Video duration 17 minutes 31 seconds
The Lebanese Minister of Displaced Persons, Issam Sharaf El-Din Chehayeb, justified his country’s decision to deport the displaced Syrians to their country by saying that the host countries had problems in receiving them.
In an interview with the evening program on Al Jazeera Mubasher, the minister called on the UNHCR to cut aid for returnees, adding that his country had demanded to provide them with shelter and job opportunities.
The minister proposes a gradual return in “acceptable numbers that the Syrian state can receive on a monthly basis,” which the Ministry of the Displaced has set between 10,000 and 15,000.
President Aoun was briefed by the Minister of the Displaced, Essam Sharaf El-Din, about the ongoing contacts to return the displaced to their country. pic.twitter.com/MTzrM8d0ZX
— Lebanese Presidency (@LBpresidency) July 4, 2022
Shehayeb said that coordination is underway with the Syrian Ministry of Local Administration “to secure shelters for this number, while providing all the necessary infrastructure, while helping to secure jobs for a decent living.”
The Lebanese minister believes that the provision of shelters is entrusted to the Syrian regime, saying that 67,000 damaged buildings have been restored so far, he said.
The Turkish president had previously spoken of his country’s intention to complete the establishment of safe zones at a depth of 30 kilometers along the southern border with Syria, noting that “the current military operations and the ones that will be implemented are necessary for national security.”#Syria_TV
– Syria TV (@syr_television) May 29, 2022
On ensuring the safety of the returnees, Chehayeb told Al-Massiya that a tripartite committee consisting of Lebanon, Syria and the UNHCR periodically supervises the returnees’ situation.
The Lebanese minister added that the statistics indicate that “out of the 87,000 returnees, only 34 people were arrested by the Syrian state,” as he put it, adding that “they were arrested due to civil lawsuits.”
He pointed out that the Lebanese security apparatus has lists of wanted persons from the Syrian authorities, explaining that their situation was discussed with the UN envoy and a proposal was made to “a pledge by the opponents not to engage in any negative action against the state, or to be deported by the UNHCR to a third country,” considering that “the choice is in the hands of the bailer”.
who is in Charge?
In response to what the minister said on the evening, Syrian journalist Bassam Jaara said that the minister is “a partner in displacing half of the Syrians from Lebanon,” adding that “40% of the displaced Syrians to Lebanon come from areas controlled by Hezbollah.”
In an interview with the evening program on Al Jazeera Mubasher, the journalist went on to say that “the Lebanese state is required to compensate the Syrian people for the devastation that the party and Shiite militias have inflicted on Syria.”
The Syrian journalist denied the end of the war in his country, adding that “the arrests, torture and killings have not ended.”
Jaara said that “the arrests are made daily by the dozens,” adding that the United Nations stated that the detainees who were released do not exceed 550 out of hundreds of thousands.
Where are the largest numbers of IDPs in the Middle East and North Africa?
???? Syria
Where 6.9 of the Syrians are still displaced within the borders of their country.
Some of them had to flee their homes, not just once, not twice, but several times. pic.twitter.com/SgmhOb9L4w
— UNHCR (@UNHCR_Arabic) July 4, 2022
Regarding the economic burdens that Lebanon bears in receiving the displaced Syrians, which the minister talked about, Jaara said that the Lebanese state “received 9 billion dollars from 2015 to today, earmarked for Syrian refugees, without providing them with full assistance,” as he put it.
The Syrian journalist pointed out that the isolated shelters that the Minister of the Lebanese Displaced is talking about are “concentration camps.”
under crisis
According to official estimates, about 1.5 million Syrian refugees live in Lebanon who left their country due to the war, including about 855,000 officially registered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, which is about a quarter of the population of Lebanon.
The Lebanese and Syrian refugees alike are living under the weight of an explosion in prices due to the liquidity crisis and the high cost of imports. The inflation rate has reached high levels, and the prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages have doubled in particular 5 times.
According to a report issued by the United Nations, half of the Syrian refugee families in Lebanon suffer from food insecurity.