Lebanon is a Middle Eastern country about a third of the size of Maryland. To the west is the Mediterranean Sea. Lebanon shares land borders with Israel to the south for 81 km and the rest stretching for 403 km with Syria. The Bekaa Valley separates Lebanon and the Anti-Lebanon Mountains that forms most of the border between Lebanon and Syria (Central Intelligence Agency, 2016).
Lebanon is a diverse country with competing interests and ideologies. Christians make up 40.5% of the population including Maronite at 21%. The 54% of Lebanese that are Muslim are almost evenly divided between Sunni and Shia faiths. Other religious groups live in Lebanon but don’t have the same influence as these three groups (Central Intelligence Agency, 2016). …show more content…
Initial reception was welcoming with Lebanese families personally taking in over 50,000 of the 160,000 refugees in 2012. Despite increasing tensions within Lebanon, the population of Syrian refugees grew to at least 700,000 by the end of 2013. By 2014 the United Nations estimated the population of Syrian refugees swelled to over a million. In 2015 the government began restricting refugee migration (Lebanon profile - Timeline, 2016). Despite these recent efforts, refugees are scattered in over 2500 locations, primarily in the Bekaa Valley region in eastern Lebanon near the Syrian border. About one in every four people in Lebanon is a Syrian refugee (Vice News, 2015). Syrians fortunate enough to escape to Lebanon typically live in makeshift camps and lack basic amenities, the living standards of which are made worse by harsh winters (UNICEF, …show more content…
Syrian refugees will be recruited, trained to help sway elections and used in fighting against political opponents. According to NGO Mercy Corps (Mercy Corps, 2016), more than half of all Syrian refugees are under 18 years old. As the March 8 and March 14 coalitions use Syrian adults as cannon fodder, they benefit by not risking as many eligible voters in their conflict. Syrian refugees suffering will be exacerbated as those who could have cared for their community become casualties in the violence stemming from Lebanese
Lebanon is a diverse country with competing interests and ideologies. Christians make up 40.5% of the population including Maronite at 21%. The 54% of Lebanese that are Muslim are almost evenly divided between Sunni and Shia faiths. Other religious groups live in Lebanon but don’t have the same influence as these three groups (Central Intelligence Agency, 2016). …show more content…
Initial reception was welcoming with Lebanese families personally taking in over 50,000 of the 160,000 refugees in 2012. Despite increasing tensions within Lebanon, the population of Syrian refugees grew to at least 700,000 by the end of 2013. By 2014 the United Nations estimated the population of Syrian refugees swelled to over a million. In 2015 the government began restricting refugee migration (Lebanon profile - Timeline, 2016). Despite these recent efforts, refugees are scattered in over 2500 locations, primarily in the Bekaa Valley region in eastern Lebanon near the Syrian border. About one in every four people in Lebanon is a Syrian refugee (Vice News, 2015). Syrians fortunate enough to escape to Lebanon typically live in makeshift camps and lack basic amenities, the living standards of which are made worse by harsh winters (UNICEF, …show more content…
Syrian refugees will be recruited, trained to help sway elections and used in fighting against political opponents. According to NGO Mercy Corps (Mercy Corps, 2016), more than half of all Syrian refugees are under 18 years old. As the March 8 and March 14 coalitions use Syrian adults as cannon fodder, they benefit by not risking as many eligible voters in their conflict. Syrian refugees suffering will be exacerbated as those who could have cared for their community become casualties in the violence stemming from Lebanese