BEIRUT: Establishing refugee camps for the thousands of Syrians in Lebanon is the best alternative and would help the country better control their presence, Future MP Ahmad Fatfat said Saturday.
"Building Syrian refugee camps requires the approval of all Lebanese political groups. If we could, we would be taking a big step toward resolving the problem of refugees,” Fatfat told MTV television station.
“But we are hearing some remarks from some parties that they might be backing down from that decision.”
Lebanon’s Social Affairs Ministry had decided to establish two refugee camps in Masnaa in the Bekaa Valley and Abdeh in north Lebanon as part of a pilot project.
Social Affairs Minister Rashid Derbas has said that the decision had been taken, in principle, to establish trial camps along the border with Syria, a move seen as a political breakthrough over the divisive issue of establishing formal settlements for the refugees.
“With this step, we would offer refugees better alternatives than what they are living in now,” Fatfat said.
“We are offering caravans and they will be under supervision. It would also help them maintain better social and health conditions, and help the government in the field of security by keeping [refugees] under tight monitoring.”
Lebanon has been reluctant to build refugee camps given that the country already plays host some 400,000 Palestinian refugees scattered in 12 refugee camps across the country. The Palestinian camps have been a cause for security concerns and their inhabitants usually face dire socioeconomic conditions.
The country now hosts over 1.3 million Syrian refugees and recent security incidents, including last month’s clashes between militants from Syria and the Army, has piled pressure on the government to better address the overwhelming presence of the refugees.
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