Syrian refugees and Lebanese accountability

Sectarian undertones and ulterior motives

While the sentiment of Mikati's statement has sectarian undertones, his choice of language to describe the refugees is equally suspect.

He has referred to them as displaced for over a decade. Legally, the term displaced relates to someone who has relocated within their own country. The term refugee describes someone who crosses an international border, regardless of whether the host country is a signatory to the Refugee Convention.

This begs the question of whether those who insist on calling Syrian refugees in Lebanon "displaced" acknowledge the existence of national borders.

International law defines a sovereign state as a political entity with a central government that exercises authority over a specific geographical territory marked by recognised borders. The state and its institutions are responsible for regulating movement across these defined borders.

Some political leaders in Lebanon are conflating border sovereignty with restricting refugee entry. When groups like Hezbollah cross these borders to and from Syria, with no restrictions, their argument loses all credibility.

The Syrian regime's Lebanese allies, particularly Hezbollah, have used legal and illegal crossings to smuggle subsidised goods, including fuel — often in plain view of state security forces.

Who holds responsibility?

The involvement of key figures in Lebanon's government in the plight of Syrian refugees raises essential questions about responsibility and accountability. 

The al-Assad regime and its supporters, Iran and Hezbollah, do not care about the well-being of these refugees who have been falsely promised "safe return" to Syria. Therefore, incitement against refugees and forcibly deporting, harming and detaining them, only adds to their already-miserable plight. 

However, refugees aren't the only ones being scapegoated for Lebanon's economic crisis. The government is making a concerted effort to shift public attention to any other issue so as not to face scrutiny or blame for the current situation in the country.

This has taken on many forms, from the mistreatment and persecution of women, incidents of child rape and abuse, incitement against the LGBTQ+ community, the apprehension of journalists, and the censorship of films.

These issues conveniently divert the public's attention from more sinister plots unfolding inside the country, such as the delineation of maritime borders, secret agreements being struck, and how the UNIFIL forces in southern Lebanon — which play a critical role in preventing clashes between Israel and Hezbollah from escalating — were almost not renewed. 

Then there is the issue of people's savings stuck inside Lebanese banks. Don't forget promised reforms and presidential elections. 

Does the Lebanese government think its people will forget these fundamental issues? How long will their diversion tactics work?

They are powerless to stop Iranian missiles from reaching Hezbollah and freeing Lebanon from the clutches of an armed militia that has hijacked Lebanon's future.

Instead of addressing the realities on the ground, those in power in Lebanon blame refugees and the Arab world for Lebanon's problems. They even blame Barbie for threatening the country's moral fabric, demonstrating that the absurdity of the situation has reached new and disturbing levels.