Syrian refugees in Lebanon in dilemma over staying or returning 

A tent settlement in Saadnayel in eastern Lebanon, photographed in spring 2019. Years later, the living conditions are still the same. Keystone / AP

More than a million Syrians live in Lebanon. For many Syrian children, the only life they know is in shabby tented settlements. After the fall of the Assad regime, some refugees are returning home, while tens of thousands are once again taking flight. 

In Lebanon’s deeply fractured political landscape, there is little on which all parties agree. Yet one demand cuts across political divides: the Syrian refugees must leave. 

According to estimates by the UN refugee agency UNHCRExternal link, more than 1.1 million Syrians still live in Lebanon – that is roughly one-sixth of the population of this small country. Lebanon hosts the highest proportion of refugees in the world. 

After the fall of the Syrian Assad regime in 2024, many in Lebanon, both locals and refugees, hoped that returning home would become possible. But the situation remains complex. 

“There is nothing for us in Syria,” says Hannah Djasem, 40. She is waiting with other women for classes to end so she can pick up her son, Omar. Fourteen years ago, she fled Idlib for Lebanon with her family. Since then, they have lived in an informal tented settlement in Saadnayel, in the Beqaa Valley in eastern Lebanon. Near the Syrian border, tolerated but not recognised by the Lebanese state, they live without prospects and under increasingly difficult conditions. 

Hannah Djasem and her son Omar. Giannis Mavris / SWI swissinfo.ch

Omar attends classes at the Salam LADC centre, an NGO supporting Syrian refugee children. More than 260 children come here for primary education and recreational activities. Salam also provides psychosocial support for parents. Children from poor Lebanese families also attend, for example, if they cannot afford transport to state schools. 

Another 90 children are on the waiting list, but the organisation lacks the funds to hire more teachers. “It’s important to offer children not only education, but also safety and a sense of normality,” says Islem Said, a Salam employee. 

The 2024 war between Israel and Hezbollah brought destruction and displacement to the Beqaa Valley, and the conflict continues. Despite the November 2024 ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel, tensions remain high. Israel continues to carry out frequent operations against Hezbollah in Lebanon, particularly in the south and in the Bekaa.

During our visit to Saadnayel, the buzzing of Israeli drones is constantly audible above. “This situation adds to the ongoing psychological strain on the children,” says Said. 

Why we are reporting on this 

Switzerland provides a range of humanitarian assistance in Lebanon, and the Swiss embassy in Beirut also handles diplomatic relations with Syria. The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and numerous Swiss NGOs operate in Lebanon. 

The projects mentioned in this article are run by the local organisation Salam – Lebanese Association for Development and CommunicationExternal link, which implements programmes on behalf of the Swiss NGO Terre des hommesExternal link. 

From December 13 to 20, the foundation Swiss SolidarityExternal link is collecting donations in support of projects that protect children from violence and abuse, including the initiatives described here. 

Swiss Solidarity raises funds for people in need and is the humanitarian arm of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation, the parent company of SWI swissinfo.ch. 

UN funding cuts hit refugees hard 

The fact that Syrian children in Lebanon receive schooling at all is far from guaranteed: only half of the roughly 500,000 school-aged Syrian refugees are enrolled. Almost the entire refugee response in Lebanon depends on foreign funding, which is steadily dwindling. 

Lebanon’s recent history has also affected the refugees. A severe economic crisis in 2019 halved the country’s GDP, pushing many Lebanese into poverty. The Covid pandemic, the 2020 Beirut port explosion, political paralysis and the 2024 conflict have all made matters worse. 

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Settlement 076 in Saadnayel was built twelve years ago. Forty per cent of Syrians in the Bekaa Valley live in such informal tent settlements. Giannis Mavris / SWI swissinfo.ch

Access to education is a major problem for Syrian children in Lebanon. At the Salam centre, they receive free education and a structured, child-friendly daily routine. Giannis Mavris / SWI swissinfo.ch

Half a million Syrian children of school age live in Lebanon. Only around half of them are able to attend school. Giannis Mavris / SWI swissinfo.ch

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Lebanon’s economy is under extreme strain, and worldwide aid budgets are being cut. Djasem says she used to receive $140 (CHF113) a month from UNHCR.  

“It wasn’t much, but it helped to pay rent for the tent,” she says. That support was discontinued a few months ago. Two of her teenage children have dropped out of school and now work. Djasem, her husband and two older children work when there is work to be found. 

“Everyone works, but we get nowhere,” she says. Syrians face strict limits on the jobs they are allowed to take: only in agriculture, construction and cleaning. Wages are low, and prejudice against Syrians is deeply rooted. 

Hundreds of thousands of refugees face the same predicament as Djasem’s family, often forced to choose between extreme poverty on one side of the border or the other. After the fall of the Assad dictatorship, an estimated 200,000 people returned to Syria. But 100,000 newly displaced people arrived, mainly religious minorities who fear the new regime headed by the Islamist militia Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham. And some of those who did return to Syria have already come back to Lebanon, unable to survive in a liberated but devastated country. 

Time is running out 

At the same time, Lebanon has increased pressure on Syrians to return. The government acknowledges that Syrians face discrimination inside the country. 

Tarek Mitri, Deputy Prime Minister of Lebanon. Giannis Mavris / SWI swissinfo.ch

“There is racism against Syrians here – that’s clear,” says Deputy Prime Minister Tarek Mitri, who works to promote inter-religious dialogue in the multi-faith state. “But above all, refugees are being used in a demagogic way by political parties.” Mitri is a member of the reformist government now leading the country. The refugees, he stresses, do not pose a threat to Lebanon. 

“We have not had proper diplomatic relations with Syria for decades. We are only now rebuilding them,” he says. A central question, of course, is what happens to the refugees, he adds. 

Despite their difficult circumstances, Djasem’s family is trying to save as much as they can. Their goal, she says, is to rebuild their destroyed home in Syria “so we can return and live in dignity.” 

Edited by Benjamin von Wyl. Adapted from German with Catherine Hickley/gw