Syrians Fleeing Lebanon Risk Repression
The Israeli military’s?intensified airstrikes in Lebanon since late September have compelled hundreds of thousands of Syrians – most of whom sought shelter in Lebanon from Syria’s war – to flee back to Syria. But many people face serious risks if they return, leaving Syrian families trying to escape violence in Lebanon with no safe place to go.?
One woman described fleeing to Syria with her husband, a former Syrian soldier, and four children. In late September, the family received an evacuation warning when Israeli shelling intensified, and they fled with nothing. On October 7, they crossed into Syria at a border crossing in Homs, where she said Syrian military intelligence immediately arrested her husband.
Now living in Syria, she has no idea of her husband’s whereabouts and struggles to provide for her children. “I wish we stayed under the rockets rather than go through this,” she said, saying her only hope is for her husband’s release.?
Over one million Syrian refugees live in Lebanon. But even as Lebanon hosts a large number of Syrian refugees, many of them?experienced hardships, including rising xenophobia, in their host country long before Israel’s current offensive. The Lebanese government has imposed coercive measures designed to force refugees to consider returning to Syria, and authorities there have even detained and?
In Syria, Human Rights Watch?has long documented how returned refugees, particularly men, risk repression and persecution by the?Syrian?government, including?enforced disappearance, torture, and death in detention. Returnees also?face devastating economic and humanitarian conditions in Syria.
Nevertheless, since Israeli military bombardments intensified in September, about 440,000 people have reportedly fled Lebanon to Syria through official border crossings. A significant number of arrivals in Syria are women and children.?
Human Rights Watch recently interviewed Syrians in Lebanon and others who fled to Syria, including relatives of five men arrested by Syrian authorities after they returned from Lebanon in October. Relatives said these arrests were carried out by Syrian military intelligence, with no information provided to families about the reasons for the arrests or where detainees were being held.
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Lebanon should uphold the rights of Syrian refugees and protect them from being returned to violence, torture, and persecution.
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Retired RN Div1, JP(Qual) WHSO and Internet technology entrepreneur at Fly-By_Knight
3 周Insightful
@ColumbiaGS Scholar @obamafoundation Alumni @ihousenyc program fellow. By@leadingchangenetwork Coach @indance.wetrust teacher
3 周As we witness the alarming deportation of Syrians from Lebanon and Turkey, we must focus on the urgent need for a relocation program to save lives.? It’s hard to comprehend that countless Syrians fleeing violence face the terrifying reality of persecution and potential death. The regime is relentless in its pursuit of silencing anyone who dares to speak out, ensuring that those who escape are not safe. Instead of addressing the crisis, the regime is manipulating demographics to deny the existence of Syrian refugees abroad. They spread harmful narratives that pressure host countries to repatriate those seeking safety. ?? We cannot stand by while lives are at risk. It’s time to activate a relocation program to protect Syrian refugees and ensure their safety and dignity.
Director The Young Pianist Foundation
3 周Let’s hope that the Dutch Government will read this report and change its plans to send back Syrians who have found refuge in the Netherlands.
Humanity Strong
3 周Very cruel world.