The West should end its moral lessons on Lebanon

The Lebanese Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil recently addressed attendees at the third International Conference on the Victims of Ethnic and Religious Violence in the Middle East that was held in Brussels, slamming a joint statement by European Union and United Nations, which was published on April 25 this year.

Bassil criticised what he described as a global effort to integrate refugees into Lebanese society rather than facilitate their return home. He also warned that the policy of integration is a new way of eliminating Lebanon’s model of pluralism. Implying that the integration of these refugees will create an imbalance by increasing the number of Sunnis in the Lebanese fragile sectarian system.

Lebanese President Michel Aoun also rejected this joint statement warning that the United Nations and European Union were endangering Lebanon.

The statement sparked a wave of protests in Lebanon, as it included expressions such as “voluntary return”, “temporary return”, “the will to stay” and “the engagement in the labour market”.

Leader of the Lebanese Forces, Samir Geagea, reminded that Lebanon had opened its door for refugees out of compassion with their tragedy, but he insisted that this does not mean that “Lebanon’s sovereignty should be taken for granted,” adding that the Lebanese have a “right to their land and natural resources”.

Lebanon has been the most affected country by the Syrian tragedy. The Lebanese economic growth today stands at one per cent against nine per cent before the war started in Syria.

The influx of Syrian refugees has caused an increase in demography affecting various sectors of the Lebanese life, for instance putting the country’s water supply under mounting pressure.

United Nations-Habitat estimates that demand for water services has increased by almost 30 per cent since the crisis began.

Two million refugees are more than what a small country like Lebabon with a population of just four million can handle.

Since the conflict began, about one million displaced Syrians have moved to Europe — the whole continent and not just one specific country — as asylum seekers or refugees, according to asylum seeker data from Eurostat, Europe’s statistical agency, and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugges (UNHCR) data on refugee resettlement.

Since the start of the conflict, an estimated 52,000 Syrian refugees have resettled in Canada and another 21,000 have resettled in the United States.

Compared to Lebanon, these numbers are negligible. Hence, Lebanon has no moral lessons to take from any of these countries.

Lebanese officials reacted harshly at what they consider a double standard treatment, knowing that in 2015, European Union leaders introduced compulsory quotas, as thousands of people arrived daily on Europe’s shores, many of whom were refugees from Syria, Iraq and Eritrea.

Lebanese Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil raised the alarm in a letter addressed to United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres and called for collaboration with the Lebanese government to rework a common vision to resolve the crisis of displayed Syrians.

His efforts paid since the European delegation in Lebanon and United Nations resident coordinator said the paragraph in question relates to the situation of populations affected by the conflict within Syria and that it does not pertain to Lebanon. It also said that they view the presence of Syrian refugees in Lebanon as temporary.

In conclusion, it is about time the pressure on Lebanon is eased. The western world should open its doors to refugees instead of giving moral lessons to a small country such as Lebanon. Christiane Waked is a risk analyst. She is the former Press Attaché of the French Embassy to the UAE, and has worked as linguist and analyst in the French Interior Ministry.

Two million refugees are more than what a small country like Lebabon with a population of just four million can handle. Since the start of the conflict, 52,000 Syrian refugees have resettled in Canada.