How do the media portray stateless Palestinians? How are stateless Palestinians treated by Lebanese nationals?
“[...] Violence continues to be a regular occurrence throughout the refugee community with a widespread availability of weapons being reported and a propensity to resort to violence in the face of desperate conditions. PRS, particularly those who have arrived in Lebanon since 2016, continue to be largely unable to obtain Lebanese residency, making them vulnerable to receiving departure orders and forcing them to limit their movements and livelihood opportunities. With increased hostility towards Syrian refugees in the media and in some communities,
PRS, in particular, report being worried about discrimination and potential deportation.50
(Source: UNRWA, “Syria, Lebanon and Jordan, 2022 Emergency Appeal Progress Report for the reporting period 1 January – 30 June 2022”, 3 November 2022, p. 11)
“Palestinian refugees from Syria (PRS), particularly those who have arrived in Lebanon since 2016, continue to be largely unable to obtain Lebanese residency, making them vulnerable to receiving departure orders, forcing them to limit their movements and limit their pursuit of livelihood opportunities. With increased hostility towards Syrian refugees in the media and in some communities, PRS in particular report being worried about discrimination and potential deportation. (footnoted - Observation based on discussions with PRS during protection monitoring, meetings and legal aid counselling.) This has contributed to a large body of mental health needs amongst PRS and Palestine refugees in Lebanon (PRL).”
(Source: UNRWA, “Syria, Lebanon and Jordan, 2022 Emergency Appeal Progress Report for the reporting period 1 January – 30 June 2022”, 3 November 2022, p. 5)
The Jordanian political economist and long-time commentator on the Israeli-Palestinian dialogue Riad Al Khouri who was interviewed for this report in October 2022 provided the following points of context to understand the current public portrayal of Palestinians in Lebanon:
“Back in the ‘70s and ‘80s, there was a specifically anti-Palestinian portrayal, public portrayal, public statements by either officials or by politicians and other public figures who were not necessarily officials but had a high profile. There was a powerful anti-Palestinian mood in the country in those days. This is no longer the case. Having said that, in the old days, the mood was also against the Syrians. And of course, as always in Lebanon, if you happen to be rich or well-connected, then this issue did not come up. Therefore, the Palestinian who is poor, the Syrian who is poor, is the one subject to criticism and discrimination today. The anti-Palestinian mood in specific is less than it was in the past. It is still there, but it is no longer a major issue compared, for example, to the anti-Syrian mood [...]”
(Source: Riad Al Khouri, interview record, 7 October 2022)
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported in April 2022 that:
“Unlike Lebanese but comparable to migrants, PRL [Palestinian Refugees in Lebanon] households experience exclusion and discrimination. For example, among all three population groups, PRL households will more often report that one of the obstacles to find work is the fact that employers prefer hiring other nationals.”
(Source: OCHA, “Increasing Humanitarian Needs in Lebanon, April 2022”, 14 April 2022, p. 26)
50 Observation based on discussions with PRS during protection monitoring, meetings and legal aid counselling.
Based on a qualitative survey of 15 men between 24 and 75 years old living in the Bourj el-Baraneh Camp on the outskirts of Beirut conducted by researchers Samih Eloubeidi & Tina Kemplin Reuter in 2021, the latter reported that:
“When asked about their perceptions of integration in Lebanese society irrespective of their occupations, the majority of the participants responded with ‘disagree’ or ‘strongly disagree’. This validates the general sentiment that Palestinians in general do not feel welcome in Lebanon. Integration in the host country society is largely contingent on the receptivity of the host country’s government, and more specifically, the rhetoric propagated by the government and media. In addition to restrictions and human rights violations against Palestinian refugees noted in the beginning of the paper, Lebanon has a history of propagating hateful narratives and negative portrayals. The perception that the Lebanese government does not care about Palestinian refugees was clearly supported by the participants in our study, who unanimously responded with strong agreement to Question 3 (‘The Lebanese government does not care about Palestinian refugees’). Similarly, there was strong disagreement to Question 4 (‘I feel like I fit into Lebanese society’), showing that Palestinian refugees do not feel accepted in the host country. When asked about participants’ experiences in the interviews, almost all of the participants noted that discrimination, hatred, and anti-Muslim or anti-Sunni bias affect the way in which the Lebanese government deals with Palestinian refugees. Feelings of prejudice and discrimination are especially prominent, with many participants noting that there is an obvious rhetoric of hate directed towards Palestinian refugees in Lebanon. One participant noted that Syrian refugees, who have been arriving in Lebanon since the start of the Syrian Civil War, have the right to work in Lebanon without restrictions. He stated
Of course, [our lack of access to employment] is discrimination. Syrian refugees do not have the same restrictions for jobs, but this is because Syrians have a country to go back to when the war is over. We do not have a country to go back to.
Most interviewees also connected the employment restrictions and inability to find jobs outside the camp with these overarching narratives of inferiority and prejudice towards Palestinians. One participant succinctly stated that ‘this is all part of the rhetoric of hate towards Palestinians’. Another participant noted that ‘the government has placed these restrictions on us to ensure that all Palestinians leave, because this hinders our ability to become more educated and sophisticated, which is something important to us’. Similarly, a third participant expressed: ‘the government wants us to leave, and already so many have left’. This seems to support the idea that the strongest reason for restricting access to employment is to ensure that Palestinians do not remain in Lebanon. Thus, restricting access to employment is a strategy that is employed to prevent refugees’ integration into society. For Palestinian refugees this means continued barriers to social and economic integration into Lebanese society, despite being in the country for over 70 years.”
(Source: Samih Eloubeidi & Tina Kempin Reuter/ The International Journal of Human Rights, “Restricting access to employment as a human rights violation: a case study of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon”, Perceptions of restricted access to employment on integration, 11 April 2022, pp. 7-8)
The Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs published a report on Palestinians in Lebanon in January 2021 which stated that: “10.2 Discrimination on the part of the Lebanese people
The Lebanese people have a negative image of Palestinians. This negative image applies less to Christian Palestinians, who are more accepted in Lebanese society [Jerusalem Institute 2019]. Palestinians in Lebanon are seen as a separate group and are often blamed for the outbreak of the Lebanese civil war. For example, Palestinians are discriminated against in the labor market because of social stigmas and legislation (see also 10.3). Palestinians are associated with radical groups and are denounced in the media as criminals [DIS 2014; Home Office 2018]. Provocative opinions about Palestinians are widespread in Lebanon, according to a source, and are hardly censored or criticized by the government.” (In-house translation. The translator is a native Dutch speaker)
“10.2 Discriminatie van de zijde van de Libanese bevolking
De Libanese bevolking heeft een negatief beeld van Palestijnen. Dit negatieve beeld geldt minder voor christelijke Palestijnen die meer geaccepteerd zijn in de Libanese maatschappij.313 Palestijnen worden in Libanon gezien als een aparte groep en krijgen vaak de schuld voor het uitbreken van de Libanese burgeroorlog. 314 Zo worden Palestijnen gediscrimineerd op de arbeidsmarkt vanwege sociale stigma’s en wetgeving (zie ook 10.3). Palestijnen worden in relatie gebracht met radicale groeperingen en worden in de media afgedaan als criminelen.315 Provocatieve meningen over Palestijnen zijn volgens een bron wijdverspreid in Libanon en worden nauwelijks door de overheid gecensureerd of bekritiseerd.”
(Source: Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, “Thematisch ambtsbericht Palestijnen in Libanon”, January 2021, p. 49)