Despite the heavy burdens Syrian refugees already carry on their shoulders, they continue to face hostility in Lebanon — a tiny country that is already thinly-stretched with limited resources and capabilities.
As more time passes, political and economic crises continue to worsen — and, unfortunately, so do the hostilities.
Nazi Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels once said: "If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it."
Lebanese politicians seem to have adopted this policy toward Syrian refugees in Lebanon.
The Syrian refugee crisis in Lebanon began with the onset of the Syrian revolution when Bashar al-Assad, 12 years ago, declared war on the Syrian people. From the very beginning, the Lebanese government refused to grant Syrian refugees asylum and, instead, used them as pawns in political disputes, like all other issues in Lebanon.
Today, Lebanon's economic and financial crises have made the cry against refugees even louder. Politicians hold refugees responsible for all the problems that have befallen the country.
Primary cause of crisis ignored
Worse, they intentionally ignore that the primary cause of the crisis in Lebanon is a militia which operates outside the framework of the state ie. Hezbollah, and the problems that have arisen due to its military and political intervention and terrorist operations, not only in Syria but also in several Arab countries.
Read more: Through the barrel of a gun: Lebanon’s financial collapse explained
