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Syria’s Refugees in Lebanon: Brothers, Burden, and Bone of Contention

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Lebanon Facing The Arab Uprisings

Abstract

The Syrian civil war has displaced more than a million Syrians as refugees to Lebanon. Lebanon has not set up formal camps but instituted a “non-camp” approach, which means that nearly all the refugees are self-settled and live precariously in the country’s major cities and in the Bekaa Valley on the border with Syria. The non-camp policy has been lauded for being both cheaper for the host country and more humane for the refugees; however, it is not a humanitarian gesture, but rather the result of deep political divisions with regard to Syria’s civil war. The refugee crisis has led to a re-ordering of national politics and relations vis-à-vis Syria but defied the notion of a weak state facing imminent collapse. For this reason, it provides an important case study to re-think the nature of Lebanese statehood.

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Acknowledgements

The chapter draws on intermittent fieldwork in Lebanon (2012, 2013, and 2015). I would like to thank Jaber Abu Hawash for assistance during fieldwork in Tyre. Institut français du Proche-Orient (IFPO), provided travel support and hosted the Beirut workshop where this chapter was first presented. I am especially grateful to the families from Syria, all living under very difficult circumstances, who agreed to be interviewed for this study. Personal names used are pseudonyms. The usual disclaimer applies.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Chr. Michelsen Institute (CMI), Bergen, Norway

    Are John Knudsen

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  1. Are John Knudsen
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Turin, Turin, Italy

    Rosita Di Peri

  2. CNRS (PACTE), Grenoble, France

    Daniel Meier

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Knudsen, A.J. (2017). Syria’s Refugees in Lebanon: Brothers, Burden, and Bone of Contention. In: Di Peri, R., Meier, D. (eds) Lebanon Facing The Arab Uprisings. Palgrave Pivot, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-352-00005-4_8

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