There was a necessity for someone to take action against the torrent of Syrian displacement to Lebanon, which has exceeded all limits. This entity is the opposition, which has prepared a plan to address displacement on two main fronts: distributing displaced persons among Arab countries and ending the work of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), which spends money not only to support the presence of 850,000 registered displaced persons but also on 900,000 unregistered displaced individuals, according to what was reported yesterday by "Nidaa al-Watan."
In parallel, it was striking to note the absence of caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati in addressing the most serious issue threatening the Lebanese entity. He even met yesterday with the United Nations Special Coordinator in Lebanon, Joanna Wronecka, but the distributed news about the meeting made no mention of the displacement issue. Meanwhile, Minister of Interior and Municipalities Bassam Mawlawi made notable statements after presiding over a broad meeting with governors and municipal leaders. Has Mikati resigned from his responsibilities regarding the displacement issue, or has he accepted the impossibility of making progress on this topic?
What are the main outlines of the opposition's plan? A prominent source within the opposition told "Nidaa al-Watan" that the plan involves gradual steps in coordination among opposition components to unify the stance on the practical steps that need to be taken, starting with confronting the UNHCR which funds unregistered displacement, thus encouraging Syrians who still remain in their country to come to Lebanon. Alongside what the UNHCR spends on fixed salaries and other services for registered displaced persons, it also provides monthly financial assistance for new arrivals. A new displaced person could receive $10 daily without doing any work, whereas in Syria they would not earn the same amount weekly even if they worked.
According to the opposition plan, the UNHCR has now become the target; if it stops spending money on displaced persons, they will automatically leave Lebanon, and any new displaced individuals will refrain from coming to Lebanon. The opposition plan stipulates working with the government, the Arab League, and the international community to redistribute displaced persons in Lebanon to Arab countries, with each country hosting at least 40,000 displaced persons, under the premise of "understanding Lebanon’s conditions and capabilities." The plan will emphasize the government's need to secure the borders with Syria tightly.
The source described what Hezbollah's Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah proposed regarding the sea evacuation of displaced persons as "illogical." In this context, Minister Mawlawi stated, "This chaos and these actions are unacceptable regarding displacement. Just because time has passed since this issue arose and the Lebanese state did not confront it decisively, it does not mean we should do nothing now. We will insist that the UNHCR comply with the protocols it signed with Lebanon and we do not accept any violations. I said before it and the European delegates that Lebanon is not for sale. We will not accept the desecration of our country and altering its demographics for money."
