Social Affairs Minister Rashid Derbas said the refugee crisis due to the ongoing war in Syria could be solved by constructing reception centers for Syrian refugees near the Lebanese-Syrian border and distributing pre-fabricated houses.
“The practical solution to the refugee [issue] is to set up reception centers containing pre-fabricated houses near the Lebanese border,” Derbas told Lebanese broadcaster Future TV on Saturday.
“[The accommodation provided must] be suitable for [our] Syrian brethren, so that we can diffuse the discontent caused by the unregulated presence [of refugees] within Lebanon.”
He added that the number of unregulated refugee camps had almost doubled since last March, but that any official camps would have to be the responsibility of international organizations.
“Last March the number of camps had reached 750; now there are 1,300 and all of them are unregulated.”
“For the idea of setting up camps to succeed, three conditions need to be met: [there must be] an international security guarantee, funding for the project, and international organizations must agree to run the centers.”
On July 3, a United Nations report predicted that the number of refugees would rise to 1.5 million the end of the year, equaling one third of the country's four million inhabitants.
According to the UN, only 23 percent of the $1.6 billion Lebanon needs to cope with the refugee crisis over the next six months has been collected.
The UN estimates that there are 1.1 million Syrian refugees in Lebanon, accounting for 38 percent of Syrians forced to flee their country.
“The practical solution to the refugee [issue] is to set up reception centers containing pre-fabricated houses near the Lebanese border,” Derbas told Lebanese broadcaster Future TV on Saturday.
“[The accommodation provided must] be suitable for [our] Syrian brethren, so that we can diffuse the discontent caused by the unregulated presence [of refugees] within Lebanon.”
He added that the number of unregulated refugee camps had almost doubled since last March, but that any official camps would have to be the responsibility of international organizations.
“Last March the number of camps had reached 750; now there are 1,300 and all of them are unregulated.”
“For the idea of setting up camps to succeed, three conditions need to be met: [there must be] an international security guarantee, funding for the project, and international organizations must agree to run the centers.”
On July 3, a United Nations report predicted that the number of refugees would rise to 1.5 million the end of the year, equaling one third of the country's four million inhabitants.
According to the UN, only 23 percent of the $1.6 billion Lebanon needs to cope with the refugee crisis over the next six months has been collected.
The UN estimates that there are 1.1 million Syrian refugees in Lebanon, accounting for 38 percent of Syrians forced to flee their country.
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