Dubai The United Nations High Commmissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has announced plans to naturalise 100,000 Syrian refugees in Lebanon, according to Social Affairs Minister Rashid Derbas, who says he obtainted the report. In comments published in the Al Liwaa daily, he said the UN would also be issuing passports for the refugees. The government is likely to reject the proposal given the country’s history with refugees dating back to the Palestinian Nakba of 1948 which saw a massive influx of Palestinian refugees who have been living in Lebanon for decades in camps. Palestinians also were involved in the Lebanese Civil War which drudges up uncomfortable sentiments among Lebanese about the role refugees play in politics and changing the religious demographics of the country. Last week, Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil warned of a ‘veiled attempt to naturalise refugees’ through creating permanent camps in Lebanon. Lebanon hosts over 1.1 million Syrian refugees on top of its Palestinian refugee population. Syrians now account for 1 in every 4 people living in Lebanon and their desperate situation has led to an influx of cheap labor at the expense of Lebanese workers. Many young Syrians forced to be breadwinners for their families have taken construction and maintanence jobs at half the price of Lebanese workers, creating a massive unemployment surge amongst Lebanese. UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres warned last week that the spiraling crisis from Syria’s civil war could pose a serious threat to Lebanon’s security. Reports said that the cabinet is mulling the establishment of camps in buffer zones between the Lebanese border crossing Al Masnaa and Jdeidet Yabous crossing on the Syrian side.
