The Daily Star- France to resettle 500 refugees from Lebanon, March 15 , 2017

BEIRUT: President Francois Hollande Tuesday inked an agreement to resettle 500 refugees, mostly Syrians, from Lebanon over the next 18 months. The signing ceremony took place at the Elysee Palace, where Interior Minister Bruno le Roux and Foreign Affairs Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault were also present. During a speech at the event, Hollande said that incoming refugees would be identified by partner organization on the ground in Lebanon and vetted by the authorities in Paris before traveling by Air France flights to France. Priority would be given to the most vulnerable, including families with young children, women, the elderly and the disabled.
Lebanon hosts just over 1 million registered refugees, although the government places the figure at upward of 1.5 million. Increasingly, countries are looking to resettle refugees directly from host countries in the region to cut down on incentives to resort to traffickers and informal routes.
Hollande discussed the extreme dangers refugees face when attempting to flee to Europe without assistance, advocating instead for creating a system to bring them safely to France. As part of this effort, welcoming centers will be set up by several Christian humanitarian organizations that collaborated on initiatives, including Caritas and the Catholic organization Community of Sant’Egidio in Italy.
Italy has already implemented a similar humanitarian corridor system for resettlement in Europe through partner organization in Lebanon.
Although prevalent before, throughout 2015 a huge increase in refugees from Syria and elsewhere in the region traveled informally on perilous routes to Europe, overwhelming government assistance programs and asylum system. In response, countries have sought a more regulated resettlement processes.
“Europe and France are facing an unprecedented wave of refugees, because of its scale and because of its causes. Everything is adding up – there are wars, especially in Iraq and Syria; there are conflicts, that we must not forget, in Africa, Sudan, South-Sudan; there are acts of violence, committed in a certain number of countries that we recognize, such as Eritrea; and then, there is well terrorism or fanaticism, driving people to leave their homes to look for safety and tranquility in Europe,” President Francois Hollande said during his remarks.

Source & Link : The Daily Star

The Daily Star- Iraqi Christian refugees protest, seeking resettlement, February 14 , 2017

BEIRUT: Dozens of Iraqi Christian refugees in Lebanon protested outside the U.N. building in Downtown Beirut Monday, calling for faster resettlement abroad. Between 150 and 200 demonstrators gathered outside the U.N. ESCWA headquarters in the Lebanese capital carrying placards that read, “the future of our children is wasted” and “our only demand is to [go] to countries that respect humans,” among others.
Thousands of Iraqis have fled the ongoing violence in their home country and have come to Lebanon. Many are from the Iraqi Christian minority seeking religiously diverse Lebanon in the wake of Daesh’s (ISIS) invasion of Christian areas in northern Iraq.
Protesters held placards highlighting their vulnerability as religious minorities in areas under Daesh control. “We will not return to a country where we’re being oppressed because of our Christianity. We want stability in a country that respects us,” banners read.
The U.N. refugee agency UNHCR estimates that between 40,000 and 50,000 Iraqi refugees are currently in Lebanon, many seeking resettlement in a third country.
However, overseas refugee resettlement can take up to three years and must be handled by UNHCR, the agency’s public information officer Lisa Abou Khaled told The Daily Star. Only the U.S., Canada and Australia are currently accepting resettlement applications from UNHCR on behalf of Iraqi refugees.
“We understand the frustration of the refugees that are living in very difficult conditions ... we also understand that they may be frustrated that they can’t apply themselves,” Abou Khaled said.
“Unfortunately, we work with very limited quotas and globally only 1 percent of the refugee population is resettled. We’re hoping to reach much more than that, especially for refugees in Lebanon ... many of whom are very vulnerable regardless of their country of origin and religious background.”
Last year, the U.S. set a quota to take in 2,500 refugees of all nationalities living in Lebanon. In recent weeks, U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order that put a hold on the country’s refugee resettlement program.
However, a U.S. federal court temporarily suspended the order, which will likely be appealed in a major trial at the country’s Supreme Court.

Source & Link : The Daily Star

Al Hayat- World leaders are ready to help the refugees but no specific commitments, September 19 , 2016

وعد قادة الدول الـ 193 الأعضاء في الأمم المتحدة اليوم (الإثنين) في نيويورك بتحسين مصير ملايين اللاجئين في مواجهة أزمة هجرة ولجوء غير مسبوقة، لكن من دون تحديد أهداف بالأرقام، ما أثار استياء المنظمات غير الحكومية.

وقال الأمين العام للأمم المتحدة بان كي مون لدى افتتاح أعمال القمة الأولى التي تخصصها الأمم المتحدة للهجرة، إن إعلان النوايا هذا يلزمهم «حماية الحقوق الأساسية للاجئين والمهاجرين» وزيادة الدعم للدول التي تستقبلهم والتي لم تعد قادرة على تحمل الأعباء وتشجيع تعليم الاطفال اللاجئين.

ودعا قادة العالم الى «مكافحة معاداة الأجانب» التي يتعرض لها المهاجرون.

وانتقد المفوض الأعلى لحقوق الإنسان زيد بن رعد الحسين بشدة «المتعصبين والمخادعين الذين يرفضون تحمل المسؤوليات» من خلال استقبال مزيد من اللاجئين على اراضيهم، وقال: «يبدو أن كثيرين نسوا الحربين العالميتين وما يحصل عندما يتم تأجيج مشاعر الخوف والغضب بأنصاف الحقائق والأكاذيب الفاضحة».

وتقدر الأمم المتحدة عدد من هربوا من مواطنهم في العالم بـ 65 مليون شخص من بينهم 21 مليون لاجئ فروا من الاضطهادات والفقر والنزاعات. وخلال عامين قضى سبعة آلاف رجل وامرأة وطفل غرقاً في البحر المتوسط أثناء محاولتهم الوصول إلى أوروبا.

ويهيمن على هذه القمة النزاع في سورية الذي دخل عامه السادس وأسفر عن سقوط أكثر من 300 ألف قتيل ونزوح أكثر من تسعة ملايين شخص داخل البلاد ولجوء أربعة ملايين آخرين إلى دول مجاورة أو إلى أوروبا.

والنص الذي تم تبنيه بالإجماع اليوم هو إعلان سياسي بسيط لا يتضمن أهدافاً محددة بالأرقام ولا التزامات محددة حول كيفية تقاسم اعباء المهاجرين واللاجئين.

واقترح الأمين العام للامم المتحدة أن تستضيف الدول كل عام 10 في المئة من إجمالي اللاجئين وذلك بموجب «ميثاق دولي»، إلا أن هذا الهدف تبدد خلال المفاوضات وأرجئ الميثاق الى العام 2018 على أقرب تقدير.

وانتقدت المنظمات غير الحكومية الناشطة لصالح المهاجرين مسبقاً تفويت فرصة لإيجاد حلول. ورأت منظمة «أوكسفام» البريطانية غير الحكومية ان «الالتزامات السياسية أقل بكثير مما يجب لمعالجة المشكلة».

وإزاء هذه الأزمة غير المسبوقة، قالت رئيسة منظمة «أطباء بلا حدود» فرنسواز سيفينيون: «لا نشعر حتى الآن بأن هناك إرادة سياسة قوية».

وعبرت سيفينيون عن أسفها «لغياب خطة فعلية لإعادة توطين اللاجئين ولأن البيان الختامي اكتفى بعبارة احتجاز أطفال، وهو أمر لا نقبل به أبداً»، موضحةً أن حماية القاصرين الذين لا يرافقهم بالغون «ويكونون في وضع ضعيف جداً مسألة لم يتم التركيز عليها في شكل خاص».

في المقابل، رفضت ممثلة بان كي مون في القمة كارين ابو زيد هذه الانتقادات أن الدول ستلتزم في البيان الختامي بتحقيق الهدف الذي حددته المفوضية العليا للاجئين. وتدعو المفوضية التابعة للأمم المتحدة الى إعادة توطين 5 في المئة من مجمل اللاجئين.

وهذه النسبة تعادل 1.1 مليون لاجئ في العام 2017 في مقابل مئة ألف في 2015 أي «أكثر بعشر مرات»، بحسب ما ذكرت أبو زيد.

ويتوقع ان يطرح الرئيس الاميركي باراك اوباما غداً أزمة الهجرة من زاوية أكثر عملية، بعدما دعا نحو أربعين دولة مانحة ستتعهد استقبال المزيد من اللاجئين إلى تأمين فرص تعليم وعمل وزيادة المساعدات الى ابرز دول الاستقبال التي تجاوزت قدراتها على الاستيعاب.

ويعيش أكثر من نصف اللاجئين في ثماني دول ذات مداخيل ضعيفة او متوسطة هي لبنان والأردن وتركيا وإيران وكينيا واثيوبيا وباكستان واوغندا.

في المقابل تستقبل ست من الدول الأكثر ثراء في العالم (الولايات المتحدة والصين واليابان وبريطانيا وألمانيا وفرنسا) 1.8 مليون لاجئ اي 7 في المئة فقط من اجمالي اللاجئين، بحسب «اوكسفام».

Source & Link : AlHayat

The Daily Star- Breaking the barriers to family planning for Syrian refugees, August 22 , 2016

BEIRUT: It can be difficult enough to raise children under normal circumstances, to say nothing of times of war. With millions displaced from their homes due to the Syrian conflict, the first priorities can be food, shelter and money. All too often thoughts of family planning are low on the agenda of refugees or aid agencies coping with the emergency.

In part due to the transient nature of their lives in Lebanon, many refugee families – and particularly women – are actively choosing to have smaller families. But the challenges of being a refugee can make accessing services more difficult.

“I would have had more children if I were still in my home, independent and free,” 21-year-old Israa Abdel-Dayem said. Having fled from the Syrian city of Homs in 2012, she now lives in an informal tented settlement in the Bekaa Valley town of Bar Elias.

Two months ago, Abdel-Dayem had a baby girl – her third and, she said, her final. Alaa was the daughter she was waiting for after two sons.

Abdel-Dayem received family planning awareness sessions from Doctors Without Borders, which goes by its French initials MSF, at one of its 12 clinics across Lebanon. The sessions help educate and provide free family planning services so that couples are more informed about their options. Thanks to MSF, Abdel-Dayem recently got an IUD – a small T-shaped contraceptive inserted into the uterus – to prevent further pregnancies. Her husband, Mohanad, who is a painter and decorator, has been supportive of her choice.

But this isn’t always the case. “Some people resist the idea,” said Dr. Rene Bou Raad, head of medical activities at MSF. For that reason, MSF family planning awareness sessions also target husbands so that they too understand the issues. As Bou Raad puts it, “It takes two to tango.”

Some resist for cultural or religious reasons, while others fear side-effects or a loss of fertility. There are many misconceptions surrounding contraception and family planning that MSF is looking to counter, but it can be a real challenge. “You cannot work against this kind of fear,” Bou Raad said.

There are some 1.1 million Syrian refugees registered with UNHCR in Lebanon, although the real number is thought to be higher. An MSF report in November 2014 found that around 27 percent of Syrian women were either pregnant or had given birth in the last 12 months. Two-thirds of those pregnancies were not planned.

“Babies that are not well-spaced [between pregnancies] increase infant mortality rates,” Bou Raad said. “You often see large families,” she added. Syrian families in Lebanon have an average of five children, slightly higher than the Lebanese average.

But “the fewer children you have, the more you can invest in them,” Bou Raad said.

Between January and June of 2016, MSF conducted 42,318 sexual health care consultations with Syrian refugees.

“When it comes to family planning, one of the biggest challenges is social and family norms [or] who has the right to decide for a woman,” said Dr. Waleed Ikram of United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). Still, Ikram said that 42 percent of Syrians are using some form of contraception.

Last year, UNFPA reached out to 20,000 women living in settlements to help raise awareness about family planning. “There is a lot of work going on, but there are also challenges,” Ikram said.

But after five years of conflict in Syria, humanitarian aid remains stretched and agencies have to make tough choices about provision of service. And many factors can affect willingness to use contraception, including residing in remote areas, social status, personal interest or education level.

“[Some] want to make up for men and boys lost in the war. This is how they think,” Ikram said.

Source & Link : The Daily Star

The Daily Star- Azzi reveals that 10,000 Lebanese fired, replaced by Syrians, August 15 , 2016

BEIRUT: Labor Minister Sejaan Azzi has revealed that some 10,000 Lebanese laborers have been forced out of their jobs and have been replaced by foreign employees, mainly Syrians. In an interview with LBCI Saturday, Azzi blamed companies for the replacement of Lebanese workers.

“There is a huge, frightening case of firing Lebanese workers,” Azzi said. “The main reason [for their dismissal] is not due to the economic situation, but rather because Lebanese employees are being replaced by foreigners,” he added, referring to Syrian refugees.

The labor minister added that some companies were deliberately creating unfavorable circumstances for their Lebanese employees in an attempt to force them to submit their resignations. Azzi warned that his ministry would be referring companies replacing Lebanese workers with foreigners to the judicial authorities.

Azzi’s statements came a day after the Labor Ministry issued a statement warning of a crackdown against unlicensed enterprises and cautioning company bosses against replacing Lebanese workers with Syrians.

The statement named multiple unlicensed private sector companies, the majority of which were based in the Bekaa Valley area of Baalbek-Hermel and in Akkar in the north.

The ministry warned that it would work with the Internal Security Forces to find companies that were firing Lebanese employees to hire Syrians. Some 1.1 million Syrian refugees have escaped their war-ravaged homes in hopes of a safe-haven in Lebanon. Due to their precarious circumstances, they often accept much lower wages than their Lebanese counterparts.

Source & Link : The Daily Star

The Daily Star- Syrian camp catches fire in east Lebanon, 3 injured, July 23 , 2016

BEIRUT: A blaze Saturday destroyed large parts of a makeshift Syrian camp in east Lebanon, the state-run National News Agency reported.
Three people suffered shortness of breath in the fire, which erupted at an encampment in Taanayel in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley.
They were treated in a hospital.
The NNA said that firefighters and Lebanese Red Cross ambulances rushed to the scene.
The Civil Defense said in a tweet that its teams managed to control the fire.
The NNA later said the fire was believed to have been caused by a gas leak.

Source & Link : The Daily Star

The Daily Star- Less than half of Syrian refugee children attend school, July 20 , 2016

BEIRUT: More than half of the nearly 500,000 school-aged Syrian refugee children in Lebanon are not attending class, a new report released Tuesday by Human Rights Watch revealed. Some of those have never stepped foot inside a classroom. “The kids’ education has gone backward,” Jawhar, a Syrian refugee in north Lebanon, told HRW. “We left our country and our homes and now they don’t even have an education.”
HRW recommends a new Lebanese policy to address the problem. “If you want to reach Syrian children and reduce that major gap in the number Syrian kids receiving an education you will need an overall review of Lebanese policy,” Nadim Houry, deputy director of HRW Middle East, North Africa, told The Daily Star. “That is what this report is trying to say.”
Houry also stressed the vital need for the international community to assist Lebanon in taking steps to improve education access.
While over 1.1 million Syrian refugees are registered with UNHCR in Lebanon, there are a large number unrecorded. Many fled Syria when unrest broke out in the country in 2011 and have been in Lebanon ever since. These are of particular concern for NGOs as these children could have missed up to five years of schooling already, making it much more difficult for them to catch up.
The findings, laid out in “‘Growing up Without an Education’: Barriers to Education for Syrian Refugee Children in Lebanon,” highlighted the many positive steps that the Education Ministry has already made to accommodate the thousands of extra pupils, but also made a number of recommendations. It expressed how the challenges must be overcome if there is any chance for the next generation of Syrians.
“Despite Lebanon’s progress in enrolling Syrian children, the huge number of children still out of school is an immediate crisis requiring bold reforms,” Bassam Khawaja, a fellow in the children’s rights division at HRW, said in a statement.
HRW found a number of major obstacles to enrollment and continued attendance when conducting interviews with 156 Syrian refugees and gathering information about more than 500 school-aged children to compile the report.
There are 200,000 places available for Syrians in public schools, less than half the number needed for all the near half million school age Syrian refugee children registered with UNHCR. However, not all the places available are filled, as barriers prevent attendance and the spread of seats doesn’t necessarily reflect density of refugee population.
“Research found that several barriers were still keeping Syrian children from accessing education, even when it is made available,” Khawaja explained, at an event to launch the report at Riviera Hotel. “Some of these will require funding to address, but others will need Lebanon to make serious political changes to ensure that Syrians can get an education.”
The first barrier was the vastly different school curricular in Lebanon, which is often taught in English or French rather than the Arabic which Syrian children are accustomed to. Many struggle to keep up and need remedial education before entering the public school system, causing many to drop out after short time. One possible solution is employing more Syrian teachers to teach classes for Syrian children so they can assist with the transition. This is a project that has seen success in Turkey.
However, Khawaja explained that the main barrier to education was residency permits for Syrian refugees in Lebanon.
In Jan. 2015, the government implemented a new policy for residency permits. However, NGOs say that most refugees have been unable to comply with this regulation and now estimate that around two-thirds of Syrians lack legal status. This means they cannot move freely and cannot look for work. Khawaja explained the knock-on effect is many families cannot afford school-related costs like supplies and transportation. Indeed, many are turning to child labor to help support families. “Last year, 70 percent of Syrians in Lebanon were living under the local poverty line of $4 a day.”
The third barrier the report found was arbitrary requirements placed by individual schools on Syrian enrollment, requirements the Education Ministry does not ask for. “These include a valid residency permit, UNHCR certificates, or letters from the local mukhtar, so many [families] have found the requirements difficult or impossible to meet,” Khawaja said.
“There are more rights respecting ways to organize the presence of Syrians in Lebanon that will, on the one hand, make it much easier to obtain basic rights – like the right to education and the right to health – while also making Lebanon safer,” Houry added.
The report also found that the two demographics hardest hit by education issues were 15 to 18-year-olds, who often face pressure to find work and may well struggle with advanced English and French needed for higher level courses, and children with disabilities.
“I think we see the challenges but we also see the opportunities, particularly when we talk about kids with disabilities. Lebanon has been needing a real revolution in the mindset of how to provide education to children with disabilities so maybe this was the crisis needed to finally have this mindset change,” Houry explained.
HRW also called on the international community to step up support to assist Lebanon implement the needed changes, highlighting the collective responsibility to the people of Syria. “It’s in everyone’s interest to ensure that all children in Lebanon can get an education, but the longer children are out of school, the less likely they are to return,” Khawaja said.

Source & Link : The Daily Star

L'orient le jour- Derbas à « L’OLJ » : Les réfugiés syriens ne font pas peur..., July 19 , 2016

Si les craintes d'une détérioration de la situation sécuritaire, suscitées au lendemain de la vague d'attentats-suicide perpétrés à Qaa (Békaa), commencent à peine à se dissiper, celles liées à une éventuelle implantation des réfugiés syriens ne sont pas près de s'estomper. Une impression qu'a confirmée un rapport rédigé par une ambassade occidentale à Beyrouth et qui évoque une éventuelle implantation des réfugiés syriens au Liban, tant que les circonstances de leur retour en Syrie ne sont pas assurées. Ce rapport met également en garde contre une possible infiltration des terroristes dans les rangs des réfugiés.

(Lire aussi : Derbas : Salam entend réclamer la création d'un fonds arabe pour le Liban)

« Le miracle » de la sécurité
Joint par L'Orient-Le Jour, le ministre des Affaires sociales, Rachid Derbas, a commenté ce dossier, estimant que « le pays devrait craindre d'abord la négligence observée au niveau des institutions de l'État ». Selon lui, « l'entretien de ces institutions permet d'immuniser le pays contre tout danger qui pourrait le menacer. Or nous vivons actuellement dans un pays sans président de la République, dont le Parlement est absent, et qui n'arrive pas à voter une nouvelle loi électorale. Il est donc normal de voir les dangers menacer le Liban ».
M. Derbas n'a pas manqué, toutefois, de souligner que « la situation sécuritaire du pays est meilleure que celle du reste de la région et même de l'Europe ». Selon le ministre, « cela pourrait s'expliquer par les efforts déployés par les différents appareils de sécurité ». « Je peux facilement qualifier ce dont nous témoignons dans ce domaine de "miracle", puisqu'une bonne sécurité est normalement liée à une bonne gestion politique du pays, ce qui n'est pas le cas actuellement », a-t-il dit.
Concernant les appels à organiser la présence des réfugiés syriens sur le territoire libanais, lancés au lendemain des attentats de Qaa, le ministre des Affaires sociales a indiqué que, « contrairement à l'idée reçue, ce ne sont pas les réfugiés qui constituent un danger menaçant le pays, mais ce sont les Libanais qui constituent un danger qui les menace eux-mêmes », avant de rappeler que « le gouvernement a adopté une politique régissant le dossier des réfugiés syriens. Ce plan gouvernemental s'applique actuellement avec la plus grande précision. Preuve en est, l'effectif des réfugiés présents sur le sol libanais a enregistré une réduction significative en passant de 1 300 000 à 1 030 000 personnes ».
Et le ministre de poursuivre : « Il est très important de rester vigilants en dépit des appels au calme lancés dans le cadre de ce dossier épineux. Cette vigilance serait principalement le résultat d'une couverture politique aux appareils de sécurité et qui ne pourrait être assurée que par le biais de la redynamisation des institutions. Dans le cas contraire, nous serons en train de pousser les réfugiés à opter pour le terrorisme. »

(Lire aussi : Réfugiés syriens : le risque de l'effet boomerang)

L'unité, la meilleure recette
Parallèlement aux craintes d'implantation des Syriens ayant fui la guerre dans leur pays, nombreuses sont les accusations de « racisme » lancées récemment contre des municipalités ayant pris des mesures d'ordre sécuritaire qui ont ciblé les réfugiés syriens. À ce sujet, Rachid Derbas se contente de rappeler la dimension humaine du dossier : « Nous sommes face à des êtres humains qui méritent d'être bien traités. S'ils sont fautifs, il faudra les transférer devant les autorités compétentes pour les sanctionner. » Le ministre a dit « comprendre l'impatience des gens », tout en soulignant que « le secret de la solution réside dans l'unité des Libanais et non dans les surenchères et querelles politiques ».

(Pour mémoire : Le ministère des Affaires sociales effectue un recensement des réfugiés syriens)

Gare au changement démographique
Alors que le Liban déploie de grands efforts pour lutter contre tout risque d'implantation des réfugiés, le président turc Recep Tayyip Erdogan s'est dit prêt à naturaliser certains Syriens établis en Turquie, « s'ils le désirent ». Ici, M. Derbas ne manque pas de mettre en garde contre les conséquences politiques et démographiques de cette déclaration. « Cette dernière est une preuve de l'absence d'une solution politique à la crise syrienne ainsi que d'une acceptation implicite du changement démographique qu'elle pourrait engendrer, et nous refusons cela », a-t-il noté.
Et le ministre de conclure : « Le terrorisme a pour objectif de modifier profondément le tissu démographique et de susciter des craintes. Le meilleur moyen de répondre à ces dernières réside dans l'unité des Libanais. »

Source & Link : L'orient le jour-

L'orient le jour- Une vague d’abus contre des réfugiés syriens, July 19 , 2016

À Rmeiche (Liban-Sud), la police interpelle dans la rue Abou Adnane et sa femme qui emmènent leur bébé chez le médecin. Leur tort ? Être syriens.
Invoquant des raisons de sécurité après de récents attentats-suicide près de la frontière syrienne, plusieurs municipalités libanaises ont imposé des mesures arbitraires à l'encontre des réfugiés syriens : interdiction de circuler le soir, arrestations dans la rue ou encore obligation de nettoyer les espaces publics.
Le Liban accueille plus d'un million de réfugiés syriens ayant fui la guerre dans leur pays – soit environ un quart de sa population. Beaucoup d'entre eux vivent dans des campements de fortune.
Le petit pays a été salué pour sa générosité par plusieurs organisations internationales, mais cette image est ternie par des abus qui refont surface après des attentats revendiqués par des jihadistes venus de Syrie.
« Mon bébé de 15 jours est tombé malade. Nous nous sommes précipités avec ma femme chez le médecin mais la police municipale nous a soumis à un interrogatoire dans la rue », raconte à l'AFP Abou Adnane, un nom d'emprunt.
Les policiers « nous ont suivis et attendus hors de la clinique puis se sont assurés que nous étions bien rentrés chez nous », poursuit-il.
Une autre fois, « des jeunes, ivres, se sont introduits dans une habitation pour réfugiés syriens, les frappant et les insultant », se souvient-il. Au lieu de défendre les Syriens, « la municipalité a expulsé des dizaines d'entre eux ».
Marche antiracisme
La semaine dernière, des photos partagées sur les réseaux sociaux ont montré des policiers de Amchit (caza de Jbeil) retenant des réfugiés après des descentes nocturnes dans leurs lieux de résidence.
Les réseaux sociaux se sont enflammés, avec un appel à manifester à Beyrouth, « contre l'utilisation de la peur pour cultiver le racisme contre les réfugiés syriens dans les médias et les discours politiques ».
La municipalité de Amchit a réfuté ces accusations et affirmé que « la campagne des policiers municipaux répond à une série de mesures prises par les forces de sécurité (...) pour prévenir toute action de groupes terroristes ».
Ces mesures semblent s'être renforcées après les attentats-suicide ayant secoué fin juin le village de Qaa près de la frontière syrienne. Deux Syriens, mais n'ayant pas le statut de réfugiés, ont été inculpés.
À Rmeiche, la municipalité assume également sa fermeté en appelant « les citoyens » à rapporter « toute activité suspecte » parce que, soutient-elle, « la réglementation de la présence syrienne fait partie de (ses) priorités ».
« Il y avait à Rmeiche plus de 1 000 Syriens, une présence qui dépasse notre capacité d'accueil de 6 000 habitants », explique en outre à l'AFP le président municipal Maroun Chebli.
Il a donc pris la décision de permettre uniquement aux Syriens ayant un « garant » parmi les habitants de Rmeich de rester. Aujourd'hui, il ne reste plus qu'« environ 500 réfugiés ».
Cette situation inquiète les organisations de défense des droits de l'homme.
Khairunissa Dhala, spécialiste des réfugiés à Amnesty International, se dit « préoccupée par les informations faisant part de harcèlements et d'abus physiques à l'encontre des réfugiés syriens, y compris des arrestations arbitraires et des expulsions forcées ».
Pour Matthew Saltmarsh, reponsable de la communication au Haut-Commissariat pour les réfugiés (HCR) au Liban, « il est important de se souvenir que les réfugiés syriens au Liban sont à la recherche d'un abri contre la violence dans leur propre pays ».
« Travailler gratuitement »
Dans le village de Kherbet Selm (Liban-Sud), une réfugiée, Oum Louaï, raconte comment « les forces de l'ordre ont effectué une descente dans les maisons de Syriens à 22h30, ont lu les conversations sur les téléphones portables et arrêté tous ceux qui n'avaient pas de papiers en règle ».
Les témoignages sur des pratiques similaires abondent.
Dans un article publié le 14 juillet, le quotidien as-Safir affirme que la municipalité de Tartij au nord de Beyrouth « a obligé les réfugiés à travailler gratuitement pendant un jour pour nettoyer les rues de la localité ».
Dans la ville de Jounieh, également au nord de Beyrouth, Sara Kamel, une employée libanaise, témoigne avoir vu un Syrien se faire battre par des policiers dans la rue. Il passait en moto et ne s'était pas arrêté à leur injonction.
« Il n'avait pas ses papiers ou il avait peur, mais rien ne justifie qu'il se fasse battre ainsi », déplore la jeune femme.


Source & Link : L'orient le jour

The Daily Star- Syrian refugees in Baalbek complain of discrimination, July 16 , 2016

BAALBEK, Lebanon: Under the scorching sun, Mohammad, 27, often searches for a job in the district of Baalbek until the late afternoon. A Syrian man from Aleppo with tar-stained teeth, he says the municipality has maintained a curfew on refugees who are languishing in tented settlements in the area. “The problem is we can’t work at night anymore,” said Mohammad, whose full name has not been disclosed for fear of reprisal. “After 7 o’clock I must stay in the camp. The situation used to be relatively better, but now if I leave the camp there will be checkpoints everywhere.”
After a wave of suicide bombers attacked the border village of Al-Qaa on June 27, the governor of Baalbek, Bashir Khodor, imposed what was supposed to be a temporary curfew on Syrian nationals.
Rights groups have said that such measures are part of a greater security plan that frames refugees as first and foremost a threat to national security. And with the Baalbek International Festival fast approaching, many worry that harsher measures might be taken.
In Lebanon, enforcing curfews to monitor the movement of refugees isn’t a new phenomenon and neither are the consequences. A 2014 Human Rights Watch report revealed that at least 45 municipalities imposed a curfew on Syrians, many of which were enforced after clashes broke out between extremist groups and the Lebanese Army in the border village of Arsal.
But while curfews have become a common reaction from municipal authorities after insurgent attacks, such measures have achieved little besides punishing refugees for their displacement while exacerbating tensions in the community.
Wadih Al-Asmar, the president of the Lebanese Center for Human Rights, noted that the practice of imposing curfews is discriminatory regardless of the justifications for it.
“We are not solving our [security] issues by imposing these measures. It’s only increasing tensions,” he told The Daily Star by phone. “Syrians are feeling that they are victims of injustice while Lebanese citizens who might already have aggressive [attitudes toward Syrians] might feel they have some legal impunity to attack them.”
Whether curfews are encouraging local residents to attack Syrians is less of a concern for Mohammad, who said that refugees fear reprisal from security forces more than anyone else. Just last week, 30 Syrian men were detained in Baalbek after their tented settlements were raided in the middle of the night.
“[The Army] thinks we are hiding terrorists and weapons in the camps,” Mohammad and his uncle Ahmad said. “If we had those things then we wouldn’t be here [in Lebanon]. We would be in our country fighting.”
Khodor defended the need to carry out raids in refugee camps before stating that the curfew in Baalbek was lifted two weeks ago, even though many Syrians remain unaware that it’s been removed.
“We know that some terrorists hide in the camps. That’s why we search the [camps] after attacks and occasionally from time to time,” Khodor told The Daily Star over the phone. “We only arrest people without papers. The refugees must understand that we have a fragile country. They must collaborate.”
Due to complicated and expensive residency renewal regulations, over two-thirds of Syrian refugees are estimated to be dwelling without legal status in the country, putting many at risk of violence and detainment from residents and local authorities.
Municipalities have also asked the government to help them establish local police forces in order to combat a perceived increase of criminal activity. The government has often granted their request even though official crime statistics don’t support municipality claims, according to a joint report released by Oxfam and the American University of Beirut last year. Even worse, local police forces haven’t received adequate training to apply the law.
The same report stated that a lack of legal awareness has resulted in some municipalities violating the very laws that they are supposed to uphold. Curfews, for instance, are illegal unless they are endorsed by the Cabinet. That matters little to some locals in Baalbek who said that discriminatory measures against Syrians are retaliation for straining the town’s limited resources.
“How can I like Syrian people when they take my job and kill my people?” said one man in a wheelchair and scruffy beard outside the entrance of the Baalbek Municipality building.
“What [municipalities] are doing to Syrian refugees has more to do with punishing them [for their displacement] than protecting their citizens,” Asmar said.
While raids and curfews remain common throughout the country, they may only succeed in pushing young men further to the fringes of society. Many are harassed by security forces and can’t find any work, fueling a collective sentiment of victimhood and injustice.
Baalbek residents, like those living in other impoverished regions around the country, share a similar feeling. They have shouldered a considerable part of the refugee crisis burden despite suffering from years of government neglect and poverty.
Khodor also emphasized that Lebanon is a fragile country which the international community is relying on to mitigate a crisis of unprecedented magnitude.
While that’s certainly the case, discriminatory policies seem to have only exacerbated a climate of anger while diverting attention away from the roots of extremism.
“We escaped bombings and terrorists to come to [Lebanon],” Mohammad said. “We are a peaceful population and peaceful people. We just want to live in peace.”

Source & Link : The Daily Star

Assafir- Racial discrimination in the Municipality of Amchit against Syrian refugees, July 15 , 2016

سادت أجواء من البلبلة في بلدة عمشيت، صباح أمس، اثر توقيف عناصر من شرطة بلديتها كانوا أقدموا على توقيف مجموعة من اللاجئين السوريين ووجوههم إلى الجدار وأياديهم إلى الخلف، فيما قاموا بتركيع عدد منهم.
وما أن سرى خبر توقيف عناصر الشرطة، حتى نفذ عدد من أهالي البلدة اعتصاما سلميا وهددوا بتصعيد تحركاتهم، قبل أن يطلق سراح عناصر الشرطة.
وكانت النيابة العامة في منطقة جبل لبنان قد أوقفت في وقت متأخر من ليل الأربعاء الخميس الماضي خمسة عناصر من شرطة بلدية عمشيت إثر توقيفهم مجموعة من اللاجئين السوريين، وذلك بعد ان كلف وزير الداخلية نهاد المشنوق قائد منطقة جبل لبنان العميد جهاد الحويك التحقيق في تجاوزات البلدية بحق السوريين.
وسرعان ما ثارت ثائرة أهالي البلدة، ونفذوا مع البلدية اعتصاماً احتجاجياً، فيما قطعوا طريق عمشيت لبعض الوقت عند الساعة الواحدة من بعد الظهر ليتراجعوا عن هذه الخطوة سريعا حفاظاً على سلمية التحرك، قبل ان يتم الافراج عن عناصر الشرطة.
من ناحيته، دافع رئيس بلدية عمشيت طوني عيسى عما فعله عناصر الشرطة، معتبراً أنهم تفاجأوا بوجود أكثر من ثلاثين سورياً في مكان واحد «وهم غير مسلحين، فكان لا بد من تفتيشهم بهذه الطريقة». ونفى عيسى أي شبهة عنصرية عما قامت به البلدية «إذ يبلغ عدد القاطنين السوريين في عمشيت نحو 2800 ولم نتعرض لهم بأي سوء».
وأصدر المشنوق تعميماً الى المحافظين وطلب اليهم ابلاغه الى اتحادات البلديات والبلديات، لاعطاء التعليمات المشدّدة لأجهزة الشرطة، بضرورة التقيّد بالقوانين والأنظمة المرعية، وعدم الإساءة في استعمال السلطة الممنوحة لهم عند التعاطي مع المواطنين أو النازحين السوريين والتعامل معهم بكلّ مهنية وانضباط.
وأوضح مصدر في وزارة الداخلية والبلديات انه بعد التحقيق الذي اجرته فصيلة جبيل، قرر النائب العام الاستئنافي في جبل لبنان القاضي كلود كرم اخلاء سبيلهم.

Source & Link : Assafir

The Daily Star- ISF denies claims of refugee abuse at police station, July 15 , 2016

BEIRUT: The Internal Security Forces Thursday denied that Syrian refugees were being mistreated at a police station in east Lebanon.
Pictures showing a number of Syrian women and children at the Qaraoun police station in the Western Bekaa had recently stirred public opinion after circulating online, an ISF statement said. Several people described the arrests as “racist” while others alleged that the detainees have been treated in an “inhumane” manner.
The ISF clarified that 17 Syrian children, four women and five men have been arrested by the Lebanese Army for entering the country illegally and without identification papers. They were handed over to the Mashghara police station on June 29.
Women and children were later moved to the Qaraoun police station, the statement said, as “it is more suitable than other police stations” in the area.
“All necessities have been provided to them [women and children], including food, milk, diapers, covers, mattresses, clothing and fans, in cooperation with Qaraoun municipality and prominent figures in the town,” it added.
The statement said that in the meantime, a memo was sent to the General Security Directorate to inform it of the arrests and to handle them according to a decision by the relevant judiciary.
They were handed over to the General Security on June 30.
The incident comes as Lebanese authorities upped their measures against Syrians in the country in light of recent attacks that targeted a northeastern village along the Syrian border.
Several municipalities across the country began cracking down on Syrians, issuing curfews and restricting their movement.
Police and other security agencies also started raiding Syrian makeshift camps, arresting hundreds for not holding the required legal documents and identification papers.
The ISF statement emphasized that the Syrians were treated according to the law and within the bylines of human rights.

Source & Link : The Daily Star

The daily Star- Number of Syrians in school up 52 percent, June 09 , 2016

BEIRUT: The number of Syrian refugee children registered for formal public education in Lebanon increased by 152 percent over the last three academic years, thanks largely to a drive by the Lebanese Education Ministry and the UNHCR, a report by the refugee agency said. It noted that 157,984 refugee children are registered for public schooling between kindergarten and Grade 9 (14 years old), up by over 51,000 since the last academic year.

The drive to enroll more students was organized by the Education Ministry, with the help of UNHCR, UNICEF, UNESCO and partner organizations, and the figures were released in a report titled “UNHCR Lebanon: Back to School.”

“Attending public school and receiving a certified education is seen by the Syrian refugee communities in Lebanon as a key priority. Without education, there’s no future for the children who will one day rebuild Syria,” said Mireille Girard, UNHCR Representative in Lebanon, in a press release accompanying the report. “Enrollment numbers are up, but too many children are still out of school or dropping out.”

The number is up from the 62,664 enrolled in 2013-14 and the 106,735 last year. However, it remains under half the 472,000 Syrian refugee children between the ages of three and 17 registered with UNHCR in Lebanon.

Source & Link : The Daily Star

Al-Akhbar - Sudanese refugees cite mistreatment by UNHCR Guards, October 13, 2015

مفوّضية اللاجئين في بيروت تعتمد الأساليب البوليسية

صباح السبت الفائت، اعتدى رجال الأمن المكلفون حماية مبنى مفوضية الأمم المتحدة لشؤون اللاجئين على مجموعة من طالبي اللجوء السودانيين التي كانت تمارس حقها بالاعتصام السلمي داخل باحة المفوضية. ضرب رجال الأمن المعتصمين ورموا أغراضهم خارج الباحة بعدما بات وجود هؤلاء داخل الباحة مزعجاً على ما يبدو للمفوضية، فقررت فض الاعتصام بالقوة

إيفا الشوفي

ضاقت مفوضية الأمم المتحدة لشؤون اللاجئين في لبنان ذرعاً بطالبي اللجوء السودانيين المفترشين باحة مبناها منذ نحو شهرين ونصف شهر. حاولت أن تقمعهم أكثر من مرة ليرحلوا وينهوا اعتصامهم: «منعتهم منذ شهر عن استعمال حماماتها، ما اضطرهم الى استعمال بورة مجاورة، وأزالت الشادر الذي وضعوه منذ أسبوعين ليقيهم زخات المطر الفجائية وحذّرتهم من نصب الخيم، وهدّدتهم باستقدام القوى الأمنية لإخراجهم بالقوة»، لكنّهم أصروا على البقاء حتّى استحصال أبسط حقوقهم بالحماية القانونية.

صباح السبت الفائت، قررت المفوضية أن على هؤلاء أن يخرجوا من باحتها فاقتدت، وفق رواية المعتصمين، بـ»الدولة الأمنية» ولجأت إلى طريقة «ميليشيوية»، إذ أرسلت رجال الأمن المكلفين حراسة المبنى من أجل فض هذا الاعتصام ورمي أغراض اللاجئين خارجاً، إلّا أنّ المفوضية تنفي هذا الأمر، فتعلن الناطقة باسم المفوضية دانا سليمان أنه «طُلب من المعتصمين الخروج من باحة المبنى وحصل الأمر بطريقة سلمية جداً». يتحدّى المعتصمون المفوضية ويطالبونها بالاطلاع على ما صورته كاميرات المراقبة الموجودة في الباحة.

يروي طالبو اللجوء السودانيون ما حصل معهم ذاك الصباح، لكنهم يطلبون عدم ذكر أسمائهم خوفاً من «كيدية» المفوضية، كما قالوا. يخبر أحمد (اسم مستعار) أنّه «صباح السبت الفائت، كنا جالسين في الباحة، فجأة لاحظنا حركة غير اعتيادية من قبل رجال الأمن التابعين للمفوضية». فبعدما شارف هؤلاء على دخول شهرهم الثالث في الباحة، باتوا يميزون بين الحركة الاعتيادية والحركة «الغريبة» لرجال الأمن، فيقول أحمد «عادةً يكون عدد رجال الأمن يومي السبت والأحد قليلاً لأنه لا يوجد أحد في المكاتب، لكن هذه المرة كان هناك نحو 10 منهم». يُكمل أحمد ما حصل: «حضر مسؤول الأمن مع 7 عناصر وأمرنا بغضب بإزالة أغراضنا وهي عبارة عن فرش للنوم وبعض الأغطية. وعندما سألناه لماذا؟ أجابنا بأنّ هناك قراراً من المفوضية بإزالة الأغراض ورميها في الخارج». رفض المعتصمون إزالة أغراضهم وطلبوا من مسؤول الأمن أن يحضر ورقة رسمية بقرار المفوضية، فما كان منه إلا أن اقترب من أحمد وأخذ أغراضه ليرميها فمنعه. صرخ أحمد بمسؤول الأمن «أين أنام إذا أخذت أغراضي؟» فأتاه الجواب لكمةً على فمه، ليلتفّ حوله سريعاً 5 رجال من الأمن أمسكوه برقبته ويديه وقدميه ورموه خارج الباحة مع أغراضه وبدأوا بركله وضربه، ما أدّى إلى تضرر ركبته. أخرج رجال الأمن جميع الشبان من الباحة ورموا كل الأغراض خارجاً، وطلبوا من النساء والأطفال المغادرة، لكنهم أصروا على البقاء فهددوهم «بإحضار الدرك».

مطلب هؤلاء

هو فقط إعطاؤهم صفة اللجوء

تؤكد سليمان أنّ «المفوضية طلبت من المعتصمين غير المعترف بهم كلاجئين إخلاء الباحة سلمياً، وكانوا آنذاك نحو 7 أشخاص فقط في الاعتصام».

تُكمل جميلة (اسم مستعار)، التي بقيت في الباحة، ما حصل بعدما «اقتحم» رجال الأمن الاعتصام، تقول إنهم «أحضروا على الفور خراطيم المياه وبدأوا بغسل الأرض مكان الاعتصام وتمزيق الصور والشعارات التي علقناها واستهزأوا بنا». منع رجال الأمن النساء من إحضار أي غرض، فقضت النساء وأطفالهنّ ليلتهنّ نائمات على الأرض. تدمع جميلة وهي تُخبر كيف بقيت ابنتها التي لم تتجاوز السنتين تبكي طوال الليل لأن رجال أمن المفوضية المسؤولة عن حماية اللاجئين لم يسمحوا لها بإدخال شرشف صغير لتغطيتها.

حتى أمس، أعلن المعتصمون أنه لم يتحدّث أحد من المفوضية معهم على خلفية الإشكال الذي وقع، يقولون إنّ المفوضية «لا يعنيها أمرهم». بدأ هؤلاء اعتصامهم الدائم منذ 20/7/2015. أكثر من شهرين مضيا على افتراشهم باحة المبنى من دون أن تلقى مطالبهم أي تجاوب من قبل المفوضية التي لا تزال مصرة على جوابها الوحيد: الأولوية للاجئين السوريين، وفق ما يقول وليد (اسم مستعار) أحد اللاجئين السودانيين «المُرابطين»، إلّا أنّ جميلة تكذّب حجة المفوضية: «لا دخل للسوريين بما يحصل، فهناك سودانيون أُغلقت ملفاتهم قبل الأزمة السورية، وهناك استنسابية في القرار لدى المفوضية حيث تمّ قبول ملفات البعض وأُهملت ملفات الآخرين». مطلب هؤلاء هو فقط إعطاؤهم صفة اللجوء من قبل المفوضية لضمان الحماية القانونية لهم. يذكر أحمد أنّه «تقدّم بطلب لجوء عام 2012 لكنهم رفضوا طلبه»، آنذاك برروا فقط بـ»أننا لا نستحق صفة اللجوء». يقول «أنا لا أريد مساعدات، إنما أحتاج الى بطاقة اللجوء فقط من أجل الأمان». يضيف بلكنة لبنانية «ما بدي لما كون ماشي عالطريق أهرب كل ما شوف دركي!».

من جهته، يقول وليد إن أوراقه تحتاج الى تجديد منذ عام 2009 وإنه يخضع منذ ذلك الحين لتأجيل «أقله 5 أشهر عند كل موعد»، لافتاً الى أن «الكثير منا يقبع في السجون بسبب هذا التجاهل، فضلاً عن أن هناك أطفالاً سودانيين لا يستطيعون دخول المدارس بسبب عدم حيازتهم إقامة». أمّا جميلة التي أتت الى لبنان عام 1999، فقد أبلغتها المفوضية عام 2013 أنّ ملفها أُغلق من دون إعطاء أي تبرير.

تشرح سليمان أنّ «إغلاق الملف يعني أنه بعد دراسة ملف طلب اللجوء المقدّم وإجراء مقابلة مع المعني يتم تحديد ما إذا كانت تنطبق صفة اللاجئ على مقدّم الطلب وذلك استناداً إلى المعايير التي حددتها اتفاقية عام 1951 الخاصة بوضع اللاجئين». تضيف سليمان إنّ «أغلبية المعتصمين لم تنطبق عليهم صفة اللجوء، ونحن التقينا بهم فرداً فرداً وأطلعناهم على الأمر. حالياً لا يمكن أن نساعدهم إلا في حال حصول تغيير في وضعهم. هناك عدد قليل منهم معترف بهم كلاجئين يريد إعادة التوطين في بلد ثالث، وهذا أمر خاضع لمعايير المفوضية والبلد المستقبل ولكوتا محدودة، إضافة إلى أقلية لا تزال ملفاتها قيد الدرس». أمّا عن اعتراضات المعتصمين، فتلفت الى أنه «كان يمكن لهؤلاء استئناف النظر في طلب اللجوء خلال مهلة 30 يوماً من تاريخ الرفض».

تشكو جميلة أنه «تم توقيفها مرتين على الحواجز لأنها لا تملك أوراقاً قانونية، لكنهم تركوها «شفقة» لأن معها طفلة». تواجه هذه السنة ابنة جميلة الوسطى البالغة من العمر 14 عاماً، مشكلة عدم استطاعتها تقديم الامتحانات الرسمية بسبب وضعها المسؤولة عنه، برأي جميلة، مفوضية الأمم المتحدة لشؤون اللاجئين التي يجب أن تُعنى بهم.

Source & Link: Al-Akhbar

Alakhbar - Lebanon, GSO release the Last Sudanese, September 26 2012

الأمن العام يفرج عن عبد اللطيف قبل موعد السفر 

صباح اليوم، ينطلق محمد عبد اللطيف إلى «الأرض الجديدة». اللاجئ السوداني الذي كان من المقرّر أن يفرج عنه الأمن العام في يوم سفره إلى الولايات المتحدة، لينقله بنفسه من النظارة إلى المطار، عاد وأفرج عنه أول من أمس، مانحاً بذلك عبد اللطيف فرصة تحضير نفسه مع عائلته للسفر. وعبد اللطيف كان اللاجئ الوحيد الذي بقي محتجزاً من بين الثلاثة عشر الآخرين، إذ كان القرار بالإفراج عنه يوم سفره. لكن بالنسبة إلى أصدقائه اللاجئين، فإنّ ضغطهم على المفوضيّة العليا للأمم المتحدة لشؤون اللاجئين هو ما أدى إلى الإفراج عنه قبل موعد السفر.

http://www.al-akhbar.com/node/168009

Daily Star - Sudanese refugees jailed after UNHCR ends their protest, August 14 2012

By Stephen Dockery

BEIRUT: Over a dozen refugees ended up in jail after the U.N. refugee organization in Beirut asked police to break up a protest blocking their building’s main entrance over a week ago.

Families of the detained gathered outside the organization’s headquarters Monday to lobby for their release.The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) made no mention of the arrests in their statement after the end of the sit-in. The Daily Star learned of the detentions after being contacted by a refugee.

Sudanese refugees staged a monthlong hunger strike in front of the UNHCR office throughout July demanding the acceleration of their resettlement and status issues.

The refugees escalated their protest at the end of July, blocking the main entrance of the agency’s building, causing UNHCR officials to call the Internal Security Forces to end the protest.

Early in the morning on a Saturday at the beginning of August, Sudanese refugees said demonstrators were told by police to give up their protest around the building or go to jail. Some 13 refugees, including a 16-year-old, refused to give up their cause and were imprisoned. The refugees have been held in General Security detention cells for 10 days.

“You should protect us, not send me to jail,” said a refugee and protester who gave his name as Brown, refusing to be identified by his real name. “We need help to figure out our problems.”

Speaking after a small protest by the families of the men detained, Brown said he has lost faith in UNHCR and how it handles the Sudanese population.

“Look outside – they have kids, they need protection, and they need help,” Brown said.

The refugees’ cardboard camp has since been cleared away from outside the office and heavy cement flower pots have been put in their place to prevent new sit-ins.

The detentions do not align with the statement UNHCR published after clearing the refugees from their premises. The ISF “took measures Saturday Aug. 4 to persuade protesters blocking UNHCR’s main entrance to peacefully leave the premises,” the statement said.

UNHCR public relations officials now admit the arrests took place, but say they were an unintended consequence of the need to break up the disruptive protest.

“UNHCR has asked for the release of the men,” UNHCR spokeswoman Ariane Rummery said.

Rummery said the organization has been in touch with the judge and General Security officials handling the refugees’ cases to lobby for their release. Rummery said visits to the detainees have also begun.

“We think it’s regrettable that they are in jail,” Rummery said.

But she also said the organization saw the protest as a dangerous activity that was hurting UNHCR’s ability to help a rapidly growing refugee population in Lebanon.

UNHCR says the majority of the people involved in the sit-in are recognized refugees whose paperwork has been submitted for resettlement to a new country, and they cannot expedite that process. They say refugees with other problems have been counseled on their best courses of action.

But many Sudanese refugees don’t see it the same way. A sense of distrust and hurt has stung members of the community who feel unfairly treated by both the refugee agency and many people in Lebanon.

Families gathered outside the UNHCR office to ask for help releasing their detained relatives listed numerous injustices they say their family members experience every day.

They say the larger refugee populations from neighboring countries like Iraq and Syria get special treatment, while they continue to languish in what they describe as an often-racist country, seemingly with no end in sight.

“We don’t have a future,” said 24-year-old Khalass Jomaa, who has lived as a refugee for the last 15 years with her three children.

“We want help,” she said.

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Local-News/2012/Aug-14/184589-sudanese-refugees-jailed-after-unhcr-ends-their-protest.ashx#axzz23VassrgN

The Daily Star - Sudanese surpass 50 days of hunger strike, hit impasse, July 31 2012

By Annie Slemrod

BEIRUT: The Sudanese refugees camped outside Beirut’s U.N. refugee agency are having an unusually challenging Ramadan.

On hunger strike for 50 days, the men have also abstained from liquids during the day since the start of the holy month. Their iftar consists mostly of juice. “It is difficult,” Mohammad Abdul-Latif said of the overlap between Ramadan and the hunger strike, crediting God for recent cloudy weather that has provided some holiday respite from the sun.

The 20 or so men have been refusing food and sleeping at the gates of UNHCR in protest of what they say is a lengthy process for determining refugee status, slow resettlement for those who are granted this classification, and the poor quality of assistance they receive while in Lebanon.

Last week, they moved closer to the building’s entrance. Previously sleeping across the street, they are now also blocking one of two entrances to the building with cardboard, blankets, a wire bed frame, and their bodies. Two young men were practicing their English in front of the black door Monday.

UNHCR issued a statement about the closure last week, calling the move an “escalation” that prohibits “staff from entering or exiting the building as needed” and constitutes a “serious safety concern.”

UNHCR spokesperson Dana Sleiman said that the building had two entrances, one for refugees and asylum seekers and the other for staff, media, and other visitors. The refugees are blocking the staff entrance. She said the agency was trying its best to “keep the channels of communication open” with the protesters, “but this [the closure] cannot continue, it is a matter of security and protection for the refugees who approach the office, for asylum seekers and employees.”

The strikers said that two UNHCR staffers came to speak to them after they blocked the entrance, asking about their demands and telling them that the closure was unacceptable.

The protesters were insulted by the question, taking it to mean that UNHCR had ignored their previous complaints. “We have given them thousands of papers stipulating our demands and after 50 days they asked what our demands are,” Abdul-Latif said. “This is clowning around.”

Another protester, Adam Adeem, said that the men were not concerned about possible arrest, as many have spent time in jail given that their refugee identification is not always considered acceptable to authorities.

UNHCR said it had counseled the strikers both on an individual and group basis, and The Daily Star has seen minutes of a meeting between the men, an NGO that supports them, and a UNHCR representative.

But the strikers have called the meetings unsatisfactory, saying the agency used them only to explain their general processes. Abdul-Latif, noticeably more agitated and thinner than several weeks ago, said he no longer even believes UNHCR has possession of his case file.

Sleiman, however, said the refugee agency had prepared letters detailing each striker’s situation, including personal details on their statuses.

She said the strikers refused to accept the letters.

After 50 days, the hunger strike seems to be at an impasse. UNHCR has said it is sympathetic to the strikers’ concerns, but cannot influence the time it takes for countries to accept refugees. After backing off a vow to completely refuse liquids, the protesters still believe the agency could exact more leverage on the countries where they are to eventually move.

Even with UNHCR urging the refugees to return home, the men appeared to be in it for the long haul Monday. For the hot days, there were children’s toys, books and playing cards scattered around their modest encampment. There were also cans of bug spray for the humid nights.

When the strike began, many of the men – who hail from both Sudan and the newly independent South Sudan – complained of discrimination in Lebanon and the difficulty of finding decent work.

After weeks of unemployment and no income, the men, who are starving by choice, said Monday that their families were now going hungry as well.

Dawood Dafallah said he had failed in his attempts to secure help from an NGO for his wife and 7-month-old daughter. With their daughter Aisha on her lap, his wife Embet said she feared becoming homeless this Ramadan.

She and the other wives work when they can, but Embet said she doesn’t have enough money for food.

Soon, she won’t be able to pay the rent on her apartment. Embet pointed at the sidewalk where the protesters were sleeping. When that happens, “we’ll move here,” she said. – With additional reporting by Wassim Mroueh

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Local-News/2012/Jul-31/182728-sudanese-surpass-50-days-of-hunger-strike-hit-impasse.ashx#axzz2259mU7Ab

L'orient le jour - Précisions du HCR concernant les revendications des ressortissants soudanais, July 27 2012

Quelque trente ressortissants soudanais bloquent depuis mercredi matin l’entrée des bureaux du Haut-Commissariat des Nations unies pour les réfugiés (HCR), à Jnah.
« Les ressortissants observent des sit-in depuis six semaines, en signe de mécontentement à la réponse du HCR à leurs revendications qu’ils avaient soumis » à l’organisation onusienne « en juin dernier », explique un communiqué du HCR.
Exposant la situation, le HCR indique que « depuis le début des manifestations, des représentants de l’organisation et une équipe spécialisée ont rencontré à diverses occasions les protestataires, soit individuellement, soit en groupe pour les informer sur ce qui peut ou ne peut pas être fait ». « Des lettres individuelles leur ont été aussi soumises », ajoute-t-on dans le texte, assurant que « le HCR sympathise avec les protestataires, d’autant que les pays d’accueil adoptent des procédures parfois longues ».
« Malheureusement, la manifestation a commencé à entraver l’assistance régulière aux protestataires et autres personnes susceptibles de bénéficier de l’aide du HCR ».
« Le recours à l’escalade, c’est-à-dire le fait d’interdire à l’équipe du HCR d’entrer et de sortir librement au siège de l’organisation constitue également une source d’inquiétude », souligne-t-on dans le communiqué.
Et le HCR de réitérer son « engagement à aider, protéger et identifier des solutions durables aux réfugiés qu’ils retournent chez eux ou qu’ils maintiennent leur manifestation ».

http://www.lorientlejour.com/category/Liban/article/770534/Precisions_du_HCR_concernant_les_revendications_des_ressortissants_soudanais.html

The Daily Star - Sudanese protestors block off UNHCR main Lebanon office, July 26 2012

BEIRUT: Members of the Sudanese community in Beirut have been blocking the entrance to the Jnah office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) since Wednesday morning, a UNHCR press release said on Thursday.

About 20 of the protestors are considered refugees by the UNHCR; their cases have been submitted to third countries willing to consider resettling them.

The press release added that some refugees are awaiting resettlement decisions by countries and are asking that these decisions be expedited. However, still others have been rejected by resettlement countries and want their files to be reviewed.

The UNHCR said that its specialized staff has met, either individually or in groups, with the Sudanese protestors in an effort to ease tensions.

The organization noted that the sit-in has “unfortunately started to impede regular assistance to both those protesting and other persons.”

Even though the UNHCR maintains that the recent escalation of the protest constitutes a serious safety concern, it emphasized that it will continue to “assist, protect, and identify durable solutions [for] refugees.”

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Local-News/2012/Jul-26/182111-sudanese-protestors-block-off-unhcr-main-lebanon-office.ashx#axzz21nkjCWVH

L'orient le jour - Une Saoudienne convertie au christianisme aurait trouvé refuge au Liban, July 26 2012

Les autorités saoudiennes ont arrêté mardi un ressortissant libanais et un Saoudien dans la ville de Khobar pour avoir aidé une jeune Saoudienne à se convertir au christianisme, rapporte le site d’information saoudien Sabak. Les deux suspects ont ensuite été relâchés sous caution hier, précise encore le site. Le ressortissant libanais serait toutefois interdit de quitter le territoire saoudien, toujours selon Sabak.
« Le Saoudien et le Libanais sont accusés d’avoir aidé la jeune fille de 28 ans à fuir le royaume vers le Bahreïn puis le Liban où elle aurait trouvé refuge dans une église », affirme le site, citant les parents de la Saoudienne. Cette dernière aurait rencontré les deux hommes dans la compagnie où elle travaille à Khobar.
Rappelons que l’Arabie saoudite applique une version rigoriste de l’islam et interdit sur son sol tout autre pratique religieuse.

http://www.lorientlejour.com/category/Liban/article/770366/Une_Saoudienne_convertie_au_christianisme_aurait_trouve_refuge_au_Liban.html