Political Economy Realities for Urban Refugees in Beirut: Intersectional Concerns over Health, Security and Livelihoods

An urban refugee setting in Beirut, Lebanon - Source: Southern Responses to Displacement (https://southernresponses.org/2020/04/30/who-is-empowered/)

by Jasmin Lilian Diab, Fouad M. Fouad | Global Health Institute, American University of Beirut

The Syrian civil war has displaced more than half of Syria’s population;[1] within Syria for safety or to the neighboring countries to seek refuge. In the first two years of the Syria crisis, these countries; Lebanon, Turkey and Jordan, have opened their borders with no restrictions. The international humanitarian organizations and the international community have supported[2] these states with the heavy burdens on their infrastructure. Due to the vast majority of Syrian refugees currently residing in urban areas in Lebanon, with a sizable number in Beirut,[3] coordination of aid to refugees in urban and other non-camp settings has proven to be a challenge for the country as it grapples through a multi-layered political, economic and health crisis.[4]

Beirut has been a city of migrants[5] for decades, with incomers ranging anywhere from economic migrants and domestic workers, to refugees from Armenia, Palestine and Sudan,[6] to most recently, refugees from Syria. Migrants have transformed the character of the country's capital city to say the least by developing unique patterns of social, economic and political self-organization – such was the case when Armenian refugees resided in urban areas throughout the country more than a century ago.[7] The fact that urban demographic shifts were seen to be one of the precursors that led to violent political contestations such as the country's fifteen-year Civil War, explains why many Beirut residents remain resistant to the on-going overwhelming Syrian influx in the country's urban areas.[8]

Escalating public frustration with the deep political paralysis, absence of a government, and the drastic currency devaluation has also been exacerbated as some of the country's most vulnerable citizens and its refugees struggle to navigate their increasing needs.[9] In contexts of security provision in Lebanon, security is produced and distributed by an array of actors operating concurrently and with different relationships to the state.[10] A study conducted by the Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance titled 'Beirut, a safe refuge? Urban refugees accessing security in a context of plural provision' in the Beirut neighborhoods of Nabaa and Sabra revealed that refugees experience "a precarious security environment in the city," characterized by an ongoing fear of harassment and detention, a lack of protection, and restrictions on mobility.[11]

Lebanon’s political economy of sectarianism and partisanship additionally plays a determining role in the distribution of the country's resources and security.[12] The general public's relationship with state institutions is governed by influential political authorities, supported by and legitimized through their relations with sectarian leaders, who act as "autonomous providers of public services to their confessional constituencies through para-institutional mechanisms".[13] Moreover, the country's political parties play an essential role in providing access to security for select groups and constituencies through partisan security structures.[14] While refugee communities are selectively supported by these political establishments, their support in the capital is also clouded by the general public's general discontent with their presence in urban areas – predominantly the country's capital where they are seen to constitute economic competition amid a very fragile time for Lebanon's economy.[15]

Lebanon's devastating and protracted economic crisis has rendered Syrian refugees more economically vulnerable than ever, with 75% living under the poverty line, according to UNICEF, UNHCR and WFP's Vulnerability Assessment of Syrian Refugees in Lebanon (VASyR 2019).[16] Even in urban settings, the majority of refugees do not have regular access to basic water, sanitation, hygiene services or infrastructure, as they reside in low-rent and crowded spaces.[17] Absence of permanent solutions to access to water and sanitation structures, such as connection to municipal water and sanitation networks, contribute to their dire situation. This situation increases refugees' risk of exposure to infectious and preventable diseases, and most recently their exposure to the Coronavirus pandemic.[18] While citizens in Lebanon were advised to improve their hygiene practices and follow social distancing protocols when the first case of COVID-19 was detected in Lebanon, the implementation of these practices among refugees in urban and camp settings proved to be particularly difficult.[19] Overcrowding and poor sanitation conditions among refugee communities across the country made physical distancing difficult and exposed refugees to grave health risks. Even prior to the spread of COVID-19 and the Beirut explosion,[20] Lebanon expanded legal restrictions on the right of Palestinian and Syrian refugees in both urban and rural settings.[21] Lebanon's Ministry of Labor implemented new prohibitions on small businesses and shops that frequently employ foreign workers across the country without a work permit – the majority of which are either Palestinian or Syrian refugees.[22] Economic constraints on the country's refugee community were intensified by the COVID-19 lockdown, as a significant number of refugees remain employed as daily workers, and have not been able to secure their hourly salaries due to the enforced quarantine and restrictions.[23]

The explosion in the country's capital on August 4, 2020 left more than 200 dead, thousands more injured, and cost the country millions of USD in damages – excluding the long-term repercussions on the country's economy and political stability.[24] In the explosion, 43 Syrian and Palestinian refugees and dozens of foreign migrant workers were reportedly killed or injured according to varying reports.[25] The Beirut port explosion placed enduring long-term impacts Lebanon's citizens, and more intensely on its vulnerable and fragile communities. The country's current policy framework aggravates the vulnerability of Syrian refugees, and the very nature of the political and economic systems in Beirut are unlikely to promote the equitable distribution of health, security, aid and resources to refugees. Lebanon needs to address the multi-layered gaps for refugees within its existing consociational democratic[26] framework in order to permit the country to collectively navigate through one of the country's most difficult political and economic phases since its Civil War.

Footnote References

[1] ANSA (2021), UNHCR: 5.5 million Syrian refugees, 70% in poverty, Info Migrants, Retrieved at: https://www.infomigrants.net/en/post/30887/unhcr-5-5-million-syrian-refugees-70-in-poverty#:~:text=In%20Syria%2C%20the%20humanitarian%20situation,of%20the%20entire%20population%3B%205.9

[2] Abou Assi, K. (2006), Lebanese Civil Society: A Long History of Achievements Facing Decisive Challenges Ahead of an Uncertain Future, International Management and Training Institute, Retrieved at: http://www.civicus.org/media/CSI_Lebanon_Country_Report.pdf

[3] Culbertson, S., Oliker, O., Baruch, B. & Blum, I. (2016), Rethinking Coordination of Services to Refugees in Urban Areas: Managing the Crisis in Jordan and Lebanon, RAND Corporation, Retrieved at: https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RR1485.html

[4] Fouad, M. F., Barkil-Oteo, A. & Diab, J. L. (2021), Mental Health in Lebanon's Triple-Fold Crisis: The Case of Refugees and Vulnerable Groups in Times of COVID-19, Frontiers in Public Health, Retrieved at: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2020.589264/full

[5] UCLG, UN Habitat & IMCPD (2015), City Migration Profile: Beirut Executive Summary, Retrieved at: https://www.uclg.org/sites/default/files/beirut_city_migration_profile_executive_summary_en.pdf

[6] HRW (2018), Lebanon: Deportation Threat for Sudan Refugees Held in Prolonged Arbitrary Detention, Retrieved at: https://www.hrw.org/news/2018/11/21/lebanon-deportation-threat-sudan-refugees

[7] UN Habitat (2016), Beirut, a safe refuge? Urban refugees accessing security in a context of plural provision, Retrieved at: https://unhabitat.org/beirut-a-safe-refuge-urban-refugees-accessing-security-in-a-context-of-plural-provision-0

[8] Khawaja, B. (2011), War and Memory: The Role of Palestinian Refugees in Lebanon, Macalester College History Department, Retrieved at: https://digitalcommons.macalester.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://www.google.com/&httpsredir=1&article=1012&context=history_honors

[9] Majzoub, A. (2020), Lebanon's Protests are Far from Over, Human Rights Watch, Retrieved at: https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/04/27/lebanons-protests-are-far-over

[10] Carnegie Middle East Center (2020), Security and Freedoms: Rising Concerns in Lebanon, Retrieved at: https://carnegie-mec.org/2020/09/22/security-and-freedoms-rising-concerns-in-lebanon-event-7410

[11] DCAF (2016), Beirut, a safe refuge? Urban refugees accessing security in a context of plural provision, Plural Security Insights, Retrieved at: https://issat.dcaf.ch/Learn/Resource-Library2/Policy-and-Research-Papers/Beirut-a-safe-refuge-Urban-refugees-accessing-security-in-a-context-of-plural-provision

[12] Cammett, M. (2015), Sectarianism and the Ambiguities of Welfare in Lebanon, Current Anthropology 56(11): 76-87.

[13] Ibid

[14] Ibid

[15] ILO Regional Office for Arab States (2013), Assessment of The Impact of Syrian Refugees In Lebanon and Their Employment Profile, Retrieved at: https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---arabstates/---ro-beirut/documents/publication/wcms_240134.pdf

[16] UNHCR, UNICEF & WFP (2019), VASYR 2019 - Vulnerability Assessment of Syrian Refugees in Lebanon, reliefweb, Retrieved at: https://reliefweb.int/report/lebanon/vasyr-2019-vulnerability-assessment-syrian-refugees-lebanon

[17] Fouad, M. F., McCall, S. J., Ayoub, J., et al (2021), Vulnerability of Syrian refugees in Lebanon to COVID-19: quantitative insights, Conflict and Health 15(13): Retrieved at: https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/s13031-021-00349-6.pdf

[18] Ibid

[19] Diab, J. L. (2020), Syrian Refugees in Lebanon amid Confinement, Health Scares and Escalating Needs, Refugee Hosts, Retrieved at: https://refugeehosts.org/2020/04/09/syrian-refugees-in-lebanon-amid-confinement-health-scares-and-escalating-needs/

[20] Fakih, L. (2021), Where’s the Accountability for the Beirut Blast?, Human Rights Watch, Retrieved at: https://www.hrw.org/news/2021/01/22/wheres-accountability-beirut-blast

[21] International Rescue Committee (2019), Policy brief: overview of right to work for refugees, Syria crisis response, Retrieved at: https://www.rescue.org/sites/default/files/document/987/policybrief2righttoworkforrefugees-syriacrisisresponsejanuary25.pdf

[22] Ibid

[23] WFP (2021), Assessing the Impact of the Economic and COVID-19 Crises in Lebanon (Round 2) - December 2020, reliefweb, Retrieved at: https://reliefweb.int/report/lebanon/assessing-impact-economic-and-covid-19-crises-lebanon-round-2-december-2020

[24] Ibid

[25] Middle East Institute (2020), Lebanon's invisible: Refugees, COVID-19, and the Beirut port explosion, Retrieved at: https://www.mei.edu/publications/lebanons-invisible-refugees-covid-19-and-beirut-port-explosion

[26] Abboud, A. (2019), The Consociational Democracy and its Application in Lebanon, Geopolitica.info, Retrieved at: https://www.geopolitica.info/the-consociational-democracy-and-its-application-in-lebanon/

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