In 2 days Lebanon took in as many Syrian refugee as UK plans to take in 5 years

Share:
Syrian refugees, fleeing the recent fighting  August 8, 2014
Syrian refugees, fleeing the recent fighting August 8, 2014

By: Mary Creagh
I am in Lebanon with Birmingham-based charity Islamic Relief to see the frontline of the refugee crisis. All summer there have been daily reminders of the greatest refugee crisis since the second world war. The harrowing picture of Syrian toddler Alan al-Kurdi, lying lifeless on the beach close to Bodrum in Turkey, reminded the world of the experience of millions of people escaping conflict in Syria and Libya.

Every day brings new tales of horror. People fleeing death at the hands of Syriaโ€™s president, Bashar al-Assad, and Islamic State are dying needlessly because of the westโ€™s indifference and inertia. In Lebanonโ€™s refugee camps I met families who have fled Assadโ€™s barrel bombs and Isisโ€™s terror.

The Assad regime imprisoned Iman, a 65-year-old grandmother from Aleppo, for more than two weeks. She told me how she had bravely returned to Syria after her son was killed, to rescue her five grandchildren. They now live together in a shack made of breeze blocks, cardboard and plastic sheeting on rocky land.

Hadiaโ€™s husband, a Red Cross volunteer, was killed in Syria. Four of her children are still trapped in Homs. The UN had offered to take her and her younger children to Germany. She refused to leave because her mother could not go with her.

I met Imad, who lost an eye when terrorists blew up the Baghdad cafe where he worked.

At a Baptist church north of Beirut, it was humbling to see Islamic and Christian charities working together to help Christians in need. Yousif told me the story of how he fled Mosul with his four children when Isis took over the city.

I promised these refugees I would share their stories to help people in Britain understand why they had fled their homes. They are refugees, not economic migrants.

Towards the end of 2014, Lebanon ( population 4.2 million ) took in 10,000 Syrian refugees a day. That means every two days the country was offering shelter to as many refugees as David Cameron wants to take in five years.

Towards the end of 2014, Lebanon ( population 4.2 million ) took in 10,000 Syrian refugees a day. That means every two days the country was offering shelter to as many refugees as David Cameron wants to take in five years.

Britain ( Population 64 million ) has a proud history of giving sanctuary to people fleeing persecution. In the 1930s, Britain took in 70,000 Jewish people. During the Balkans conflict we offered shelter to 2,500 Bosnians and 4,000 Kosovar Albanians. We must honour that legacy.

Cameronโ€™s promise to take 20,000 refugees is a welcome U-turn. But it does not match up to the scale of the crisis we are facing. His five-year timescale is simply too long for desperate people to wait. More than 4 million Syrians have left their homes and crossed the border โ€“ with more than 1 million in Lebanon alone. Another 7.6 million have been internally displaced.

The UK government is failing to engage with the crisis on our doorstep โ€“ countries such as Hungary, Italy and Greece are struggling to cope with the number of refugees arriving. Britain has a responsibility to offer support โ€“ including taking some of the refugees who are already in southern and eastern Europe. It needs to urgently bring together local authorities and NGOs to work out a plan for accommodating Syrian refugees.

There has been an outpouring of sympathy from the British public. The government needs to show real leadership and step up to its responsibilities. Having escaped Assad and Isis, the refugees I met deserve a second chance at life

Guardian

Share:

Comments

49 responses to “In 2 days Lebanon took in as many Syrian refugee as UK plans to take in 5 years”

  1. …And a million times as many as Saudis and Iran.

    1. Intouchable Avatar
      Intouchable

      Extraordinary, these countries have more in common – culinary and culturally with the Syrians than the Syrians with Christian Europe, including the number of mosques.

      Marine Le Pen, the leader of France’s far-right National Front party, said that 99% of refugees in Europe are men who are leaving their homes for economic reasons – not fleeing for political persecution, but are actually pursuing financial wealth.

      How many are in fact ISIS supporters….

      1. Besides, Lebanon should be used to being dominated by Syrians and Iranians.

        1. Hind Abyad Avatar

          I will not say “bigot” but after reading your sustained, relentless hatred “directed” posts- i have as much right as Jews- who
          accuse anyone of anti-antisemitism.. (with only 5% of your discourses)

          1. There was a heaping of sarcasm and a little trolling added. Are you Iranian decent, Hind?
            In a perfect world (which will never exist) everyone could co-exist, but this is not the case. I would not mind refugees IF, they were hard working and wanted to try to fit in to better society. The problems occurs when said minority groups demand special privileges and a “free ride”. I work very hard for everything I have and have not asked or received any hand-outs from governments to make my business thrive, the same should be expected of anyone given the opportunity to make their life more successful. So basically these people will be given a chance to prove themselves and the rest is up to them to fit into western countries with secular values. If they can not adapt, they are clearly not in the right place.
            I seen a video from Austria/Germany recently where the refugees were spitefully discarding food that was given to them at the train station for some ungrateful reason. This was the type of introduction they have given in some cases.
            Sorry to offend you.

          2. Hind Abyad Avatar

            No sarcasm..why i’m Iranian? I’m Lebanese Christian.
            I dislike sectarianism, and you say; “up to them to fit into western countries with ‘secular values’..Decades of wars in the Midlle East created millions of refugees.
            They didn’t ask to become refugees.

          3. 5thDrawer Avatar

            Terminated that YouTube account.

          4. Great, you compare a camerawoman tripping a Syrian to Nazis. Totally makes sense…not.
            This is why your side always loses – you make insane comparisons between everyone you dislike and the Nazis. People in the middle see right through you.
            Try Pol Pot or Stalin once in a while. Mix things up.

          5. Hind Abyad Avatar

            Again comparing..defending that Hungarian woman …how many Israeli on welfare are paid Zionist keyboard warriors?

            There are hundreds all over Egyptian paper Al Ahram, defending her:))

            “And while Israel has portrayed itself as uninvolved in the crises unfolding in its vicinity, it has repeatedly bombed Syria (and continues to colonize the occupied Golan Heights), treated wounded fighters from al-Nusra โ€“ al-Qaedaโ€™s affiliate in Syria โ€“ before sending them back to the fighting, and sold weapons to despotic African regimes.
            Snipers Hired By Kiev Protest Leaders – Leaked EU’s Ashton Phone Tapehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?t=649&v=ZEgJ0oo3OA8

          6. Yeah, we are all on the Zionist payroll. South Korea too since I am anti-North. Al Ahram is a Zionist hotbed, like the rest of Egypt.
            Part 1 – No mention of Turkey’s (enormously larger) role as compared to Israel half dozen airstrikes over a 4 year period. As far as selling weapons, find me a country not involved in that trade and I will show you Costa Rica.
            Part 2 – What conspiracy theory website did you get that one from? RT? PressTV? Same placeas the first?
            Part 3 – There is no freedom of speech on a private website. It is up to the owners of the site and since I am only a 15% shareholder, I have very little say in that. Israel owns 17%.

          7. 5thDrawer Avatar

            LOL ….
            Friend of mine has a place in Costa Rica … very nice … I contemplate … even if it has 5 active volcanos.

          8. Hind Abyad Avatar

            “There is no freedom of speech on a private website. It is up to the owners of the site and since I am only a 15% shareholder, I have very little say in that. Israel owns 17%”

            I always thought Israeli interests bought YaLiban (with all these Western commercials running around with viruse). 2 years ago when we had a moderator it was a community paper.. soo i was right.
            Anti everything except Saudis and Western articles. I know Al Ahram readers they are not keyboardists, never would 275 say they are on side of the Hungarian woman child abuser, they don’t know were Hungary is they worry about their local news.

            Any shares in Canadian paper..oh yes..Israel owns the government, how silly of me.. so proud a guy..’I’am not on welfare (which was a joke:)).

            http://www.globalresearch.ca/ukraine-israeli-special-forces-unit-under-neo-nazi-command-involved-in-maidan-riots/5371725
            Still, IDF helped Neo-Nazi Coup in Maiden..

          9. 5thDrawer Avatar

            Here’s another ‘funny’ … From a SHEVA news paper … ;-))
            http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/Flash.aspx/336310#.VfMpUOlvB0c

          10. Hind Abyad Avatar

            Ridiculous, France never sent Arabs to Israel.

            French Jews rejected Netanyahoo call for Aliah http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/02/20/france-chief-rabbi-israel_n_6721016.html

            Denmark chief rabbi rejects Netanyahu call to make aliyah
            http://www.jta.org/2015/02/15/news-opinion/israel-middle-east/denmark-chief-rabbi-rejects-netanyahu-call-to-make-aliyah-2

          11. 5thDrawer Avatar

            Anarchistic Skinhead Neo-Human Types … fall under various umbrella orgs … like ISIS.
            Can’t figure out their own lives or a place in any country without some bonehead ‘leader’ telling them what to do.

          12. Hind Abyad Avatar

            There you go.. ISIS were helped too, by euehh,…

          13. 5thDrawer Avatar

            That’s what the ‘newsies’ were doing in their monologue … not Hind.

          14. Hind Abyad Avatar

            Joseph Stalin adopted a Plan for Palestine, which paved the way for the creation of the State of Israel. Now he’s Pol Pot..haha,

          15. 5thDrawer Avatar

            And in a Later story, she says she panicked because they were running at her or at the camera … wanting to be in the news outside the main herd maybe. Now we have newsies taking pictures of newsies … competing station?? Poor emotional news-type.
            ;-)))
            Did they film how many in the main herd got run over?

          16. Hind Abyad Avatar

            Yes after being fired.
            “I panicked, I’m just a poor woman with two children and no employment” ..They were running from police, she kept pushing to obstructing them so she complains they were “running on her” Why no policeman tripped children?

          17. 5thDrawer Avatar

            Can’t say they were not trying … ๐Ÿ˜‰

          18. Hind Abyad Avatar

            I’m going out..have a wonderful day with your friendly friends.

          19. 5thDrawer Avatar

            XOX

          20. Hind Abyad Avatar

            What’s the meaning of this word?
            O say that a lot..

          21. 5thDrawer Avatar

            X=’Kiss’ … O=’Hug’. From me, it’s sincere.
            (whew … still learning Canadian … ;-))

          22. Hind Abyad Avatar

            leave this word to her..now you parrot:)

          23. 5thDrawer Avatar

            Yes, M’am … ๐Ÿ˜‰

          24. Spineless

          25. Lol while you parrot

          26. Hind Abyad Avatar

            I hate her lies, on Al Aram she says her camera was too high she could not see “small” children. http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/9/140238/World/International/Hungarian-camerawoman-regrets-kicking-refugees.aspx

            In ‘terminated’ video, (which i found in Spanish) you see her holding the camera down, and kicking..;)
            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMgaMwdviCk&feature=youtu.be

          27. On this I totally agree with you. Btw that doesn’t mean I like you

          28. 5thDrawer Avatar

            Between the cop, who let go of the guy at just the right moment to add velocity to his pulling away, and her definitely sticking the leg out, the one running had to stagger and then fall. Gravity works it’s wonders. But yes, she partakes instead of moving back. Maybe upset she didn’t get the shots the others were. ;-)) It’s a ‘melee’, not a ‘scene’, and reactions are not always what we think we could have in the same spot. Where she was initially overrun, she ended up kicking a kid … who wasn’t stopped by that.

          29. Hind Abyad Avatar

            Listen drawer i’m sick of your excuses, it’s boring and static.

          30. Fuc off you disgusting white supremacist! The video doesn’t lie, I clearly saw what that disgusting slag did and she did it on purpose. You slimeball

          31. The viciousness coming from vile excuse of a human being was fortunately caught on camera, if it was not imagine the lies and denials that would be coming form her and her kind, life as I have seen many times will make full circle and make her understand that none of us ever get away with anything and no wrong we ever do gets overlooked, someone up above is always taking pictures. so to the settlers that think they are scott free from what they did to the dawasha familly, read your book again, you are in BIG trouble.

          32. Hind Abyad Avatar

            Beautiful day here i hope you are well= ๐Ÿ™‚

          33. Hind Abyad Avatar

            Why do you think?

      2. You are a racist bigot

        1. Intouchable Avatar
          Intouchable

          “Bigot” appears in Old French, it is as an insulting term for a Norman. Which race….

          What are YOU?

          1. 5thDrawer Avatar

            Her favourite terms this year … white, supremacist, bigot, racist, old, and dog …. seems slightly better than last year, I think … ๐Ÿ˜‰

          2. Intouchable Avatar
            Intouchable

            .. and a keyboard warrior ๐Ÿ˜‰

          3. Hind Abyad Avatar

            “Go clean cigar smoke of some old painting”..has been added to her favourites..

          4. Lol are you lonely? So much for your fake goodbye

          5. 5thDrawer Avatar

            At least it wasn’t a quote … ;-))

          6. Hind Abyad Avatar

            80% of English language comes from French.

  2. 5thDrawer Avatar

    Can’t exactly say ‘Took Them In’ … it was was like a flock of Lemmings who thought they were entitled to pop in whenever they wished anyway … had done it before, and there was no border in anyone’s minds.

  3. Nice job on the Albanians. I guess UK needed a new set of crime lords so they imported KLA human traffickers and drug smugglers.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *