The head of the Syrian Coalition’s Department of the Refugee Affairs Amal Sheikho, said that the recent statements by Lebanese Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil has fueled hatred and racism against the Syrian refugees in Lebanon, pointing out that such statements will not solve Lebanon’s economic and social problems.
Sheikho warned that these racist statements risk further destabilizing Lebanon and the region. She said: “Such statements will only serve to fuel the tensions and exasperation in the Lebanese society and makes it an increasingly hostile environment on the verge of explosion.”
Sheikho expressed her concern about the fate of hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees in the wake of these “unprecedentedly racist statements.” She stressed that these statements risk undermining efforts to find a solution to the issue of the Syrian refugees.”
Moreover, Sheikho appealed to “the Lebanese forces with living conscience” to support the Syrian refugees and to “stand firmly against the campaigns targeting Syrian refugees who had been displaced by the Hezbollah militia.”
Lebanese officials have recently launched a media campaign against Syrian refugees coinciding with attacks and violations against the Syrian refugees, such as arrest, destruction and burning of camps, and murder.
The Coalition said that these campaigns are aimed to force refugees to return to Syria in extremely risky conditions in violation of international resolutions on the protection of refugees. (Source: Syrian Coalition’s Media Department)
