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March 3, 2008
BEIRUT, Lebanon (CNS) -- Supported with funds from the U.S. bishops' Catholic Relief Services and other groups, the Caritas Lebanon Migrant Center successfully has negotiated with Lebanese authorities for the release of hundreds of Iraqi refugees detained because of their illegal status.
With the reprieve, Iraqis can search for work without fear of arrest.
Thirteen Iraqis were released Feb. 29 and more will be released in coming months.
CRS, Caritas branches in France and Italy and the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees have provided funding to regularize the status of the detainees and pay visa fees, said a CRS statement.
Most of the estimated 50,000 Iraqis in Lebanon -- including about 5,000 to 10,000 Chaldean Catholics -- have been living in Lebanon illegally, unable to receive work permits or access to health services and schools. Each week, more arrive.
From the time they set foot in Lebanon, refugees have lived in constant fear of being arrested and deported to Iraq. And until recently, the Lebanese General Security -- the national police responsible for foreigners in the country -- actively was looking for Iraqis.
Desperate to escape violence and sectarian strife in their country, Iraqi families typically pay smugglers $1,200-$2,000 to be driven from Iraq to Syria and another $400 per person to get to Lebanon. Upon their arrival, refugees have little money, if any, to begin a new life.
But the Lebanese government announced Feb. 20 a new policy for Iraqi undocumented refugees: If they can find an employer to sponsor them within three months, they can apply for a work permit and become legal.
The reprieve "is a major and unprecedented step forward and will partly alleviate the plight of these refugees living in dreadful conditions in Lebanon," said Najla Chahda, director of the Caritas migrant center. Caritas Lebanon, which runs the center, is part of the international Catholic network of social service agencies called Caritas Internationalis.
To hire an individual who does not have a residency permit, employers in Lebanon are required to make a security deposit of $1,000. Sometimes the prospective employee pays the fee directly to the employer as an incentive to getting hired. It is a hefty sum in a country with a minimum wage of just $200 per month. Residency permits must be renewed annually.
Because men were more likely to be nabbed by Lebanese authorities, fathers were afraid to leave their homes, so the role of breadwinner fell to teenagers and children as young as 12. To make up for teens' loss of education, the Chaldean Catholic Church has organized night classes for those who work during the day.
"We have lived our lives, our lives are finished. But our children's future is being robbed from them," said 45-year-old Sara, who, like others interviewed by Catholic News Service, asked that her last name not be used.
Finding a sponsoring employer is likely to be difficult for Sara's husband, Mikhael, 58, who looks much older than his age. His hands shake and he is psychologically frail as a result of threats on his life in Mosul, Iraq. After his liquor store there was set ablaze, the Chaldean Catholic family fled to Lebanon last September.
Mikhael, Sara and their 10 children -- ages 5 through 23 -- live in a one-room dwelling in a run-down neighborhood of Beirut. Pictures of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and of Mary are taped to the wall of the clean, sparse room, which measures about 15 feet by 15 feet. Foam mattresses are piled in a corner. The kitchen is the size of a small bathroom.
Their four eldest daughters, ages 19-23, have been working illegally in a printing plant. Their combined monthly salary is $800.
Chaldean Bishop Michel Kassarji of Beirut said Christian Iraqis prefer to travel to Lebanon rather than Jordan or Syria because it offers them freedom to express their religious beliefs. Of Lebanon's estimated population of 4 million, nearly 40 percent are Christian.
Nadia, a Chaldean refugee, said, "For sure, there is Christian persecution in Iraq."
Despite warnings that he would be killed for doing so, Rabih, Nadia's husband, continued to serve daily at their Chaldean parish church in Mosul. The perpetrators followed through with their threat: Rabih was shot in the back, the bullet lodging in his lungs.
Seeking better medical treatment and safety, Rabih and his family came to Lebanon in October. He died one month later, leaving Nadia with three children, ages 11, 8 and 2.
"Because my husband, all his life, was serving in church, I believe and I have hope. God will not leave us. He does not forget us," she said.
"Life is very hard here and expensive," said Nadia. She said she prays that UNHCR will resettle her family in Australia, where her two aunts live.
Once registered with the UNHCR, families may wait years to be resettled. Last year, the agency referred approximately 1,450 Iraqi refugees in Lebanon for resettlement in third countries.
Nadia now shares an apartment with her sister and her family. Nine people share a single room.
Garbage litters the alleyway leading to their building, its rough construction typical of the concrete dwellings in which refugees live. There is no heat or hot water. When it is cold, dampness hangs indoors like laundered clothes. Windows leak when it rains. Mona, an elderly neighbor, said she has no strength to wipe away the mold that creeps up her walls.
Unaccustomed to Lebanon's humidity and chilly winters, many Iraqis develop respiratory problems, said Dr. George Azar, a pediatrician who works with the Sisters of the Good Shepherd, visiting Iraqi families in their homes. Children are malnourished and parents are often depressed.
With so many new refugees arriving, it is not possible for the Good Shepherd sisters to re-visit families. The Caritas Migrant Center has a heavy load as well. In Beirut, seven social workers are each assigned to 200 Iraqi families.
A number of international nongovernmental organizations recently have become involved in the issue of Iraqi refugees in Lebanon.
"Clearly what is lacking is coordination. There is overlap with some families, and other families don't get help at all," said Bishop Kassarji.
"When Chaldean Iraqi refugees arrive in Lebanon, the first place they come to is the bishop's house asking for help," he said. "We have documented each family, down to the children's shoe sizes."
Volunteers from St. Raphael Chaldean Catholic Church, across from the bishop's residence in a suburb of Beirut, help with educating refugee children and visiting their families. The bishop has a team of 20 volunteers to help distribute food parcels to about 500 families each month.
"We need to do more, but we lack the funds" he said.
"I urge people not to forget the Chaldean refugees in Lebanon. The war is not only bombs and armies but also the terrible struggle that these Christians are obliged to fight day by day, and that is culpably forgotten by the world," said Bishop Kassarji.
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