Published : 12-10-2019
Palestinian refugees from Syria in Lebanon continue to launch cries for help over the precarious legal status and lack of protection they have been subjected to in the Lebanese territories.
The vast majority of Palestinians from Syria are grappling with deportation concerns and live in a perpetual fear over their families’ safety due to the security mayhem rocking the region.
At the same time, the Lebanese authorities continue to rebuff appeals for renewing the visas of those who entered Lebanon after September 16, 2016, blacklisting them as “illegal immigrants” and ruling for their immediate deportation within a time-span of 15 days.
On July 13, 2018, the Lebanese General Security Directorate gave instructions for working out the legal situation of Palestinians from Syria who entered Lebanon before September 16, 2016 and granting them a temporary and renewable 6-month stay, for free.
Data garnered by AGPS indicates that scores of Palestinians from Syria face an ambivalent legal status in Lebanon, 125 among whom entered the country through illegal routes while another 100 refugees have had their identity documents withheld by the General Security Directorate for months. 75 more refugees received deportation orders.
Speaking with AGPS, civil action committees said the Lebanese authorities continue to urge youths aged between 17 and 18 who entered Lebanon as minors to obtain identity and travel documents from Syria. Those belonging to such an age-category are not only placed under constant threat of refoulement to Syria but also risk to be forced into military conscription with pro-government militias in war-torn Syria and subjected to extra-judicial execution or forced disappearance.
A couple of months earlier, the General Security office in Sidon lost a record of 30 identity documents, passports, and other official papers of registered Palestinians from Syria who submitted demands to renew their stays in Lebanon.
Recovering identity documents for Palestinians from Syria is never a risk-free process. Once they are back to Syria, the refugees are very likely to lose their lives or/and freedoms.
The absence of a specific legislation addressing the unique situation of the Palestinians of Syria has made them vulnerable to marginalization within the Lebanese polity.
The price leap, steep rental fees, expensive education charges, and lack of access to the local labor market, along with the absence of relief aids, have made life unbearable for the Palestinian refugees in Lebanon.
Palestinian refugees from Syria in Lebanon continue to launch cries for help over the precarious legal status and lack of protection they have been subjected to in the Lebanese territories.
The vast majority of Palestinians from Syria are grappling with deportation concerns and live in a perpetual fear over their families’ safety due to the security mayhem rocking the region.
At the same time, the Lebanese authorities continue to rebuff appeals for renewing the visas of those who entered Lebanon after September 16, 2016, blacklisting them as “illegal immigrants” and ruling for their immediate deportation within a time-span of 15 days.
On July 13, 2018, the Lebanese General Security Directorate gave instructions for working out the legal situation of Palestinians from Syria who entered Lebanon before September 16, 2016 and granting them a temporary and renewable 6-month stay, for free.
Data garnered by AGPS indicates that scores of Palestinians from Syria face an ambivalent legal status in Lebanon, 125 among whom entered the country through illegal routes while another 100 refugees have had their identity documents withheld by the General Security Directorate for months. 75 more refugees received deportation orders.
Speaking with AGPS, civil action committees said the Lebanese authorities continue to urge youths aged between 17 and 18 who entered Lebanon as minors to obtain identity and travel documents from Syria. Those belonging to such an age-category are not only placed under constant threat of refoulement to Syria but also risk to be forced into military conscription with pro-government militias in war-torn Syria and subjected to extra-judicial execution or forced disappearance.
A couple of months earlier, the General Security office in Sidon lost a record of 30 identity documents, passports, and other official papers of registered Palestinians from Syria who submitted demands to renew their stays in Lebanon.
Recovering identity documents for Palestinians from Syria is never a risk-free process. Once they are back to Syria, the refugees are very likely to lose their lives or/and freedoms.
The absence of a specific legislation addressing the unique situation of the Palestinians of Syria has made them vulnerable to marginalization within the Lebanese polity.
The price leap, steep rental fees, expensive education charges, and lack of access to the local labor market, along with the absence of relief aids, have made life unbearable for the Palestinian refugees in Lebanon.
