Doctors Without Borders: Lebanon Syrian Refugees Living in Fear, Uncertainty

Lebanon has absorbed tens of thousands of refugees fleeing from the conflict in neighboring Syria in recent months and many of them are living in overcrowded conditions, suffering psychological distress, fearful for their safety and unable to afford medical care, said the international medical humanitarian organization Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) in a report released Friday.

“Most refugees are settling in low socioeconomic regions of Lebanon, placing an additional burden on already overstretched resources. Gaps are appearing in refugees’ access to medical care, particularly hospital-level care and treatment for chronic diseases,” MSF said.

Of the 5,000 refugees interviewed by MSF, three-quarters fled Syria as a direct result of the conflict and 40 percent have lost family members in the violence.

The majority say they have not found the security they sought. Lebanon is itself unstable as a result of the Syrian crisis, evidenced by the recent violent tensions in the country’s second city of Tripoli.

“Feelings of hopelessness and alienation are widespread. Nine out of ten of those interviewed see their future as highly precarious and do not know if they will be able to return home,” the report says.

“The refugees are really being tested,” says Fabio Forgione, MSF’s head of mission in Lebanon. “When they arrive, most are struggling to deal with the consequences of direct violence and loss; then they have to face the reality of not being able to go home. Many lose all hope.”

As more and more Syrians cross into Lebanon, living conditions for the refugees are deteriorating. “There are severe overcrowding problems in Wadi Khaled, in northern Lebanon and in Arsal, in the Bekaa Valley, while in Tripoli, rental costs are beyond what they can afford,” says Forgione.

“Most Syrian refugees in Lebanon are reliant on humanitarian assistance, but this is now coming under threat. So far, the combined support of host communities, the government and humanitarian organizations has averted a major health crisis,” MSF says in its report.

“Individuals within the Lebanese community have made tremendous efforts to integrate and help the refugees, but financial restraints mean they are reaching the limits of what they can do,” MSF added, warning that “the prospect of assistance being reduced, or not being planned for in the long term, could see the refugees’ health put in danger.”

MSF called for continued support for Syrian refugees in Lebanon and for the local communities which are hosting them.

The U.N. says there are nearly 65,000 Syrian refugees in Lebanon.