Feature: Syrian displaced to Lebanon dream of living in Europe

Immigrating to Europe has became a dream for most of the Syrians who have fled years of war and strife to the neighboring Lebanon.

Yet, most of Syrian refugees do not carry a legal Syrian passport that enables them to travel to Turkey as a transit point to the European Union (EU).

In addition, the harsh security carried by the Lebanese security agencies also curbs illegal immigration from the shores of the country.

A Lebanese security source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity that many human traffickers have been arrested since the beginning of 2015, and tens of Syrians were also detained while preparing their illegal exit from Lebanon.

Syrian refugees in Lebanon are facing harsh living conditions due to the cut in aid provided by the United Nations Higher Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), which led many of them to consider going to the EU countries.

Ali, who declined to give his full name for security reasons, told Xinhua "I have been living Lebanon for four years with my four children. I am currently unemployed and waiting for the aid to sustain the living of my family."

As for Abou Mohammad, another displaced, said "I have been living in Tripoli for four years with my family. Some friends of mine traveled by sea to Greece and now entered Germany."

He said he was to leave with friends but could not arrange the money the trafficker asked for, which was 2000 U.S. dollars per person."

Abou said that "leaving in an illegal way is a hard and dangerous adventure, but this solution is better than our living in Lebanon."

"We might have a future where we are going, but here we are losing hope day after day and became as those who are slowly waiting for their death," he said.

The illegal immigration is not limited to the Syrian refugees in Lebanon, but it also applies to the Palestinian refugees who were living in Syria.

The Lebanese security source confirmed to Xinhua that among those who are trying to exit Lebanon illegally are Palestinians from Syria and Palestinian refugees in Lebanon.

Khalil Moghrabi, father of a Palestinian refugee in north Lebanon's Beddawi camp, was informed last week of the discovery of his daughter's corpse in one Turkey's hospital.

His daughter Riham Moghrabi, a 24-year old engineer, drowned when the boat sank in the Greek territorial waters.

The father said that "our situation here is rather difficult as we used to receive aid from the UNRWA and we were not allowed to work in Lebanon. That was the reason my children thought of immigrating in any possible way to the EU."

A security source told Xinhua that about 90,000 Syrians have left Lebanon during August and September to turkey and Greece."

Germany earned praises for its welcoming approach to refugees. After receiving tens of thousands of people, however, the richest country in Europe reinstated border controls in order to slow down the influx of refugees and to press its European neighbors to share the burden.

As a result, Lebanon sees a decreased number of refugees who are trying to leave Lebanon, after some of the European countries closed their borders and announced that they would not accept more immigrants. Endit