HIGHLIGHTS
- UNHCR Representative Mireille Girard: “At the moment we cannot encourage or promote refugee returns.”
Welcome to the 32nd edition of the Lebanon Humanitarian Bulletin. In this issue, we look at the situation in the north of Lebanon, where poverty and unemployment are among the most prominent challenges faced by the population. We interviewed Mireille Girard, the UNHCR Representative in Lebanon to learn more about the situation in the country and share her views on returns. We give the latest news related to the Lebanon Humanitarian Fund and the Contingency Plan, while sharing the updates on the UNICEF measles vaccination campaign. Finally, we tell the story of Islam, a Syrian refugee with special needs, who received help from Medair.
UN and NGOs fight unemployment in Tripoli
Youth initiating new approaches to tackle conflict transformation
Northern Lebanon is one of the country’s most deprived regions, with worrying poverty levels, high numbers of refugees and some of the worst unemployment rates in the country.
Out of a total population of 1.1 million people, 708,000 live under the poverty line, this includes 341,000 deprived Lebanese, over 266,000 Syrian refugees, 88,000 Palestine refugees and almost 12,000 Lebanese returnees from Syria.
Residents of northern Lebanon face key challenges such as impoverishment, high level of early school dropout, drug abuse, worn-out infrastructure and lack of public spaces.
According to the latest World Bank statistics released in October 2017, the working-age population in the North among Lebanese is estimated at 610,000 individuals, of which 53 percent are inactive, leaving a total labour force of 288,000. Within the participating labour force, 20 percent are employers and 22 percent are self-employed – both largely informal.
Residents in Tripoli believe that youth unemployment is a key reason for unrest in the region.
In response to the extensive needs in the two governorates, 61 humanitarian actors operate in the area, implementing 89 projects notably in the sectors of social stability, livelihoods, food and protection.
New social stability mechanisms established in Tripoli
During a visit to Tripoli on 2 July, the Director of the UN’s Middle East and West Asia Political Affairs Division Susanne Rose and Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator Philippe Lazzarini met dozens of young people and adults living in different neighborhoods of the city and discussed their needs and challenges.
In Qobbeh, one of Tripoli’s neighborhoods linking the vulnerable areas of Bab ElTabbaneh and Jabal Mohsen, the delegation visited a newly-established Social Development Centre (SDC).
The creation of the new SDC comes in response to pressing needs as Qobbeh has welcomed large amount of internally displaced people and refugees in the last two decades, making it one of the most overpopulated areas in Tripoli.
The SDC’s objective is to become a common space for youth to meet, share their thoughts and interact together.
The delegation met with youth who started a UNDP-supported initiative in June 2017 to boost social stability in Qobbeh and other neighborhoods in Tripoli. The first initiative is led by a group from Al Harake Barake Mouvement who work with people disabled as a result of the Tripoli clashes between 2012 and 2015, to help them reintegrate in the society. The second project by the Tripoli-based Playback Theatre troupe, is helping to create spaces to share thoughts and empathy between affected communities from both sides of the conflict. The third project mainly targets young female entrepreneurs, activists and social workers in the area; it aims at empowering women to help build peace in the city.