Deputy Charbel Maroun submitted a complaint today, Monday, through his attorney Tony Khalil, to the environmental public prosecution in the Bekaa, concerning the Syrian refugee camps in Western Bekaa. The complaint states: "For some time, Syrian refugees have occupied several areas in Western Bekaa through large camps that do not comply with the environmental and health conditions stipulated by law. In these camps, they are dumping sewage into riverbeds through pipes laid out for this purpose, which harms those waters and the groundwater and wells that have become contaminated and unsuitable even for irrigation. This situation has also led to the pollution of Lake Qaroun and the Litani River."
Maroun considered that "these environmental violations have resulted in the contamination of drinking water and the spread of diseases such as scabies and cancer, which have become widespread in those areas. Additionally, farmers can no longer irrigate their crops with suitable water, threatening human life and health in Bekaa specifically and in Lebanon generally, and putting the agricultural sector, which benefits the largest number of residents in the area, at risk of collapse, impacting the livelihoods of farmers in that region."
He noted that "some of these camps have resorted to creating uncovered septic pits that do not meet any environmental standards, into which sewage is diverted, further increasing environmental pollution and the spread of bacteria and germs that threaten food security, the agricultural sector, and the health of residents in those areas."
He continued: "... since the spread of Syrian refugee camps in the Western Bekaa as described above poses an imminent danger to the safety and health of residents and food security, and since it also leads to the spread of diseases such as scabies and cancer, and given that to date there has been no deterrent to these violations, and since all of this has also led to the contamination of groundwater and the waters of Lake Qaroun and the Litani River among others, and since the continuation of these violations without suppression and stopping them will worsen and exacerbate the situation, Deputy Charbel Maroun, through his attorney Tony Khalil, submits this complaint requesting appropriate investigations and urging those in charge to act immediately to take all legal measures to stop the catastrophic environmental violations committed by residents in the Syrian refugee camps in Western Bekaa."
