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Syrian refugees in Lebanon face deepening debt cycle: UN agencies

Xinhua, November 20, 2015 Adjust font size:

The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) reported Friday that 90 percent of the more than 1 million Syrian refugees in Lebanon are in worsening debt due to exhausted savings, limited work opportunities and dwindling humanitarian assistance.

According to a joint UNHCR, UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) and World Food Programme (WFP) survey, the amount of money owed by Syrians to landlords, shop owners, friends and relatives has increased by 22 percent in 2015.

This brings the average accumulated debt per Syrian refugee family per month to 842 U.S. dollars, an increase of 180 U.S. dollars from last year.

The survey recorded that 40 percent of refugees owe money to their landlords, and that over 75 percent of refugee households are buying food on credit, up from 30 percent in 2014 and 19 percent in 2013.

Amid significant cuts to food assistance because of lack of funding, estimates show that 70 percent of refugees in Lebanon today are living below the national poverty line of 3.84 U.S. dollars per day.

Additional requirements relating to their stay that have been in place since January are further compounding the situation. Residency must be renewed every six months and registered refugees of working age must sign an official pledge not to work with local authorities.

According to UNHCR, this is pushing more and more Syrians to work in the informal sector where agricultural and construction jobs usually pay no more than 15 U.S. dollars for a 12-hour working day.

"Without better funding, humanitarian agencies are not able to increase aid, aggravating the now endemic debt trap faced by the overwhelming majority of refugees in the country," the refugee agency said in a statement.

The joint survey assessed the situation of 4,000 refugee households.

According to figures, only 45 percent of Lebanon's 1.87 billion U.S. dollar humanitarian appeal is currently funded. Enditem