A testimony of political failure: The unfortunate dilemma of the contemporary Lebanese Migration Crisis
Opinion News Analysis by Farah Termos, Staff Writer
September 25th, 2020
The Lebanese have been through what seems like a decade but is actually a year jam-packed with political instability, economic hyperinflation, currency depreciation and an all-in-all civil uprising in their own country. All of this, crippled with the disastrous explosion of the Beirut Port on August 4th, left millions of Lebanese citizens yearning for any opportunity to flee the country. Both Lebanese and non-Lebanese residents of Lebanon are finding themselves ‘stuck’ in a cyclic political, social and economic travesty: a country which, despite all of its previous misfortunes, seems to be vanishing at sight, pushing its people away, and completely obliterating any effort towards maintaining stability.
Lebanon: the Levant sees another political failure
The Levant, or “Levantine”, is a biblical and geographical term defined as the area of land in western Asia that geographically speaking borders the Mediterranean Sea. It primarily consists of the following countries: Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, and Jordan. The Levant has, in its vast and ancient history, seen a plethora of historical and monumental changes on its land. With the many political upheavals of the Middle-East (The Syrian conflict of 2011, the israeli occupation of Palestine, etc.) it seems as If the Levant, for now, is bound to be inhabitable.
Figure 1 – What constitutes “The Levant”, illustration by Ian Macky
The Lebanese political class has so far had an incredibly misfortunate international reputation in the approximate past year due to the mishappenings, mismanagements, and responses thereto, occurring in the country, all of which could be directly and/or indirectly traced to the entirety of the ruling class (untalented municipalities, consecutively failing governments, and the other “big two” outdated superior political entities). From the smallest entities of the ruling class, to the bourgeois men in power upholding seats in the parliament and government, receiving salaries even if they’ve served previous sentences (for what better way to not spend the already declining governmental/parliament budget on ex-ministers and ex MP’s who, frankly enough, failed consecutively in the past 30 years), Lebanon has suffered immensely under the rule of these egotistical, money-hungry creatures that have figuratively, yet almost literally, sucked the soul and money out of those whom they ‘rule’. This political crisis in Lebanon has been vividly present for the past 50 years – with over 3 civil/international wars, several economic crisis’, multiple coups, and many assassination attempts – it is a miracle that Lebanon has not completely obliterated into smithereens.
The New Lebanese Migration Crisis
Lebanon, as of 2020, has the highest net migration rate across the world. The country has so far had over 300,000 immigration applications to other countries circa august 2020, and with massive inflation the country is in utter collapse and the Lebanese have had it. The people have become so desperate that they are fleeing the country illegally and in any means possible, even refugees themselves (for Lebanon has over 1 million Syrian refugees and just under 300,000 Palestinian refugees). To add to that, the Beirut Port explosion of August 4th left a reported estimate of 300,000 residents homeless.
Figure 2 - The departure zone at Rafic Hariri International Airport; Credits: @LunaSafwan, Twitter
To further elaborate on the deep depths this crisis has evolved to, on September 6th, four migrant boats from Lebanon attempted to cross international waters to reach Cyprus, carrying more than 120 Lebanese and Syrian individuals (men, women and even children). Despite the dangerous and fearful conditions of the waters, these individuals decided to adrift into sea. Some were allowed in Cyprus, some 50 individuals landed in the UN-controlled buffer area that divides between the Turkish-control and Greek-control of Cyprus, and more than 30 have been chartered on a boat to return to Lebanon (following the Lebanese Cypriot agreement of migration that Ex-minister of defense, Elias Bou Saab, stressed on in 2019; where both governments emphasized on their work together to restrain boats from reaching the island).
Reportedly, the Cypriot government acted with all responses in its power to prevent these illegal activities – and stands by its statements in doing so. Unfortunately, a boat was on the verge of sinking and was caught adrift in Larnaca by UNHCR officials. More so, many state that another boat had its passengers diving into the sea in fear of not being let onto the island. Some women and children aboard the boats were transferred into a Cypriot hospital – were they were treated before being shipped back to Lebanon- And above all of that, as of the 18th of September, it was reported that two children starved to death aboard one of the boats that fled Lebanon; this “death boat” also witnessed a mother throw her dead child’s body into the sea.
This desperate attempt to flee Lebanon may come as a shock to many, however, it has been going on for years. Since the Syrian refugee crisis that occurred in 2015, where an aftermath of the 2011 civil war led to hundreds of Syrians illegally and dangerously fleeing on boat’s to Europe, Cyprus has seen a plethora of boats every year, spanning the months of September to December, carrying desperate Syrians and Lebanese individuals - However, never in this much capacity. One can hope that Lebanon attempts to fix its local policies and political agenda- otherwise, we are yet to see what’s worse for the country as it heads down an economic, social and political rabbit-hole.