Lebanon needs help to take care of refugees

The war in Syria has been raging for over seven years. More than 500,000 men, women and children have been killed during this period, contributing to the world’s largest refugee crisis in recent history.

Although the impacts of the Syrian crisis have affected the entire region, the country facing the greatest refugee influx issues is undoubtedly Lebanon.

With a population of about four million, Lebanon hosts the greatest concentration of refugees per capita in the world (more than 40 per cent of the demographic mass of Lebanon). This has created an overwhelming pressure on the country’s utilities and stability. Nearly 2.5 million refugees from Syria, Iraq and Palestine have found refuge in Lebanon.

Since the beginning of the Syrian war, the refugees as well as the Lebanese population have been suffering even as the economy has been reeling under the pressure of the ongoing war.

The International Monetary Fund declared in February 2018 that the Lebanese economy was on an unsustainable path, requiring urgent action.

The Lebanese government is facing a real crisis, as the budget deficit has ballooned to more than 10 per cent of the gross domestic product.

Unfortunately, Lebanon has one of the world’s highest debt-to-GDP ratios. Its 149 per cent debt level of last year will be carried over into 2018. This debt has been affecting the Lebanese community in every aspect of their lives.

A staggering 70 per cent of the refugees in Lebanon live below the poverty line.

Almost 90 per cent of these refugees are in debt to an average that varies between $700 to $900 per household. This debt has been accumulated to cover just their most basic needs (food, health care, etc.)

Awareness campaigns have become crucial and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) should step in to assist the various communities develop effective methods of communication. There should be a special stress on spreading awareness to both the Lebanese population and the refugees. The goal is to bring both parties together so that people are treated with respect and their dignity is assured. The Lebanese people as well as the refugees need a safe environment to live and grow.

Lebanon should also be free of tension, for which the government needs support. Assistance is needed from other countries, NGOs and any entity that is able to help to provide the basic elements for survival (clean water, food, shelter, adequate sanitation and access to health care).

Special focus must be on mental health and psychosocial support to the refugees with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (CPTSD) and any psychiatric problems caused or exacerbated by the Syrian or the Iraqi conflict.

Many refugees as well as Lebanese civilians suffer from PTSD and CPTSD.

PTSD is a mental disorder which occurs after a person experiences a trauma after being exposed to death, sexual violence, and/or serious injury has affected the lives of many refugees. Complex PTSD is a developmental trauma disorder that can develop after prolonged exposure to social and/or interpersonal trauma such as emotional abuse and torture.

Lebanon needs NGOs who can develop tools to identify, raise awareness and provide the necessary programmess like art therapy to help individuals with these mental health problems.

The main objective is to watch over the emotional well-being of the refugees and the Lebanese host community affected by the war in Syria and Iraq.

It is important that those who have been impacted by the law are relieved of their hardships. For, healing scars on a small scale can impact a whole community. Christiane Waked is a risk analyst. She is the former Press Attaché of the French Embassy to the UAE.

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