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Forsaken: Syrians in Lebanon

34 images Created 18 Jan 2014

Unlike in Jordan or Turkey, where most Syrian refugees live in UNHCR-constructed camps, those in Lebanon face a different struggle. They share extremely cramped and overpriced apartments in impoverished neighborhoods, or build tented encampments out of discarded vinyl billboards on the edges of farmer’s fields. Some live inside abandoned buildings. UNHCR has registered over one million Syrian refugees in Lebanon; even conservative estimates place that number much higher.

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  • Bekaa Valley, LEBANON: A discarded political billboard featuring former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is used as a roof on a Syrian refugee's tented shelter erected alongside an irrigation canal on agricultural land. Liam Maloney/Polaris Images
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  • Zahle, LEBANON: Syrian refugees line up outside the office of an Islamic Association. They had heard about $50 fuel vouchers being distributed and word had spread quickly via WhatsApp and SMS messages. Fuel is expensive and desperately needed to keep cold tented shelters and unheated buildings warm enough to live in safely. Liam Maloney/Polaris Images
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  • Aley, LEBANON: Maamna Al Msalem's husband, in happier times, before they left Syria and he became ill. She blames the war for his deteriorating mental state. Without a husband to provide for the family, they depend on handouts from the local mosque. Liam Maloney/Polaris Images
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  • Aley, LEBANON: Maamna Al Msalem, 31, with her duaghters, 11-month old Raghdaa and four-year old Maryam. They came from Saaba, outside of Damascus. They left at the beginning of 2012. The father was a carpenter and did cabinetry and similar work.<br />
He lost his mind not long after they arrived in Lebanon. He would routinely walk around town, his fist raised in the air, cursing Bashar and screaming obscenities. Locals made fun of him or beat him up. Eventually, he was hospitalized, where he was diagnosed with an acute neurodegenerative disease. His wife thinks it was the stress of leaving home and being unable to find work to support his family that led to his illness.<br />
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She says that when they speak on the phone, she can’t understand what he is saying - he doesn;t make any sense. Once, he called, asking about their youngest daughter. He claimed to have seen her murdered. He was in an absolute panic. Now, his wife doesn’t answer the phone anymore when he calls. It’s too upsetting. Liam Maloney/Polaris Images
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  • Chouiefat, LEBANON: Amneh Moufalani, 7, runs down the hillside behind their basement apartment with three of her brothers. This was the first time the children had ventured outside since their father left them to attempt to migrate to Europe through a network of smugglers, seven months ago. Behind them is the sign for a well-known Lebanese school, La Cite. None of these children are currently attending school - the influx of refugees has left the education system overburdened and many refugees cannot afford the fees. Liam Maloney/Polaris Images
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  • Jabra, LEBANON: Mourners carry the body of Mimona Al Khassah, 74, a Syrian refugee who died of heart failure. Her burial was fraught with difficulty; the local Sheikh had initially refused to bury her in Jabbani cemetery, citing a lack of space. They are now stacking the bodies of Syrian refugees who die in Lebanon on top of each other, up to four in one plot. Liam Maloney/Polaris Images
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  • Bekaa Valley, Lebanon: Syrian refugees construct an improvised tented shelter on farmland by the main highway.
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  • Towards Beirut, Lebanon
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  • Bekaa Valley, LEBANON: A group of Syrian women and children walk along a path alongside an irrigation canal near their informal tented encampment days after a heavy snowfall paralyzed the region. Liam Maloney/Polaris Images
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  • Aramoun, LEBANON: Sara's mother with her two older children in their damp, leaky shack. Originally from Yabroud, Syria, she says her baby never would have died if they had remained in their village. Their home was looted and destroyed by a rocket soon after they left it last year. Liam Maloney/Polaris Images
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  • Lower Shouffe, Lebanon: Syrian refugees present their UNHCR registration documents to an aid worker distributing cold-weather clothing for children.
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  • Lower Shouffe, Lebanon: a young Syrian refugee carries clothing aid back to his improvised tented shelter. He and his family live in a settlement located on the fringes of a banana plantation.  They have no electricity or running water. A stream nearby is polluted with pesticide residues and sewage, making clean drinking water an ongoing concern. Approximately 50 families live in this settlement. All are restricted to their homes by an 8PM curfew imposed on them by the municipality.
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  • Lower Shouffe, Lebanon: Syrian men fortunate enough to find paid emplyment often work for starvation wages as agricultural workers, putting in long hours to afford rent and living expenses for their families.
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  • Bekaa Valley, Lebanon: Pickup,  near Talabaya.
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  • Bekaa Valley, near Talabaya: a refugee settlement has been constructed in what was formerly a summer camp for children. A school and a mosque help make life a little easier for the residents.
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  • Lower Shouf, Lebanon: a Syrian refugee shows a photo of a neighbour killed during a chemical attack near Damascus.
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  • Tripoli, Lebanon: Abu Abdel Rahman had his legs amputated after being fired on by a tank. His 13-year old son Mohammad sleeps by his side. The 40-year old father of seven has been at this hospital in Tripoli for two months, slowly regaining his strength and waiting to be fitted with prosthetics, which are currently in very short supply — and which he may not even be able to afford. His son has been caring for him while his wife stays home with the other children. Money is tight and it’s not clear how he’s going to support his family.
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  • July 15, 2013 Tripoli, Lebanon: Wounded Syrians receiving medical treatment walk, roll and hobble to the corner store to buy sodas. The hospital does not discriminate between combatants and civilians, treating everyone as best they can with a skeleton crew of doctors and mix of paid and volunteer nurses. The war has left thousands injured, often severely, and Syria is facing a dire healthcare crisis, leaving Lebanon as one of the few options for people in need. Recent UNHCR estimates have placed the number of Syrian refugees in Lebanon at well over 600,000 people and rising steadily. (Liam Maloney/Polaris Images)
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  • July 9, 2013 Akkar, Lebanon: 110 Syrian refugees live in tents erected inside an abandoned slaughterhouse. The 16 families live communally, sharing food, water, chores, childcare and often even money as they struggle to support themselves on aid rations, food vouchers and the generosity of the host community. They have no access to medical care or prescription drugs and there is little hope for gainful employment in the region, which already suffered from under-employment even before the influx of Syrian refugees. Recent UNHCR estimates have placed the number of Syrian refugees in Lebanon at well over 600,000 people and rising steadily. (Liam Maloney/Polaris Images)
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  • Bekaa Valley, Lebanon: Syrian refugees live in an improvised tented encampment alongside farmland in the Bekaa Valley near Talabaya. Since 2011, housing costs have quadrupled for people fleeing the conflict in Syria, and work is scarce or extremely low-paying, forcing many refugees into improvised shelters.
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  • Lower Shouffe, Lebanon: this family fled the suburbs of Damascus after a chemical attack that left the youngest  with nerve damage. The family lives in a settlement located on the fringes of a banana plantation in a patched-up stone hut with a tarpaulin pulled over it. They pay $150/month to the landowner. They have no electricity or running water. A stream nearby is polluted with pesticide residues and sewage, making clean drinking water an ongoing concern. Approximately 50 families live in this settlement. All are restricted to their homes by an 8PM curfew imposed on them by the municipality.
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