of the Syrian opposition.“This is a semi-routine measure by the government, to learn why they have arrived in Lebanon,” the source said, adding that refugees’ reasons for arriving here might be to escape unrest in their home country or to undertake certain activities in Lebanon part of the Syrian opposition.Saeed, the mayor of Mqaybleh, said that all the local officials of Wadi Khaled were invited Sunday to attend a coordination meeting with the Lebanese Army to advise them on how to survey the displaced and keep an eye on them.
No comments:
Post a Comment