Medair – Lebanon

Over one million refugees from Syria have registered in Lebanon since the outbreak of war in Syria in 2011. Lebanon now has the highest number of refugees per capita, with one refugee per four nationals, putting a huge strain on the country’s resources.

The UNHCR states that the Lebanese government is not a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention, meaning that there exists no international laws which Lebanon must abide by in dealing with the refugees that cross its borders. Lebanon is not obligated to provide asylum to refugees, or grant them the right to access courts, elementary education, and travel documents. Moreover, refugees are not entitled to receive the same public services or treatment in the labor market that Lebanese citizens do.

Syrian refugees are able to access free health treatment at Medair-supported clinics as part of the organisation’s commitment to the host community.

ClientMedairServicesPhotographyYear2016Linkrelief.medair.org

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Mohammad Raabah, 71 years old from eastern Damascus, and who has lived in this disused building for over two years, makes coffee in the one room he lives in, in the town of Zahle, Lebanon.

An elderly Syrian refugee makes coffee in Lebanon

Fatima, who is 18, and who looks after her younger brother Ali who is disabled, poses for a photograph in the shelter they live in, in Zahle, Lebanon.

A Syrian refugee poses for a portrait in Lebanon

Ali, who is 9 years old and disabled, is helped to walk by his sister Fatima, who is 18, in the shelter they live in, in Zahle, Lebanon.

A disabled Syrian refugee boy is helped to walk by his sister in Lebanon

Amna Mohammad al Ahmed, 32, a widow with two young boys, poses for a photograph in her tent in a settlement for Syrian Refugees in the town of Zahle in Lebanon.

Staff from Medair undertake work to improve the situation of refugees from Syria who are living in makeshift accommodation in rented settlements in the town of in Zahle in Lebanon.

Medair staff work in Lebanon helping Syrian refugees

Young girls carry a water bucket that has been supplied by Medair in a settlement for Syrian refugees in the town of in Zahle in Lebanon.

Young Syrian refugee girls carry a bucket in Lebanon

A young boy carries wood that he has been given by staff from Medair to improve his family's shelter in a settlement for Syrian refugees in the town of Zahle in Lebanon.

A young Syrian refugee boy carries a plank of wood in Lebanon

Young girls play a game in the evening light in a settlement for refugees from Syria in the town of Zahle in Lebanon.

Young Syrian refugee girls play in the evening light in Lebanon

A doctor, who is employed by Medair, examines a young boy who has come with his mother to a health clinic that is supported by Medair in the town of Zahle in Lebanon.

A doctor writes a prescription for a Syrian refugee boy in Lebanon

Fatima, who is 80, holds her prayer beads while she prays in shelter she is living in in a settlement for Syrian refugees in the town of Zahle in Lebanon.

An elderly Syrian refugee prays in Lebanon

Firaz Hilal, who has four children and is from Homs, poses for a photograph with his daughter Aya, who needs specialist medical care, in the settelment they live in in the town of Zahle in Lebanon.

A Syrian refugee poses for a photo with his disabled daughter in Lebanon

Fatime Sowan, 33, and a refugee from Syria, poses for a photograph in the house that she and her family are renting in the town of Zahle in Lebanon.

Amna Mohammad al Ahmed, 32, and a widow with two young boys, holds up what little food they have to eat in her tent in a settlement for Syrian Refugees in the town Zahle in Lebanon.

A Syrian refugee holds up their food in Lebanon

Ali, who is 9 years old and disabled, walks with the help of a metal rail that has been installed by Medair at his temporary home in a settlement for Syrian refugees in Zahle, Lebanon.

A disabled Syrian refugee boy walks with the help of a rail in Lebanon

Yasmin, 25, watches over her 2-month-old baby in a settlement for people who are fleeing in the ongoing war in Syria in the town of Zahle in Lebanon.

A Syrian refugee watches over her baby in Lebanon

A young girl holds a school book outside the shelter that she lives in with her family in a settlement for Syrian refugees in the town of Zahle in Lebanon.

A Syrian refugee girl holds a book in Lebanon

Young girls play a game in the evening light in a settlement for refugees from Syria in the town of Zahle in Lebanon.

Syrian refugee girls play at sunset in Lebanon

Fatime Sowan, 33 and a refugee from Syria, poses for a photograph in the house that she and her family are renting in the town of Zahle in Lebanon.