On the evening of June 5, at 10 PM, Syrian refugees residing in a building in Kousba, in the Koura district, were surprised by a notice from the landlord’s agent demanding immediate evacuation. Municipal police and military intelligence were set to evict all Syrian-occupied apartments the next morning, sealing them with iron locks to prevent re-entry by refugees. This indeed transpired.

What stands out in this decision is that the municipality’s mayor had previously promised renting refugees a month and ten days’ grace period to find alternative housing in case of eviction. This was due to the fact that the deceased landlord’s wife residing in Australia did not desire this eviction, benefiting from monthly allowances paid by refugees, which were likely to increase had they remained in the building.

“This isn’t just about residency or violations; they simply don’t want Syrians to stay,” said Sawsan, one of the refugees forced into eviction, her words mixing frustration and tears. She added: “The decision to evict spared no one, even those with legal documents.” According to Sawsan, municipal police explicitly stated: “We don’t want any Syrian refugees in the area, whether legal or illegal.”

Heartbreak marking her words, Sawsan recounts her home where she spent over 13 years since arriving in Lebanon, crafting beautiful memories with neighbors whom she now considers family.

Sawsan feels sadness over the manner in which she was expelled from her home, which she describes as “devoid of all humanitarian standards.” Municipal police did not consider the conditions of refugees with disabilities or impairments who needed more time to evacuate, including her husband who suffers from physical disabilities preventing him from moving properly, as well as heart problems.

Sawsan mentioned staying on the street with her belongings and family for about 10 hours until her cousin came from work and took them to his home in al-Ayrouniyeh, Tripoli.

Today, Sawsan sleeps with her family—her husband and three children, in addition to her mother, brother, his wife, their children, and her other brother—in one room with only two mattresses. She wishes she could return to her homeland, “but I am from Idlib, and this is akin to a charge against the Syrian regime. I do not know what fate awaits me there.”

Eviction Week

The situation of refugees in al-Waha compound in Deddeh-Koura is not much different from that in Kousba. Around 1,500 individuals in the compound have been given just one week to evacuate, a deadline that is entirely insufficient and disregards the timelines specified in Lebanese law.

Due to these unjust conditions, Khadija, who has been living in al-Waha compound since 2016, was forced to move and live with her husband and children in a small house in the middle of a field. Living conditions there are substandard; the house is more like a ruin, lacking electricity, water, and cooling facilities, especially in this hot weather, not to mention the prevalence of insects.

When asked about the possibility of returning to rural Aleppo where she used to live, Khadija said she wouldn’t hesitate to return if her home were still intact. Unfortunately, it was destroyed during the war, and she does not have the financial means to rebuild it.

This suffering extends to refugees living in the Jounieh area as well, where following the assassination of a Lebanese Forces official in Jbeil, Pascal Sleiman, by a Syrian gang, the municipality forced refugees living there to evacuate their homes without giving them any time to find alternative shelter.

These unfair decisions have compelled Mohannad, among those evicted from their homes, to send his family to Syria, even though they have no home there. Mohannad states that the municipality forced them to evacuate on the second day of Eid al-Fitr, giving them only one day to pack their belongings.

Today, Mohannad lives with other relatives in a small room in Jounieh. Meanwhile, his wife and three children, who returned to Syria, had to erect a tent in their area in rural al-Hasakah, where they now reside.

Mohannad spends his days separated from his wife and young children, who constantly ask about him. Due to his enlistment request in the Syrian army, he cannot return to Syria to join his family.

Other Evictions

In the industrial zone of Zahle, refugees also face difficult conditions. The Jifal camp, currently evacuated of all its inhabitants– over 500 people, sees most of its former residents still on the streets with their belongings, unable to secure alternative shelter.

Meanwhile, the Shawish of the camp, who approached the Ministry of Interior to relocate the camp elsewhere, has yet to receive any response, whether in acceptance or denial.

In this context, social activist and human rights advocate Mahmoud Al-Hissan confirms that “many refugees remain on the streets after being forced to evacuate their homes and camps, preferring to stay on the streets rather than return to Syria.”

He points out that “some refugees living in houses or camps have abandoned their homes and are hiding in fields, fearing deportation to Syria,” affirming that “everything happening to Syrian refugees in Lebanon is a systematic plan by the Lebanese state aimed at pressuring European countries to halt the implementation of the Caesar Act in Syria.”

Concerning the legality of the eviction decisions communicated by the municipalities, Mahmoud Al-Hissan asserts that “there is no law allowing the eviction of residents from their homes in this manner, nor does any country in the world treat individuals who have refugee status and have not committed any crime in the country they reside in, in this manner.”

Al-Hissan holds the UNHCR in Lebanon responsible for everything facing Syrian refugees in Lebanon, stating that “it is responsible for protecting these refugees.”

Legal Transgressions and Breaches of Authority

Lawyer Rabih Kayrouz points out that “what municipal police forces are doing in collaboration with military intelligence is completely beyond their authority. The competent authority to issue eviction orders is either the criminal judiciary, in cases where there is occupation of the residence by another person without the owner leasing or allowing residence, or the civil judiciary, in cases where there is no evidence or witnesses to the rental agreement, thereby the jurisdiction belongs to the judicial judge or the judge specialized in renting.”

Regarding the current deadlines given to refugee tenants for eviction, Kayrouz states: “they are clearly illegal as the entire eviction process is unlawful.”

Kayrouz also emphasizes that “if the landlord is satisfied with renting to individuals, regardless of their nationality, whether Syrian, Lebanese, Palestinian, or any other nationality, no party has the right to intervene and force people to evacuate by force.”

Eviction decisions or “expulsion”, amid escalating anti-Syrian refugee rhetoric from various political factions in Lebanon, demand the return of Syrian refugees to their homeland, relocation to a third country, or deportation to European countries via legal migration boats.

While the Syrian presence in Lebanon, which amounts to more than two million Syrians according to official figures, poses a crisis in a country suffering economically and security-wise, nothing justifies chaos and inhumanity in handling such a large-scale issue.