Concern boss urges move to stabilise Lebanon

A senior Irish aid worker has warned that Lebanon is in danger of becoming destabilised by the conflict in neighbouring Syria.

Speaking in the wake of the latest car bomb in Beirut in which eight people died, Anne O’Mahony, the director of international programming with Concern Worldwide, said the economic and social pressures being placed on Lebanon were immense.

“The number of refugees in Lebanon is now in excess of a million and that figure is predicted to rise by 500,000 in the coming year,” said Ms O’Mahony. “For a small country with a base population of only four million, that is a huge burden to bear.”

A recent report by the UN and World Bank speculated that the cost to the Lebanese economy of the war in Syria could reach €5.48bn by the end of 2014. It also warned that as many as 340,000 Lebanese — many of them young people — could become unemployed as a result of the conflict, with 170,000 pushed into poverty.

The Lebanese government is reluctant to allow formal refugee camps, mainly for historic reasons, meaning Syrian refugees have had to find what shelter they can on waste ground or in rented accommodation.

“I have spent the last few days meeting families who are enduring horrible conditions in flimsy, makeshift shelters, with little access to even the most basic of facilities,” said Ms O’Mahony.

She also warned of the dangers of neglecting the needs of Lebanese host communities. “The local infrastructure here is under a lot of pressure because of this influx of people,” she said.

“Water and sewage systems are overloaded, schools are overcrowded, and the labour market is saturated. This has created of tension and resentment and the dangers are obvious.”