In Saida, 145 displaced Syrian families (over 700 people) are currently living in a parking lot, with no clear solution offered by either the municipality or the UNHCR due to their exclusion from Lebanon’s emergency response plan, which prioritizes Lebanese citizens. These families have been forced to reside in public areas because Lebanese authorities have barred them from using official shelters, and government orders have mandated that schools and shelters be cleared of Syrians. Both the municipality and UNHCR are refusing to carry the responsibility, with the municipality viewing it as a UNHCR’s duty, while the UNHCR advises refugees to seek shelter with relatives or manage on their own, claiming they lack the capacity to provide housing.
This situation reflects a broader pattern, as the UNHCR has acknowledged its limited involvement in providing housing for displaced individuals, urging them to find immediate accommodations with friends or family. The UNHCR’s support remains minimal, consisting of basic relief items but lacking dedicated shelters for displaced Syrians. This gap in assistance has left many Syrian refugees homeless, despite the emergency plan explicitly assigning the responsibility for their sheltering to the UNHCR.
This piece calls for the UNHCR to either fulfill its responsibility by establishing shelters or actively advocate with the Lebanese government to ensure non-discriminatory access to housing for both Lebanese and non-Lebanese displaced populations.
Read the full text in Arabic.
