By Misbah al-Ali
TRIPOLI, Lebanon: The waves of
Syrian refugees entering Lebanon are taking a major toll on the north of the
country, causing some activists to begin calling for a refugee organization to
represent the displaced Syrians in Lebanon and minimize the effect of their
stay.
As fighting between the armed
opposition and the regime has increasingly shaken major Syrian cities, the
number of refugees flooding into Lebanon has spiked.
Those waves of desperately needy
people entering the country have begun to negatively affect on the region’s
economy and living standards.
Many areas in the north have become
so overwhelmed with displaced families that a number of Lebanese have abandoned
work and moved further south, while aid organizations have had difficulty
responding to increased need.
The United Nations High Commissioner
for Refugees is now aiding around 35,000 Syrians in Lebanon and local activists
say the total number of displaced people is approaching 90,000 people.
Slowed trade with Syria and Turkey
has halted crop cultivation in Akkar, a development that has harmed business
activity at Tripoli’s port, the second largest port in the country.
Unlike other countries that have
established refugee camps, Syrians in Lebanon are accommodated by a combination
of local organizations, NGOs and government aid.
Far fewer refugees fled to Lebanon
than to Turkey. But the absence of an official organization representing Syrian
refugees in the country and the government’s refusal to officially recognize
any opposition organization as such make government intervention to assist
refugees a difficult task, many refugee activists say.
As the Syrian uprising moves into
its 18th month and with no solution on the horizon, thousands of Syrian
refugees will likely remain in need of shelter in the country in the months to
come.
According to the House of Zakat
Foundation in Tripoli, some 1,100 Syrian families, about 5,500 people are
living in Wadi Khaled, Berkayel, Halba and other Akkar towns. Others have also
taken refuge in the poor neighborhoods of Tripoli, officials at Zakat told The
Daily Star.
The officials at Zakat also said
that there is one school in Akkar’s Mushta Hasan that has opened its doors for
Syrian refugees. This summer, the school has organized a summer program for
Syrian children. With the new academic year only two months away, many schools
now filled with Syrian refugees will find it difficult to resume studies.
Most of the foreignsupport for
Syrian refugees remains rhetorical, says a member of the Higher Relief
Committee identifyinghimself as Abu Raed.
As the government-funded Higher
Relief Committee faces a shortage of money, Syrian refugees have come to rely
on funding from Gulf states.
The Kuwaiti Mercy Association is one
of the donors.
Despite the association’s cautious
attempts to keep its funding transparent, many Syrians are exploiting the funds
by registering several times under different names.
Fearing that they might be targeted
by the Lebanese government, many refugees refrain from giving out their real
names to organizations that they register with.
Having a central organization to
represent refugees would clear up lots of confusion in the country’s aid
community, Abu Raed says.
“Under these difficult circumstances and under
the economic crisis in the country, we are trying to provide aid to the Syrian
refugees despite the absence of an official organization that is recognized by
the Lebanese government,” he added.
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