Warsaw, 31 May 2013 (PCPM): According to latest UNHCR estimates, Lebanon hosts 31% of over 1.5 million Syrian refugees, currently present in four countries neighboring Syria. In contrast to Jordan and Turkey, the Syrians crossing into Lebanon can not count on being accommodated in a tented camp, such as the ones set up by the Turkish authorities along Syria’s northern frontier or by UNHCR and the Government in Jordan. The immediate and most pressing need of a Syrian refugee in Lebanon is to find a suitable and affordable shelter, which is now in very short supply.
Over the course of the last nine month the population of Syrian refugees in Lebanon has quadrupled from around 100,000 to over 400,000. This new influx adds to some 500,000 Syrians reportedly working in Lebanon before the civil war in Syria begun in 2012. The villages in Lebanon’s northern and eastern regions are literally overflowing with Syrians seeking safety away from the war zone. In Lebanon’s northernmost Akkar region, many villages have now more Syrians than their original population. This influx caused the rent prices to skyrocket from 100-200 USD for an apartment in July-August 2012 to 250-400 USD for the same apartment in March 2013.
“The purpose of our project is to secure shelter for as many Syrian refugees as possible,” says Wojtek Wilk, PCPM’s project coordinator. “A refugee family seldom crosses the border with more than a few hundred dollars in their pocket, which now secures not more than 2-3 months’ rent. Once the savings are gone, the refugees, having little or no income opportunities, seldom can pay for the dwellings they rent in the Lebanese villages. Increasing rental debts sour relations with the local Lebanese community, which is of great concern to us and a wider humanitarian community,” adds Wilk.
Since August 2012 PCPM has rented over 250 houses in Lebanon’s northernmost villages, many of them right on the Syrian border, and in this way secured shelter for over 400 Syrian refugee families. The new funding, received from Polish Aid, will allow to increase the number of families to 500 and secure rental of their apartments until end of December 2013. In that month, as many as 350 refugee families, will have benefited from continuous rental support for 16-17 months.
“While 75% of our beneficiaries live in rented accommodation, which in fact we rent on their behalf from the Lebanese landlords and ensure regular payment of rent, some 25% of refugees are hosted by the Lebanese families,” explains PCPM representative. Host families do not charge rent from the refugees and share with them their accommodation, food and facilities, yet protracted presence of refugees families is a serious strain on hosts’ finances. “Some Lebanese host families spend up to 600 USD each month to buy food and cover extra bills for up to seven Syrian families hosted under their roof,” adds Wilk. “PCPM is also committed to assist those families, who are supported with up to 500 USD per month.”
PCPM operation in northern Lebanon, implemented in coordination with UNHCR, has been funded by Polish Aid and the UN Emergency Response Fund for Syria (ERF) to a total of USD 1.2 million.
For more information please visit www.pcpm.org.pl or e-mail info@pcpm.org.pl