70 percent of refugees are frustrated as aid is not sufficient. Vulnerable host community families will increasingly require assistance.
BEIRUT (October 9, 2013) – Lebanese municipalities have reached a critical point as they cannot stem the massive Syrian refugee influx anymore. This is one of the main conclusions of a recent assessment undertaken by CARE International. Lebanon, which currently hosts the highest number of refugees from Syria, is politically and economically impacted by the Syrian crisis. Local authorities and communities have made important efforts to welcome refugees from Syria and share the limited resources available.
“Lebanese infrastructure was already facing challenges before the Syrian conflict started. Due to limited capacities of the municipalities and the substantial increase of the population, refugees and host community families will require more humanitarian assistance,” says Bernard Borkhosh, Country Director of CARE Lebanon.
The international community should scale-up its support to Lebanon as the country cannot face these challenges alone. Refugees’ needs are widespread. All municipalities identified access to water as one of their urgent needs. Another issue is housing. As Lebanese authorities have not yet planned to establish a camp, refugees are scattered in different parts of the country living in different types of shelter. “Whether they live in informal settlements or in rented apartments – such as 69 percent of the households in the assessed area – refugees struggle to meet increasing housing costs,” continues Borkhosh.
The Syria crisis has had significant impact on refugees’ livelihoods by reducing the number of job opportunities and salary levels. As the overall cost of living in Lebanon has risen including water and public transport, men feel under increasing pressure to provide an income to support the family. Women stressed the psychological damages and impact of displacement is having on the whole family. “When asked about the impact of the crisis, all refugees agreed on one word: destruction. Their lives and homes were destroyed. They have lost beloved ones and the community they were part of has fallen apart. They have not only lost their past life but also their future,” Borkhosh adds.
Two and a half years of violence and exile have provoked lethargy among refugees. 76 percent of those interviewed expressed a deep feeling of distress, which is aggravated by the lack of future prospects for children. Two out of three Syrian refugee children do not go to school in Chouf district.
Syrian refugees have also expressed their frustration with the very limited aid received so far. “Almost 70 percent of the interviewed refugees said that the received aid did not meet their actual needs and every second refugee answered that it was not sufficient,” Borkhosh continues.
While 22.6 percent of the Syrian refugees in Lebanon live in the governorate of Mount Lebanon, only a few international aid organizations work in this area and the coverage of refugees’ needs remains very low. CARE’s assessment report aims to contribute to filling the information gap for this area.
In order to respond to the increasing needs of the Syrian refugees, CARE International in Lebanon
is providing access to water, sanitation and hygiene; shelter and non-food items in the Mount Lebanon governorate and Beirut. “As the winter season is just around the corner, we call on the international community to urgently increase their support for the regional response. To date, only 49% of the total amount required in the RRP5 has been funded. More coordinated support and additional funding are crucial to meet the fast growing needs of refugees and host communities affected by this crisis,” urges Bernard Borkhosh.
About the report: CARE International in Lebanon together with Awareness and Consolation Association (ACA) and Development for People and Nature Association (DPNA) completed an assessment in August to get a better understanding of the level of vulnerability of Syrian refugees and host community. The assessment took place in the Chouf District where an estimated number of 19,555 Syrian refugees, both registered and unregistered with UNHCR, have settled. In total, 240 households - on average, each household gathers two families, with each family being composed of five members - and six key informants at the municipality level were interviewed; 22 male and female focus group discussions were held.
About CARE: Founded in 1945, CARE is a leading humanitarian organization fighting global poverty and providing lifesaving assistance in emergencies. CARE places special focus on working alongside poor girls and women because, equipped with the proper resources, they have the power to help lift whole families and entire communities out of poverty. CARE has developed a regional response to
the crisis in Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt and Yemen to meet the immediate and most urgent needs of those who have fled Syria.
Contact
For more information or to arrange interviews with Bernard Borkhosh, please contact: Laury-Anne Bellessa, CARE France, + 33 1 53 19 89 92, [email protected]