The Daily Star - First refugee tents appear in Arsal as municipality struggles to cope, June 9 2012

By Rakan al-Fakih

ARSAL, Lebanon: Every morning, the arrival of the car that distributes bread to Syrian refugees at the courtyard of the Ismail Mosque brings joy to the children who stop playing “demonstration” and “rescuing the wounded,” the new games they have invented in the wake of the uprising in their home country.

They run to their mothers’ sides as they receive the family’s daily share of around 10 loaves, which is one of the many tasks being handled by a special team formed by the Arsal Municipality to help the refugees who have arrived in recent months.

The most recent municipal survey concluded that around 625 families, or 3,000 people, are now “temporary guests” because of the crisis in neighboring Syria.

The provision of bread is being funded by the UAE Red Crescent, which has signed a contract with one of the village’s bakeries to provide bread to all of Arsal’s Syrian refugees.

After receiving their share, the women and children return to the dozen tents that now dot Arsal, hiding their faces from photographers out of fear of being identified by Syrian intelligence personnel who might see the photos and take revenge against their relatives.

Safaa, who arrived at the camp several days ago with her husband and three children from the Syrian village of Atfieh, 5 kilometers from the border, relates the story of her family’s escape.

After their home was demolished by Syrian army shelling and Safaa’s husband was arrested several times by the Syrian army, Safaa and her family made an arduous journey dodging pursuit by taking refuge in orchards several times before they managed to cross the border and reach the region of Masharih al-Qaa in Lebanon.

According to Safaa, a number of Syrian army soldiers helped them escape, without the knowledge of their officers.

“Life in the city of Qusayr and the surrounding areas was no longer bearable, because of the constant shelling and the power, water and phone cuts. Any person could be killed in their own home or while running an errand, not to mention the destruction of our crops,” Safaa said.

The family was unable to harvest a single part of their 10-acre apricot orchard, while their other source of income, her husband’s car repair garage, was also shelled by the army.

The refugees discuss a range of topics in the courtyard where they are gathered. They talk about the lack of basic needs and they follow up on the military developments between the regime’s army and opposition armed groups, as well as the daily protests organized in various towns and cities that have turned against the regime.

The refugees hope that the regime will fall as soon as possible so they can return to their towns and villages, especially since most of them are farmers and an extended absence means their fruit trees will dry up, incurring losses that could require years to recover.

Sitting in the courtyard, a refugee who gave his name as Abu Ahmad listed a number of items – meat and various types of fruits and vegetables – that “we only see in our dreams these days.”

The refugees also speak bitterly about the pro-Syrian regime stance adopted by many of their “neighbors” – Lebanese Shiites, who reside in Syrian villages just inside the border.

As the Syrian crisis drags on in its 16th month, both sides have taken part in a number of kidnappings.

Sheikh Abed Atrash, who is in charge of the camp, said it was established and equipped one month ago, as the available guest space in Arsal homes gradually dwindled to nothing.

In one home, when over 40 people were forced to share a single room, the men ended up sleeping outside, to relieve the overcrowding.

Setting up a “refugee camp” in Lebanon has long been a sensitive matter. The government is keen to avoid such a development, because it smacks of a permanent presence for Syrian refugees.

In north Lebanon, empty schools and other buildings house refugees, while in a town such as Arsal, individual families have opened their homes – but the available space is now gone, leading to the worrisome sight of tents housing refugees.

The camp currently shelters 23 families and works are under way to build 12 new cement rooms near the tents, as well as a playground for the children in the center of the “camp” as the refugees’ stay in the town will be prolonged, Atrash said.

He added that the camp and the refugees’ needs are provided for through financial assistance from the Saudi Relief Committee of the Muslim World League. The camp took shape after one of the town’s residents, Ali Hujeiri, donated a plot of land and obtained a permit from the municipality – relying on the traditional notion of tribal custom.

“It’s not possible for a clan not to receive anyone who seeks it out, asking for protection and help,” Atrash said.

He was also critical of the aid efforts, complaining that relief bodies continue to suffer from a lack of coordination. “This leads to bad distribution of assistance to the refugees, as one family receives more than one food package while another receives nothing,” Atrash said.

Ahmad Fliti, the deputy mayor of Arsal, described how the municipality hadtaken responsibility for the refugee efforts, with the government’s Higher Relief Committee largely absent.

Fliti said the municipal team created a form to be filled out by every refugee family, and the form is relied on by all local and international humanitarian organizations providing help. Most of these organizations are United Nations bodies, and each provides different services including food packages, and medical and educational services.

The main problem remains in securing housing for the refugees, Fliti said, adding that the municipality had exhausted efforts to shelter refugees in the town and was finding great difficulty in securing new homes.

Arsal may have taken the step of authorizing the makeshift refugee camp, Fliti said, but the central government was needed to approve a “real camp, like the ones in Jordan and Turkey.”

The municipality is unable to provide security for such a facility, Fliti said, with only the central government able to do this.

Fliti called on the government to act promptly and allow the municipality to build a refugee camp similar to the ones in Turkey and Jordan, since he said there were donors willing to fund such a project.   

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