After its own citizens drown, Lebanese refocus on refugee crisis
The refugee crisis in Lebanon has again made headlines with the drowning deaths of Lebanese fleeing the border region due to the Syrian war and heading for Europe.
The recent deaths of Lebanese citizens, along with Syrian refugees, trying to illegally migrate from Turkey to Europe has refocused attention on the impasse in Lebanon in dealing with so many displaced people. The refugee issue is an urgent humanitarian priority as well as a tragedy for Syrians and Lebanese alike, yet no serious solutions are in sight.
The issue crept back into the headlines with news that on Oct. 12 nine of 12 members of the Lebanese Safwan family, traveling aboard a rubber boat from Turkey trying to reach Greece, had drowned when the boat was punctured and sank. The tragedy highlights the Syrian and Lebanese dimensions of displacement to and in Lebanon.
The Safwan family had lived in Qarqaran, a small village adjacent to the Syrian border in northeastern Lebanon. The village had been abandoned some three years ago because of the nearby Syrian war, which had led to the presence of extremists, instability and the inability to pursue livelihoods. These conditions led members of the Safwan family to join the wave of Syrian displaced persons, fleeing to Beirut's southern suburbs. They then traveled from the Lebanese capital to Istanbul and from there to Izmir and then to tragedy off the Turkish coast.
The family's journey is a common one. A representative at a travel and tourism company in Beirut confirmed that there are more than five daily charter flights between Beirut and Istanbul with an average of 150 passengers per flight. Although most of the travelers today are young Syrians, there are also Lebanese among them. The representative, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that it has become common for passengers to steal the life jackets stored under the seats in airplanes for use during anticipated sea journeys from Turkey to Europe. Authorities at the Istanbul Ataturk and Sabiha airports are now reportedly apprehending passengers who disembark from Beirut with life jackets in their possession. Although tourism season in Istanbul has been winding down with the end of summer, the season of escaping the hell of displacement continues, as the number of passengers arriving holds steady.
