Desperate Syrian refugees ‘selling organs’

LONDON: Trade in illegal organs is a booming business in Lebanon as desperate Syrian refugees resort to selling body parts to support themselves and their families, according to an investigation by the BBC.

Abu Jaafar, a trafficker who brokers deals from a coffee shop in Beirut, said that while he knew his “booming” business was illegal, he saw it as helping people in need.

He spoke to BBC journalist Alex Forsyth from his base in a dilapidated building covered by a plastic tarpaulin in a southern Beirut suburb. “I exploit people, that’s what I do,” Jaafar told Forsyth. “I know what I’m doing is illegal, but I’m helping people… Some of my clients would have died anyway.”

Since the Syrian conflict erupted in 2011, at least 1.5 million people have poured into Lebanon, where they make up around a quarter of the country’s population.

Many have no legal right to work, and families are forced to find other ways to pay for food, shelter and health care.

According to a report published in June, some 70% of refugees in Lebanon are living below the poverty line. – Reuters