By
Stephen Dockery
BEIRUT:
The number of Syrian refugees being officially aided in Lebanon has plateaued
at 26,000 for over a month, a number which continues to lag far behind most
estimates of the total amount of displaced people needing help in the country.
The
most recent update from the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees says the agency
is providing aid such as food and medical supplies to “some 26,000” displaced
Syrians, a constant figure since the beginning of May.
That
level of aid is well below half the estimates from diplomats and charity
leaders operating in the refugee areas about the total displaced population. A
study conducted by the Gulf-funded Islamic charity Al-Taqwa reports there are
around 58,000 refugees in the country while a separate estimate from Bashaer
charity places the number at 52,000 people.
Representatives
from a coalition of Islamic charities have pressed Cabinet to update the
official refugee numbers in line with surveys they feel are more
representative, but so far a gap remains.
That’s
an understandable discrepancy given Lebanon’s unique political climate, said
Daryl Grisgraber, from the independent aid organization Refugees International.
“Having
the full go-ahead from the Lebanese government is very important since they
[the UNHCR] don’t want to upset the political situation.”
A
government that is balancing its ties with Damascus via a policy of
“dissociation” from the Syrian conflict makes for a very cautious bureaucracy
that is slow to make changes such as setting up new aid areas and establishing
permanent registration points.
Add
to that a general fear among many refugees to register with the U.N. because of
its partnership with the government and a worsening security situation makes
for a very difficult atmosphere to find, aid and count refugees.
“I
would not be surprised if the number were much higher,” Grisgraber said. “For
the moment I think it’s really quite murky.”
The
UNHCR still lacks a permanent registration or aid presence in Tripoli, perhaps
the largest refugee hub in the nation, and only recently established aid
operations in the Bekaa where large numbers of displaced Syrians have taken up
residence.
Periodic
gun battles in Tripoli in past months, between pro- and anti-Syrian regime
groups that have killed several dozen people and wounded around 100, recently
made life even more difficult for refugees already living on the edge. Refugees
in the city report they are the target of increased police scrutiny and are
unsure how long they will be able to stay in the country.
UNHCR
spokeswoman Dana Sleiman says northern unrest has curtailed efforts to register
refugees.
“It’s
true the security situation in Tripoli did delay registration,” she said. “We
are progressing [in aid operations] in that sense but it is a bit slow.”
But overall, Sleiman said
that the UNHCR is continuing to press for more access and aid operations until
it has a complete idea of the refugee population in the country and are
providing aid to all the people who need it.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Local-News/2012/Jun-09/176244-number-of-syrians-aided-by-unhcr-stagnates-inaccurate.ashx#axzz1xGwpzapL
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