“We are racists” Lebanon FM says in comments on Syrian Refugees

Free Patriotic Movement leader and Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil stressed on Sunday that the FPM will not tolerate the creation of Syrian refugee camps in Lebanon.

“We will not tolerate today what we had resisted in 2011, which is the creation of Syrian refugee camps,” Bassil emphasized during a tour of the Western Bekaa region.

“Syrian citizens have only one route, which is the route that leads to their homeland,” Bassil stressed.

He added, “Yes, we are racist Lebanese and at the same time we are open to the world and no one has the right to lecture us about being humanitarian.”

Over one million and a half Syrian refugees have flooded into Lebanon since the conflict in their own country erupted in March 2011.

They live in homes and makeshift camps. Their presence has been largely tolerated, despite Lebanon’s limited resources and aging infrastructure .

There have been rising calls recently to send the refugees back home but politicians disagreed on whether to coordinate the move with the Syrian regime or not . Hezbollah and its allies wanted to coordinate the move with The Syrian regime while the March 14 alliance was dead set against the idea .

One analyst decried Bassil’s comments : ” Not a single sect or lebanese organization has ever called for housing Syrians in refugee camps, so why is talking about this now” .
He added , ” Unfortunately makeshift refugee camps do exist in Lebanon , but having UNHCR administered camps for the Syrian refugees like they have in Turkey and Jordan would have been much better for everyone. The Syrians are now scattered all over the country in dirty makeshift disorganized and disorderly lawless camps and pose huge security risks for many Lebanese communities .”