Palestinians in Lebanon are excluded on many levels

Over three years ago, the International Civil Aviation Organisation issued a regulation that all passports must be issued to a standard unified internationally and be able to be read electronically. The Lebanese authorities made the necessary changes immediately and issued biometric passports with watermarks, but excluded the travel documents issued to Palestinian refugees from these measures; they are still handwritten. This makes these travel documents unreadable by international airport systems, thus hindering the travel of Palestinians to the already very few countries that allow them to enter. It also makes their work permits in the countries they work in less likely to be renewed. In the event that the ICAO insists on enforcing this regulation, starting from the deadline yesterday, 24 November, this will result in a new humanitarian disaster for the Palestinians in Lebanon.

Before this — more specifically on 23 September 1995 — the government of the then Prime Minister Rafic Hariri decided that those Palestinians living abroad who carry Lebanese travel documents must apply for a visa if they want to visit Lebanon. On 21 March 2001, the Lebanese Parliament, led by Nabih Berri, issued a property ownership law for foreigners which prohibited Palestinians from having property rights in the country. This law also stripped Palestinians of the ownership of the homes they owned before 2001. Despite this, the Palestinians have cooperated with the Lebanese authorities, especially in security matters, although the government does not reciprocate. For example, one of the security services asked Palestinian organisations in Nahr Al-Bared refugee camp to arrest a group of tobacco smugglers who had sought refuge in the camp; the organisations tracked down the smugglers and handed them over to the Lebanese army. Then the military authorities ordered the arrest of the Palestinians who arrested the smugglers on charges of “forming an armed gang and arresting people”. Those who cooperated with the army were imprisoned longer than the smugglers.

The image of the Palestinians has changed many times in the eyes of the Lebanese people. Some see them as forced refugees who deserve being welcomed and helped. Others believe that they do not deserve any support because they sold their land and fled their country on purpose, one of the many myths in circulation. In the eyes of the Lebanese Christians they are Muslims, and they are Sunnis in the eyes of the Lebanese Shia. Even Palestinian Christians remain outsiders as far as the Christian community in Lebanon is concerned. Amid the chaos of Lebanese politics, the Palestinians are seen as devils by some groups and as a mercy by rival groups. Many have called for them to be spread around all of the Arab countries, but this is a Stalinist kind of solution. Others, meanwhile, have said that they should be re-settled further afield; this is an evil solution that ultimately relieves Israel of its legal responsibilities.

Nothing has changed over the past forty years. The official position is the same as always: no facilitation or ease for the life of Palestinians; rather keep the situation the same so as to push them to migrate elsewhere. This happens on a daily basis, and the Lebanese believe that, in time, the refugee burden on Lebanon will be eased. This is being said openly by people in power. Out of the original 490,000 Palestinians registered as refugees by the UN (UNRWA and UNHCR), only 250,000 remain.

At one point, President Elias Hrawi had a Palestinian wife, Mona Jamal; so too did Prime Minister Hariri, Nazik Hariri; Minister Marwan Hamadeh’s wife, Rafeeda Al-Meqdadi was a Palestinian as was Gladys Samaha, the wife of Minister Michel Samaha. Other prominent politicians’ wives were also Palestinians, while Pierre Gemayel was a brother-in-law to Palestinian Youssef Sahyoun, and Minister Nayla Moawad’s mother is from the Palestinian Roch family. If those women had an ounce of Palestinian nationalism within them, they would have forced the entire Lebanese government, as well as the parliament, to issue laws and declarations in favour of justice and the Palestinians in Lebanon.

Translated from Al-Araby Al-Jadid, 25 November, 2015.

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