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The Daily Star (Lebanon)
June 24, 2010 Thursday
A strong state can help our refugees
by Daily Star Staff
The United Nations marked its world refugee day this week, while the
issue of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon has been generating political
attention and media coverage. But for every reference to the Ain
al-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp bordering Sidon, we should remember
that there's a place called Bab al-Tabbaneh in Tripoli, our own,
Editorial
The United Nations marked its world refugee day this week, while the
issue of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon has been generating political
attention and media coverage.
But for every reference to the Ain al-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp
bordering Sidon, we should remember that there's a place called Bab
al-Tabbaneh in Tripoli, our own, Lebanese version of squalid
conditions and despair. And there's the Lebanese state's treatment of
refugees from Sudan, an issue that has entered the media spotlight,
and rankled bilateral relations with a fellow member of the Arab
League.
In this sense, there are "refugees" are everywhere in Lebanon; they
don't have to be officially registered on United Nations rolls to
qualify.
Our political class is now tackling the humanitarian issue of the
treatment of Palestinian refugees, and how to change the law so that
they can lead a dignified and prosperous life, as they await a
solution to their decades-old problem. Whether our politicians back
Prime Minister Saad Hariri, or the team that exists in the Cabinet to
function as a kind of "opposition," they should realize that the
public isn't fooled. Politicians might be able to line up the biggest
rhetorical guns as they face off against each other, but few of them,
if any, have taken practical steps to treat the fundamental problem:
creating a state that's strong enough to intervene when it should.
In doing so, our politicians do a disservice to Lebanese, and to
non-Lebanese in this country. They've failed to act on the issue now
on the table, the list of regulations that block the Palestinians'
ability to function normally in their host society. They fail to
ensure that foreign domestic workers aren't exploited, and that legal,
non-Lebanese residents aren't treated like second-class, or worse,
human beings.
The common thread is the weak state, with its powerful individuals.
They might donate millions of dollars to cause like education, by
creating an endowment at a private school or university. But this is
in their private capacity. They need to take the same pride creating
an "endowment" in the public space, to ensure that the state performs
its ideal role: empowering society to better itself.
An older community of refugees, the Armenians, comes to mind. The lack
of state concern with the Armenian-dominated Beirut suburb of Bourj
Hammoud was why it took so long for a refugee camp to turn into a
thriving town - but don't forget the fact that thousands of Armenians
have emigrated, due to the state's failure to provide stability or
economic opportunity.
We need less hot air about protecting the country from Washington, or
Tehran, and more work on governance. We can start with our guest
refugees, or with our own, local ones, namely the average citizen.
From: A. Papazian
June 24, 2010 Thursday
A strong state can help our refugees
by Daily Star Staff
The United Nations marked its world refugee day this week, while the
issue of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon has been generating political
attention and media coverage. But for every reference to the Ain
al-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp bordering Sidon, we should remember
that there's a place called Bab al-Tabbaneh in Tripoli, our own,
Editorial
The United Nations marked its world refugee day this week, while the
issue of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon has been generating political
attention and media coverage.
But for every reference to the Ain al-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp
bordering Sidon, we should remember that there's a place called Bab
al-Tabbaneh in Tripoli, our own, Lebanese version of squalid
conditions and despair. And there's the Lebanese state's treatment of
refugees from Sudan, an issue that has entered the media spotlight,
and rankled bilateral relations with a fellow member of the Arab
League.
In this sense, there are "refugees" are everywhere in Lebanon; they
don't have to be officially registered on United Nations rolls to
qualify.
Our political class is now tackling the humanitarian issue of the
treatment of Palestinian refugees, and how to change the law so that
they can lead a dignified and prosperous life, as they await a
solution to their decades-old problem. Whether our politicians back
Prime Minister Saad Hariri, or the team that exists in the Cabinet to
function as a kind of "opposition," they should realize that the
public isn't fooled. Politicians might be able to line up the biggest
rhetorical guns as they face off against each other, but few of them,
if any, have taken practical steps to treat the fundamental problem:
creating a state that's strong enough to intervene when it should.
In doing so, our politicians do a disservice to Lebanese, and to
non-Lebanese in this country. They've failed to act on the issue now
on the table, the list of regulations that block the Palestinians'
ability to function normally in their host society. They fail to
ensure that foreign domestic workers aren't exploited, and that legal,
non-Lebanese residents aren't treated like second-class, or worse,
human beings.
The common thread is the weak state, with its powerful individuals.
They might donate millions of dollars to cause like education, by
creating an endowment at a private school or university. But this is
in their private capacity. They need to take the same pride creating
an "endowment" in the public space, to ensure that the state performs
its ideal role: empowering society to better itself.
An older community of refugees, the Armenians, comes to mind. The lack
of state concern with the Armenian-dominated Beirut suburb of Bourj
Hammoud was why it took so long for a refugee camp to turn into a
thriving town - but don't forget the fact that thousands of Armenians
have emigrated, due to the state's failure to provide stability or
economic opportunity.
We need less hot air about protecting the country from Washington, or
Tehran, and more work on governance. We can start with our guest
refugees, or with our own, local ones, namely the average citizen.
From: A. Papazian