Palestinians deported from Lebanon stranded on Syrian border

Adham, Husam and Mustafa, three Palestinian refugees from the Yarmouk Camp in Damascus who sought refuge in Lebanon were amongst 49 Palestinian refugees Beirut deported to Syria for “attempting to travel to Libya through Beirut Airport with false visas”. They have been held for four days at the Lebanon-Syria border in the hope that they can return to their families in Lebanon.

The three deportees refused to give their family names for security reasons. Their families escaped Yarmouk Camp which is suffering from a siege imposed by the Syrian regime’s forces over a year ago.

For four days they have slept near one of the unroofed walls, covered in ripped nylon pieces to protect them from the cold and rain. They’ve had no contact except with an UNRWA representative, a subsidiary of the UN, without being offered any aid whether material or food at a time when they are seeking “humanitarian asylum from any organisation in the world”.

Lebanon holds more than a million Syrian refugees according to UN figures According to the agreement signed by Lebanon and Syria, every Syrian citizen leaving Syria legally is allowed entry into Lebanon without a visa, whether with an ID or passport and can remain for six months.