As Israel’s military offensive in Lebanon intensifies, forcing more than a million people from their homes, among the most vulnerable communities are Syrian refugees, who have faced a long history of hostility and discrimination.
Fleeing two weeks of Israeli airstrikes and a growing ground assault, around 100,000 people have crossed the border into Syria from Lebanon, according to UN figures. Syrian authorities have put the number higher, saying in a social media post that 132,000 Lebanese and 54,000 Syrians have crossed since last week.
But for many of the roughly 1.5 million Syrian refugees in Lebanon – who have fled years of political persecution or compulsory military service – returning home is not a safe option, human rights groups warn.
Nine out of 10 refugees live in extreme poverty and are dependent on aid, and that has been the case well before the current conflict began.
For years, they have faced a rising tide of xenophobia, which has included mob violence and demands by political and religious leaders for their expulsion. Strict laws on residency and work permits make it hard to find formal employment, which deepens vulnerability.
Israel’s offensive has already uprooted a million people – one fifth of Lebanon’s population. That is an “unprecedented” rate of displacement, according to Save the Children.
The humanitarian crisis is putting an enormous additional strain on a country that has struggled with a protracted economic and political crisis, and where the rate of poverty has tripled over the past decade.
In the expanding conflict – between Israel and the deeply entrenched political party and militant group Hezbollah – Israeli airstrikes have already killed at least 600 people. But some Syrian refugees have been barred from accessing communal bomb shelters.
Many of these municipal shelters are effectively Lebanese-only, Muzna Al-Zhouri, a Syrian journalist and refugee rights defender based in the Beqaa Valley, told The New Humanitarian.
Some shelter managers claim “they need to follow some [bogus] legal procedures”, Al-Zhouri said.
Many of Lebanon’s communal shelters are overcrowded, with people left to sleep on the streets, public beaches, or in their cars.
But Syrians have also been specifically targeted.
“Tens of thousands of Syrian refugees, who have sought safety in Lebanon, are being denied help,” Action Aid said in a statement. “Many [have been] forced to sleep on the streets or cross the borders back into Syria.”
Al-Zhouri noted that the discrimination is not uniform. Some Lebanese have opened their homes to refugees, while some local NGOs are also ensuring the shelters they provide are accessible to all.
Yet there has also been a history of anti-Syrian sentiment in Lebanon, dating from the military intervention by Damascus during the Lebanese civil war, and then occupation until 2005. That has spilled over into attitudes towards refugees, who increasingly face violence and intimidation, according to rights groups.
‘Disastrous’ situation
The Beqaa Valley, close to the Syrian border, is a destination for growing numbers of Syrian refugees fleeing the fighting.
“The situation for the Syrian families is disastrous, and becoming harder every day. Hundreds of people are sleeping in the streets because they have nowhere to go; we the residents of the Beqaa towns are trying to help [as best we can].”
“We are witnessing an influx of thousands from southern Lebanon and Beirut, seeking refuge,” Lamia*, a refugee who has lived in Baqaa for over a decade, told The New Humanitarian by phone.
“The situation for the Syrian families is disastrous, and becoming harder every day,” she said. “Hundreds of people are sleeping in the streets because they have nowhere to go; we the residents of the Beqaa towns are trying to help [as best we can].”
Lebanon has suffered a litany of economic woes over the past few years. A financial collapse in 2019 resulted in a 98% devaluation of the Lebanese pound, followed by a devastating explosion in Beirut port – troubles that are widely seen to have been compounded by the corruption and mismanagement of Lebanon’s political class.
Israel’s offensive, aimed at destroying Hezbollah, has triggered yet more price rises and shortages, making life harder for Lebanese and Syrian refugees alike.
Some landlords have taken advantage of the crisis to hike rents. In the northern city of Tripoli, where house rentals would typically be $300-$400 a month, landlords are now demanding $1,000 – profiting from the surge of displaced people looking for accommodation.
Those rates are well beyond the reach of most refugee households, and families that can’t pay are being evicted, said a rights activist, who asked not to be named due to the sensitivity of their job.
No safe exit
People trying to leave Lebanon are also facing difficulties. Two weeks ago, a taxi from Lebanon to Damascus cost $100, but the price has since soared to $250 – “and sometimes even more”, said Al-Zhouri.
Crossing the border is also perilous. At least two of the six official crossing points have been shelled by Israeli forces. Jdeideh-Masnaa, the largest, was hit on 29 September, while the Matraba crossing was targeted multiple times last week.
Syrian households that can afford to leave Lebanon face a difficult choice: stay and risk the threat posed by an expanding war, or return to Syria and gamble that they won’t be targeted by the Syrian authorities for their political views.
Human Rights Watch said it has documented numerous cases of returning refugees being “arbitrarily detained, kidnapped, tortured, and killed” by Syrian security agencies.
“Many members of my family, particularly women and children, have gone back to Syria, while the men have stayed here in Bekaa,” said Lamia, who is originally from Syria’s Homs province, a key area of the Syrian uprising.
Those family separations are emotionally wrenching, as nobody knows whether they will meet again. “I saw women taking their babies with them, leaving their adult children here in Beqaa, and this is heartbreaking,” Lamia said.
Some women have also been politically active. “They were formerly detained by the Syrian authorities, so they are sending their children to Syria and staying here,” she said. “We feel completely paralysed not knowing what to do and how we can help them.”
Some Syrians are using unofficial routes to avoid being caught by the security forces as they cross over.
A humanitarian worker on the border, who asked not to be named as they weren’t authorised to speak to the media, said they had met returning young men who knew they would be conscripted but didn’t know what else to do.
“They have no other choice but to die in Lebanon or in Syria,” they said. “They were totally lost, asking about where to go or what can be done? They just want to flee the war in Lebanon, no matter what the result is.”
*A pseudonym was used to protect her identity.
Edited by Obi Anyadike.
