A home for those who lost theirs…
Thousands of refugees & displaced people are living in squalid conditions across Lebanon and through its Shelter Rehabilitation Programme, the ICRC aims to alleviate some of their burdens.
Lebanon is a country that truly understands what conflict means. Having suffered through its own 15-year-long civil war, some of the heavy burdens from neighbouring conflicts have fallen on this small country’s shoulders. The conflict in Syria in particular has greatly affected Lebanon with a huge influx of refugees since the crisis began in 2011. This has placed enormous pressure on the country and the consequences are worse for the most vulnerable in Lebanon.
The ICRC has over 150 years of experience and a global mandate to assist and protect victims of conflict. This provides us with a unique level of access to some of the most precarious areas in the world making us the leading humanitarian responders in certain areas.
Improving shelter and living conditions for 74,000 Syrian, Palestinian and other refugees is a key target for the ICRC in Lebanon for 2017. Many refugees have left their homes with what little they could pack and sometimes, with only the clothes on their backs. As time passes, they are often forced to sell what little assets they own to buy essentials, driving them further into poverty. That’s not to mention the health impact of residing in dilapidated and unsanitary shelters over a long period of time, especially on children.
The humanitarian community estimate that nearly 400,000 Syrian refugees live in tents (17%)and sub-standard buildings (24%). While the remaining 60% live in urban or semi-urban settings, much of which is unsuitable or unsanitary.
Our programme includes renovation within the shelter (doors, windows, sanitary fixtures, kitchen, water and electricity, water heating where necessary) and “winterisation” of homes, i.e. providing protection against the winter elements by adding glass to windows or building doors where there are none.
We also provide new homes for those who are living in unacceptably squalid conditions by moving the families into recently renovated housing. They benefit from a rent-free period equivalent to the value of the renovations that the ICRC has made. This grace period. which can be from 12 months and reach up to three years, gives refugees the opportunity to save some of their funds, allowing them, for example, to invest in their children’s education and future.
The ICRC also responds to the needs of people whose homes were damaged by fighting. In 2016 alone, more than 1,200 people in Al-Qaa (east Lebanon), Tripoli (north Lebanon) and the Palestinian camp of Ein el-Helweh (south Lebanon) had their homes rehabilitated after being severely damaged in clashes.
___________________________________________________________________
Home isn’t so sweet for refugees…
The Ahmad family is the first of many Palestinian refugee families from Syria to move into apartments rehabilitated by the ICRC in the Beddawe refugee camp in north Lebanon.
The humidity in the previous residence the family was in posed a health hazard to Mahmoud Ahmad’s children. With the new apartment and the cash he’s saving, Mahmoud hopes he can improve his children’s future.
9-year-old Ahmad is another refugee who benefitted from the ICRC’s shelter rehabilitation programme.
Ahmad was in particular need as he lost both his legs when he was only 5-years-old when a mortar fell on his home in Syria. The ICRC treated Ahmad’s wounds and then, following months of physiotherapy, fitted him with two prosthetic legs.
At the time, Ahmad and his family were living in a dilapidated and unsanitary apartment in the northern Palestinian refugee camp of Beddawi. The apartment was also on the fourth floor of a run-down building with no elevator or even railings on the stairs.
Having spent a year undergoing extensive rehabilitation, walking up four flights of stairs with nothing to hold onto was not only a challenge for Ahmad but soon led to extreme physical discomfort when his stumps began to swell, making his prostheses difficult to wear. Ahmad’s mother then would carry her nine-year-old son up and down the stairs, but clearly this was not a long-term option, particularly after she developed back pain. In November 2016, the ICRC provided a new home for Ahmad’s family in a more suitable, purpose-built block.
55-year-old Amira is from the Palestinian refugee camp of Ein el-Helweh. For the first night in her life, she slept under a real roof. This is her story:
When Hussein, a Palestinian refugee in Lebanon, first built his house in Aytanieh, south Lebanon, he couldn’t afford to install doors or a toilet to accommodate his daughters with special needs.
This father of four is just one of the thousands of Palestinian refugees living in precarious conditions in camps and informal settlements across Lebanon.
But it’s not just homes that are being repaired. With a local NGO, and the participation of the community, we helped renovate the infrastructure of a school in Lebanon’s Wadi Khaled, one kilometre away from Syria, so that children can study in a better environment and, hopefully, very soon, fulfill their dreams.
This school is an example of solidarity beyond borders, as it brings together vulnerable Lebanese children and refugees. They might be from two different countries, but children in this school have a common dream: a better future for them and their families.
___________________________________________________________________
The ICRC in Lebanon
The ICRC has been present in Lebanon since 1967 and has carried out its humanitarian work through different periods of conflict, including Lebanon’s 15-year-long civil war from 1975–1990.
We are currently responding to the rapidly growing needs of displaced people fleeing war and violence across the region into Lebanon as well as the local communities hosting them.
With six offices across the country, in 2017 some of the ICRC’s objectives include:
- Delivering food and essential items or cash to buy these to 3,000 people
- Addressing the water needs and living conditions for up to 74,000 people
- The renovation of shelters housing for 15,000 people
The ICRC also provides healthcare support to 12 hospitals and 11 health centres, including renovation and fundamental infrastructure, provision of supplies and support for blood transfusions by the Lebanese Red Cross.
Shelter work in Lebanon for 2017
The ICRC’s work in Lebanon in 2017 will focus on providing shelter for 74,000 refugees as well as the provision of essential services that many informal or unplanned settlements lack. This includes water and electricity supplies, including provision for schools that serve 4,000 child refugees. Providing toilets, septic tanks and effective drainage for entire camp areas can make a huge difference to public health, as well as quality of life for the thousands who live in these areas.
___________________________________________________________________
The ICRC’s activities on behalf of people affected by war and violence include, but are not limited to:
Ensuring people affected by conflict can get basic health care that meets universally recognized standards
Building respect for the law
Securing humane treatment and conditions for detainees
Restoring economic security through assisting communities and individuals to cover their essential needs with dignity
Providing access to basic services such as water and electricity
Cooperating with the Lebanese Red Cross
Restoring family links
Supporting the families of the missing persons in the search for their loved ones
For more information on our activities in Lebanon, please click here.
