The Syrian Problem is not Lebanon's Problem!

Syrians have suffered a great deal, of that there is no doubt, but in Lebanon they are also making serious money. Syrians are hardworking and entrepreneurial, more so than the Lebanese, at least in Lebanon we seem incapable of matching the Syrian can do spirit, instead we choose to enjoy the many annual holidays we have and our famous weekend barbeques as well as arguing politics, completely self obsessed, as if our country is not in crisis.

At a local fruit and veg market set up by Syrian entrepreneurs, I heard one Lebanese patron address a Syrian member of staff: “You must feel happy you are in Lebanon away from war and compulsory military service?” To which the staff member replied: “Yes of course, we are doing good business here, but in Syria education and health care is free.” And therein lies the rub.

This sprawling modern market is an example of the Syrian can do spirit. Service is impeccable, every member of staff, many I suspect relatives of the owner, are attentive without being pushy, their produce is top shelf, expensive but superb. Any time of day their huge parking lot is full and they recently added a butcher’s shop and a small shisha café and restaurant. They easily out do their nearest competitors and offer quality far better than that you’d find in any major supermarket chain. I applaud them and I patronize their establishment without hesitation because I want value for my money. My question here is why couldn’t a Lebanese entrepreneur come up with such a successful business model?

There is no doubt that the vast majority of healthy, young Syrians in Lebanon are here for economic reasons, Lebanon is just too lucrative a market for them, returning willingly to Syria may see them conscripted into the army to serve two years in times of peace, more in times of war, that is lost income. Plus, many Syrians may return to demolished homes and may have to settle for residing in refugee camps inside Syria while they get their lives together. In Lebanon, a Syrian can work and set up small scale businesses without much difficulty, which would allow them financial flexibility to rent a room or small apartment. Lebanon does not designate official refugee camps for Syrians. The last time Lebanon recognized a community as having refugee status was in 1967 when a fresh wave of Palestinians fled their homeland into Lebanon.

When our foreign minister sounds the alarm about the danger of the Syrian presence in Lebanon, he’s not wrong. Other than the menial jobs Syrians take away from the poorest Lebanese, the Syrian workforce accepts less money for doing the same job a Lebanese would, plus the sheer number of Syrians consuming water and electrical power places pressure on a country already struggling to provide enough water and power to its citizens.

Of course, for every successful Syrian entrepreneur there are families scared by war and loss who live in abject poverty in inadequate shelter, all the more reason for their country and its government to take care of them and lift the burden from Lebanon’s shoulders.

Far away from the sprawling informal camps in the Beqaa, and the infernal stink that wafts from them and invades your senses even as you pass them at speed from the highway, there are many Syrians who remain in Lebanon because they make far more money here than they would in their own country and as long as the job market remains unregulated and chaotic, they will continue to work here and make money.

There is no way of resolving this problem without forming a committee made up of Lebanese, Syrian and UNHCR officials to evaluate every applicant requesting safe haven here. There are some I am sure who have legitimate concerns that they might be arrested upon returning home for having supported the wrong side, but even those concerns can be ameliorated with the assistance of the Syrian State. After all reconciliations in various parts of Syria have proved successful.

The war in most parts of Syria has been all but resolved. The major cities, apart from Idlib, have been recaptured by the State, in some areas reconstruction has begun. Regardless, the Syrians in Lebanon, whatever their number, 1.2, 1.5. 1.8 or two million, depending on your political bent, they have the inalienable right to return to their country and their homes and deserve the help and assistance of their government.

Whatever our political position on the government of Syria, that government remains the sole official representative of Syrians everywhere. Some Syrians may choose exile to return, fine, the UNHCR should assist them in applying for asylum in countries that accept asylum seekers. Lebanon is not such a country for obvious reasons not least of all our delicate sectarian/demographic balance.

As for those who would like to keep a large number of impoverished, desperate foreigners in the country long after their reason for being here has all but evaporated, I would be very suspicious of such folks and their true intentions. Whatever happens, I wish the people of Syria well and hope they achieve the full reconciliation they seek. Enough of this madness, anti-government forces have long been defeated and pushed into small pockets all around the edges of the country, it’s time for Syria to heal and come to terms with their devastating civil conflict and find a way to live with one another again.