Press Statement
Badr Jamous
Syrian Coalition Secretary General
April 3, 2014
The UNHCR chief António Guterres announced earlier that the number of Syrian refugees registered in Lebanon has surpassed the “devastating milestone” of one million.
We call on the international community to increase support to the Lebanese authorities trying to cope with the spiraling numbers of Syrian refugees, who had to leave their homes to escape Assad’s death machine.
We also call on the Lebanese government to take immediate measures to put an end to unethical practices carried out by sectarian groups in Lebanon against Syrian refugees, including harassment, restriction of freedoms, and in some cases physical violence.
In an attempt to shed some light on the extremely difficult conditions the Syrian refugees are going through, Lebanese activists launched an online campaign called “no to racism”. The aim of the campaign is to express solidarity with Syrian refugees in Lebanon, following a number of suicide attempts made by Syrian refugees who decided they would rather die than to bear a life of agonizing pain and suffering.