The Daily Star Lebanon - Charities to establish refugee camps if state won’t act, April 03, 2012

BEIRUT: The head of a coalition of Islamic charities said they would establish refugee camps for the Syrians if the Lebanese government didn’t step up to provide for those in need Monday.

The coalition consists of around 30 Islamic charities with a multimillion dollar budget that is a primary provider for thousands of Syrian refugees in the country.

General secretary Sheikh Zayed Zakaria at a news conference at the Press Syndicate in Beirut asked the government to do more to deliver aid to refugees who he said are being underserved.

The organization asked for the government to bring more aid in from foreign donors; for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to increase their aid efforts; for the government to pay for more medical services including international care; to provide compensation for families that let refugees stay in their homes.

Zakaria also asked for more housing for refugees and said if more wasn’t provided the coalition would take matters into its own hands.

“If the problem of housing isn’t solved in line with Lebanon’s security and stability we are going to establish refugee camps,” Zakaria said.

Many in the Lebanese government have opposed the idea of establishing refugee camps in the country, saying more camps would politicize the issue and bring the Syrian conflict into Lebanon.

According to the coalition of Islamic charities surveys there are around 27,000 refugees in the country, several times more than the official counts from the UNHCR. Coalition leaders say the government is turning a blind eye to the problem.


http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Local-News/2012/Apr-03/168979-charities-to-establish-refugee-camps-if-state-wont-act.ashx