0|Pagin ă Fig.2‐PalestinianrefugeecampLebanon(Dokkedal,2009)Studentname:DespinaIorgaStudentno.:4005143Modulename:ShelterafterDisasterModuleno.:P38164Moduleleaders:BillFlinn,CharlesParrackSubmissiondate:1 st May2015HowPoliticalandSocio‐economicissuesaffectshelterconditionsforrefugees:PalestinianandSyrianRefugeesinLebanon.
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2.0 LEBANON‐ Short description. Background ____________________________________________________ 2
3.0 The case of the Palestinian refugees‐ over 60 years living in Lebanon. _____________________________ 4 4.0 Current Syrian refugee situation‐ is history repeating itself? _____________________________________ 10 5.0 Comparative analysis of the two refugee contexts _____________________________________________13
The most important political and socio‐economic factors which determine the poor shelter and livelihood
conditions of Palestinian refugees, both in the above‐mentioned official refugee camps and in the informal
settlements, relate to: restriction in freedom to carry out construction and rehabilitation works and freedom
of movement; ability of camp expansion (camps can’t expand outwards); refusal by the Lebanese
government to grant Palestinian refugees citizenship (which implies very limited access to jobs, schools and
health care) and ownership of property; and refusal by Israel to implement UN General Assembly Resolution
194 regarding refugees’ freedom to return.
Since the Palestinian refugees were classified as foreigners, in the mid 1960’s, with work permits being
extremely difficult to obtain, they have no political, social or civil rights, and any question of granting them
these rights is seen as a step towards permanent integration. The Lebanese government has been constantly
refusing to allow this, under the pretext of refugees’ integration causing extra tensions within the already
delicate sectarian balance, as well as jeopardizing their chance of return to country of origin.
The tolerant attitude of Lebanon changed after Israel persistently refused to (and still does till this day)
implement UN General Assembly Resolution 194 stating ‘that the refugees wishing to return to their homes
and lives at peace with their neighbours, should be permitted to do so at the earliest practicable date, and
that compensation should be paid for the property of those choosing not to return and for the loss or
damage to property which, under principles of international law in equity, should be made good by the
governments, or authorities responsible.’33
The Lebanese government forbids the reconstruction of totally destroyed camps, and in other camps any
reconstruction of a building requires a special permit which is rarely issued. ‘In some camps, Lebanese
soldiers verify that the residents are not smuggling in building materials.’34 Building without permit is
punishable by arrest and detention. UNRWA is one of the very few organizations that manages to acquire
permits for reconstruction works, generally in formal settlements, while UNICEF targets less accessible
areas, where gatherings have formed. With the exception of PRCS (Palestinian Red Crescent Society),
Palestinian NGOs are forbidden to work in Lebanon by law, unless they are registered as a Lebanese NGO.35
In 2001 the Lebanese government passed law 296, adjusting the rules on foreign ownership of property,
which prohibits ‘any person who is not a national of any state… acquiring real estate property of any kind’.36
Though it does not specifically mention Palestinians, it serves to ban them from buying or selling their homes,
and their siblings from inheriting them.
As a repercussion of this law, many Palestinian refugees live in constant fear of being thrown away from the
homes they’ve been living in for over 60 years: ‘The Ghadbaan family is one of 75 in the Palestinian gathering,
or informal settlement, of Qasmiyeh in south Lebanon, where they are living with the prospect that their
homes might be destroyed. (…) In 1948 the owner of the land allowed the refugees to stay in exchange for
working in the fields, but gradually a permanent community emerged. (…) “There was nothing here when
we came, just land. We have built all these houses ourselves,” Ghadbaan says. (…) After the original
landowner died a few years ago, his daughters took legal action to evict the families. They demanded the
destruction of the homes and in 2012 a court ruled in their favour. So far, the families are refusing to budge,
but they fear the day when the bulldozers will arrive.’37
33 Shafie, S. (2006). Palestinian Refugees in Lebanon. 1st ed. [ebook] Available at: http://www.forcedmigration.org/research‐
resources/expert‐guides/palestinian‐refugees‐in‐lebanon/fmo018.pdf [Accessed 11 Apr. 2015]. 34 Shafie, S. (2006). Palestinian Refugees in Lebanon. 1st ed. [ebook] Available at: http://www.forcedmigration.org/research‐
resources/expert‐guides/palestinian‐refugees‐in‐lebanon/fmo018.pdf [Accessed 11 Apr. 2015]. 35 Shafie, S. (2006). Palestinian Refugees in Lebanon. 1st ed. [ebook] Available at: http://www.forcedmigration.org/research‐
resources/expert‐guides/palestinian‐refugees‐in‐lebanon/fmo018.pdf [Accessed 11 Apr. 2015]. 36 IRINnews, (2013). Property rights scarce for Palestinians in Lebanon. [online] Available at:
http://www.irinnews.org/report/99384/property‐rights‐scarce‐for‐palestinians‐in‐lebanon [Accessed 11 Apr. 2015]. 37 IRINnews, (2013). Property rights scarce for Palestinians in Lebanon. [online] Available at:
In the context of the political and socio‐economic circumstances surrounding Palestinian refugees since their
arrival in Lebanon in 1948, they continue to live in camps and gatherings where the living conditions are
almost inhumane and the infrastructure is crumbling: shelters are overly congested, squeezing an ever‐
increasing population into a finite area; most structures, built as temporary shelters, have deteriorated over
decades from lack of funding for proper maintenance and ban on reconstruction; and leaky pipes,
deteriorated water and sewage treatment systems, contaminated water and jerry‐rigged electrical
connections.38
4.0 Current Syrian refugee situation‐ is history repeating itself?
In a 2013 interview conducted with Dr. Kamel Mohnna, director of Amel Association, a non‐sectarian
Lebanese NGO founded 30 years ago, he explained the Syrian refugee situation and its impact in Lebanon:
‘Unfortunately, the political situation is deteriorating as well. Lebanese officials maintain their “neutral”
stance vis‐à‐vis the Syrian civil war while in reality, one part of the Lebanese political class supports the Syrian
regime while the other part is against it. If the refugee population does expand to 700,000 in Lebanon, this
will have serious repercussions for political stability in Lebanon. This being said – Syrian refugees do feel at
home here in Lebanon, and family ties are strong. Before the Syrian civil war, there were already hundreds of
thousands of Syrian workers in the country. And importantly, during the Israel‐Hezbollah war in 2006, over
200,000 Lebanese refugees crossed into Syria, where they stayed with family members. Today, these Syrian
families are in Lebanon.’ 39
Few months later, on the 3rd of April 2014, Lebanon received its one millionth refugee from Syria and is at risk
of paying the price for its hospitality with severe political and economic destabilization. One of the reasons
behind this is because Lebanon, unlike Syria’s other neighbours who have increasingly restricted crossings
since 2013, has maintained largely open borders throughout the crisis.40 It was only on the 6th of January this
year that it cancelled the ‘open‐ door policy’ and demanded visas for the first time.41
There are currently over 1,146,405 Syrian refugees in Lebanon as of January 2015, representing nearly a
quarter of its population, with only a small number living in existing camps, the rest being dispersed in
communities around the country. As Lebanese government officials stand firmly against setting up formal
refugee camps, Syrians live in rented flats and abandoned constructions, in rooms with host families or
improvised shelters on their lands, and some even in Palestinian refugee camps, adding residents to the
already overpopulated sites which are banned from expansion.42
Lebanon's experience with Palestinian refugees left deep scars, leading to believe that creating formal
refugee camps for Syrians would encourage them to settle in the country permanently. Some opponents of
formal refugee camps have also argued that the non‐camp approach offers a more dignified and sustainable
38 ANERA, (2012). Palestinian Refugees in Lebanon. Volume 3. [online] ANERA: Washington, pp.1‐12. Available at:
http://www.anera.org/wp‐content/uploads/2013/03/LEBRefugeeReport.pdf [Accessed 11 Apr. 2015]. 39 Syrianrefugees.eu, (2013). Interview with Dr. Kamel Mohanna, Director of Amel Association | Syrian Refugees. [online] Available at:
http://syrianrefugees.eu//?page_id=195 [Accessed 12 Apr. 2015]. 40 Thibos, C. (2014). One million Syrians in Lebanon: A milestone quickly passed. 1st ed. [ebook] Florence: Migration Policy Centre, pp.1‐5.
Available at: http://cadmus.eui.eu/bitstream/handle/1814/31696/MPC_THIBOS_2014_.pdf?sequence=1 [Accessed 12 Apr. 2015]. 41 Pizzi, M. (2015). In Syria’s war refugees, Lebanon sees echoes of Palestinian crisis | Al Jazeera America. [online]
Fig.7 & 8‐ Syrian refugees in Bekaa valley; (Baldwin, 2013)
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lifestyle for those displaced, and provides unique development opportunities for overwhelmed locals.43
Amanda Gray, an urban displacement policy adviser at the International Rescue Committee UK, said that
"camps hinder opportunities for displaced communities to find solutions [to their problems]. They hinder
self‐reliance, because the people within are hampered by restrictions and their ability to access opportunities
outside".44Nevertheless, one of the major downsides to the absence of formal refugee camps is that the
poorest Syrians lack adequate housing in the midst of winter, and are vulnerable to exploitation.
Both Lebanese policy makers and the UNHCR support the strategy of not setting up formal refugee camps,
claiming that it’s better for refugees to be integrated in local communities. A 2013 study showed that two
thirds of Lebanese citizens expressed a wish for the UN to set up the camps fearing great loss of job
opportunities in favour of Syrian refugees who work for half the salary a Lebanese would ask for, and for
security reasons, claiming the refusal to arrange camps might prove to be an issue for Lebanon’s security at
large.45 A young municipality worker stated: ‘I think a way to solve this problem is to make refugee camps for
Syrians (…) put them all in camps and give them all their needs and explain to them that they are not allowed
to take all the job opportunities, since the Lebanese need to work as well.’46
When the conflict erupted and Syrians started crossing the border to Lebanon, people believed the crisis will
be short lived, so they took in refugees, or even acted as beneficiaries when renting apartments, but now
they lack the resources to host them any longer and rents have more than doubled since 2011. They thought
they would provide transitional shelter and, in case the conflict prolonged, the refugees would be transferred
to camps. Now, desperate to find a living space, Syrians have turned shops, garages, store rooms, hallways
and, in one case, even a slaughterhouse into makeshift shelters.
The areas most affected by poverty in Lebanon‐ north, Bekaa (fig. 7 & 8) and Mount Lebanon, and to a lesser
extent the south‐ are also the areas with the highest number of refugees: together these areas amount for
both 78% of Lebanese living below the poverty line prior to crisis and 85% of registered Syrian refugees
currently in Lebanon.47 In Bekaa, an estimated 50% of refugees live in rented houses, 26% in nomadic camps
and the remaining 24% hosted by families or living in shelter provided by the local community.48
In general, numerous Syrian families gather in collective shelters, such as incomplete constructions,
abandoned buildings, or holiday chalets, which are not equipped to host numerous people for a large period
of time; most of them lack showers, garbage collection, kitchens and purification systems. Some families
have had to erect tents or build shelters on their own for lack of accommodation. In some towns, mayors, in
collaboration with the local community, have contributed to hosting refugee families by opening up schools
and other community buildings as collective shelters.49
43 Rainey, V. (2015). Lebanon: No formal refugee camps for Syrians. [online] Aljazeera.com. Available at:
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/03/lebanon‐formal‐refugee‐camps‐syrians‐150310073219002.html [Accessed 12 Apr. 2015]. 44 Rainey, V. (2015). Lebanon: No formal refugee camps for Syrians. [online] Aljazeera.com. Available at:
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/03/lebanon‐formal‐refugee‐camps‐syrians‐150310073219002.html [Accessed 12 Apr. 2015]. 45 Christophersen, M. (2014). Absence of Syrian Refugee Camps in Lebanon Heats Up Labor Competition and Local Tensions. [online] IPI
Global Observatory. Available at: http://theglobalobservatory.org/2014/03/absence‐of‐syrian‐refugee‐camps‐in‐lebanon‐heats‐up‐labor‐competition‐and‐local‐tensions/ [Accessed 11 Apr. 2015]. 46 Christophersen, M. (2014). Absence of Syrian Refugee Camps in Lebanon Heats Up Labor Competition and Local Tensions. [online] IPI
Global Observatory. Available at: http://theglobalobservatory.org/2014/03/absence‐of‐syrian‐refugee‐camps‐in‐lebanon‐heats‐up‐labor‐competition‐and‐local‐tensions/ [Accessed 11 Apr. 2015]. 47 Thibos, C. (2014). One million Syrians in Lebanon: A milestone quickly passed. 1st ed. [ebook] Florence: Migration Policy Centre, pp.1‐5.
Available at: http://cadmus.eui.eu/bitstream/handle/1814/31696/MPC_THIBOS_2014_.pdf?sequence=1 [Accessed 12 Apr. 2015]. 48 MPC Migration Policy Centre, (2012). Syrian Refugees in Lebanon: the Humanitarian Approach under Political Divisions. MPC Research
Report 2012/13. [online] San Domenico di Fiesole: European University Institute Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies, pp.1‐25. Available at: http://www.migrationpolicycentre.eu/docs/MPC%202012%2013.pdf [Accessed 12 Apr. 2015]. 49 MPC Migration Policy Centre, (2012). Syrian Refugees in Lebanon: the Humanitarian Approach under Political Divisions. MPC Research
Report 2012/13. [online] San Domenico di Fiesole: European University Institute Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies, pp.1‐25. Available at: http://www.migrationpolicycentre.eu/docs/MPC%202012%2013.pdf [Accessed 12 Apr. 2015].
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A small proportion of Syrians took shelter with the Palestinian refugees in camps set up in the 1950’s. Two
examples are Beirut’s Sabra and Shatila camps, perceived as urban slums, confined to an area of about 1.3 sq.
km., where up to 22,000 people live in desperate conditions. Since camps are prohibited from expanding
outwards, they’ve been slowly growing upwards to accommodate the new influx of refugees. Many breeze‐
block houses, which comprise rooms of 25‐30 sq. m. are now 4‐5 storeys high, sometimes more. ‘The
tampering streets, many of which are barely a meter wide, are now cast in near‐permanent darkness, apart
from some hours at noon when sunlight can penetrate through the concrete canopy. The lack of fresh air
and abundance of open sewers, coupled with the incredibly dense population, contribute to the fast spread
of disease in camps.’50
The strain on Lebanese communities, caused by the current Syrian refugee situation, arriving in the context
of a previous unresolved, 60‐year old conflict with Palestinian refugees, is obvious regardless of the metric
used. Employment, education, health care, housing, sanitation, physical infrastructure and living conditions‐
all have experienced spikes that have severely reduced the already insufficient capacity. Because of these,
not only the Lebanese have to suffer, but the Syrian refugees as well, coming to the country in the past 3‐4
years and taking shelter in extreme, brutal environments.
5.0 Comparative analysis the two refugee contexts
With a current population of just little over 5 million, Lebanon hosts today around 1.7 registered Palestinian
and Syrian refugees. Shelter conditions are appalling for both groups, which are unable to improve their living
environments due to various contrasting political and socio‐economic factors which influence each other,
complicating matters further. The Lebanese government’s stand on formal camps for Syrians is determined
by the previous experience with Palestinian refugees, which generated fear in relation to the possibility of
the Syrian refugees’ stay becoming permanent, causing extra conflict on the foundation of an already
delicate sectarian balance and further crippling the country’s economy. In turn, the intake of an extremely
large number of Syrians within a short period of time (4 years) affects both Palestinians residing in Lebanon
since mid‐20th century and Lebanese citizens. Both have been accommodating Syrians since 2011, forcing
Palestinian refugees to make space within their already overcrowded camps and determining great job and
resource loss among the Lebanese citizens.
The most relevant policy interfering with refugees’ possibilities of adequate shelter is related to their
different status in Lebanon. While Palestinians are classified as foreigners and considered stateless, Syrians
benefit from their status as refugees through the freedom of exercising their social and civil rights. These
contrasting situations entail, on one hand that for Palestinian refugees is almost impossible to acquire work
permits, they have no access to the public health and educational systems, and no political rights and are
banned by law to carry out reconstruction works or expand outwards in their congested, partially or totally
destroyed camps. On the other hand, Syrian refugees have the possibility of working in Lebanon, which
further helps them rent apartments. Although this is a good shelter option, the rents are becoming
increasingly expensive and refugees can’t afford them for much longer. Furthermore, in an effort to avoid
being evicted, Syrians take any job they can find and work for half of what a Lebanese citizen would ask for,
creating tensions within communities.
What further enhances the conflict between Lebanese communities and the refugee groups, is Lebanon’s
stance on formal camps. It refuses to set up camps for Syrian refugees, despite the disagreement of Lebanese
citizens who struggle with their own living conditions while sheltering refugees. Contrastingly, over half of
50 Macfarlane, J. (2014). Syrian refugees fear permanent exile in Lebanon's camps. [online] BBC News. Available at: