- Title: Syrian refugees in Lebanon react to Trump's expected ban on refugees
- Date: 25th January 2017
- Summary: SOUTHERN SUBURBS OF BEIRUT, LEBANON (JANUARY 25, 2017) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF PEOPLE WALKING IN BURJ AL-BARAJNEH PALESTINIAN REFUGEE CAMP VARIOUS OF UNITED NATIONS SIGN AT START OF CAMP (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) SYRIAN PALESTINIAN REFUGEE WOMAN FROM YARMOUK CAMP, JOUMANA GHAZI CHEHADE, SAYING: "The U.S. decision is wrong, very wrong. Of course we're not going to go blow anything up or take terrorists there. All we are asking for is security and freedom." VARIOUS OF PEOPLE WALKING THROUGH BURJ AL-BARAJNEH CAMP (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) SYRIAN PALESTINIAN REFUGEE MAN FROM YARMOUK CAMP, KHODR SALEH SALEH, SAYING: "This is an unjust decision. Families are already dispersed across several countries." KOURA, NORTH LEBANON (JANUARY 25, 2017) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF UNFINISHED BUILDING WHERE SYRIAN REFUGEE FAMILIES HAVE SHELTERED VARIOUS OF SYRIAN REFUGEE CHILDREN WALKING AROUND THE COMPOUND BUILDINGS (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) SYRIAN REFUGEE MAN FROM HOMS, ABDALLAH AL-ASSAAD, SAYING: "Why? This is an arbitrary decision... What did the Syrians do for example?" VARIOUS OF SYRIAN REFUGEE CHILDREN PLAYING IN THE COMPOUND (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) SYRIAN REFUGEE MAN FROM ALEPPO, HAMAM AL-AYYASH, SAYING: "Our country is very dear to us, we don't want America nor Europe nor any other country. We are Muslims and we want to keep our Islam. They don't want Muslims because Islam is terrorism to them." BEKAA, LEBANON (JANUARY 25, 2017) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF SYRIAN REFUGEES IN AN UNOFFICIAL TENTED SETTLEMENT CAMP SYRIAN REFUGEE CHILDREN PLAYING (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) SYRIAN REFUGEE WOMAN FROM HOMS, UM NOUR, SAYING: "I am against anyone taking refuge in any country and giving up their Syrian ID, whatever the circumstances are. Honestly, I don't think people will be affected much because the United States are not giving visas anyway and people won't benefit from going there anyway." SIDON, SOUTH LEBANON (JANUARY 25, 2017) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF UNFINISHED BUILDINGS WHERE SYRIAN REFUGEE FAMILIES ARE LIVING SYRIAN REFUGEES GATHERING IN ONE OF THE BUILDINGS (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) UNIDENTIFIED SYRIAN REFUGEE WOMAN SAYING: "We don't want to go to America, we hope to go back to our country. [Reporter asking: What about Europe?] Honestly, one's home country is better than all countries because this is where we were born, where we grew up, where we raised our children and where we went through the good and the bad. We wish to go back to our home country and no other country." VARIOUS OF SYRIAN REFUGEE CHILDREN PLAYING
- Embargoed: 8th February 2017 16:51
- Keywords: Syria refugees migrants Donald Trump USA U.S. President
- Location: SOUTHERN BEIRUT, KOURA, BEKAA AND SIDON, LEBANON
- City: SOUTHERN BEIRUT, KOURA, BEKAA AND SIDON, LEBANON
- Country: Lebanon
- Topics: Asylum/Immigration/Refugees,Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA00160KYI4N
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: News that the U.S. President Donald Trump may enact a visa freeze and ban on refugees from some Muslim states sparked fear among some refugees in Lebanon on Wednesday (January 25) that it could mark the beginning of a new era of hostility from the West.
Among Syrian refugees interviewed by Reuters, a sense of dismay and grievance at the presumption they pose a security threat was mixed with anxiety that Trump's tough stance will cause more hardship for the region's millions of refugees.
"The U.S. decision is wrong, very wrong. Of course we're not going to go blow anything up or take terrorists there. All we are asking for is security and freedom," said Joumana Ghazi Chehade, a 34-year-old Syrian Palestinian woman from Yarmouk camp in Syria, who has been living in Lebanon's Burj al-Barajneh Palestinian camp since 2012.
"This is an unjust decision. Families are already dispersed across several countries," added another Syrian Palestinian refugee, 46-year-old Khodr Saleh.
Trump is expected to sign executive orders starting on Wednesday that will impose a temporary ban on most refugees and a suspension of visas for citizens of Syria, Iraq, Iran, Yemen, Somalia, Libya and Sudan.
The policy is aimed at reducing the threat posed by Islamist militants. Syria, Iran and Sudan, are listed by the United States as sponsors of terrorism, and the others face extensive jihadist insurgencies across swathes of their territory.
However, the security rationale for the expected new rules, which have been challenged by Trump's political opponents and civil rights groups in the U.S., also drew scorn from some of those who will be affected by them.
For the region's millions of refugees in particular, fleeing civil wars and political or religious oppression, the reported plans appeared to represent another door slamming shut on their hopes of escaping to a better life.
"Why? This is an arbitrary decision... What did the Syrians do for example?," commented Abdallah al-Assaad, a Syrian refugee from Homs who took shelter in one of the compounds welcoming Syrian families in north Lebanon's Koura.
But whether they are business travellers, tourists, students or refugees, passport holders from the seven countries affected, including Syrians, already face severe restrictions on travel to the U.S.
Refugees already face 18-24 months of screening before their resettlement applications are processed and stringent existing visit rules were tightened further in 2016 with changes to the U.S. visa waiver programme.
But among some Syrian refugees, it has reinforced a perception that the new U.S. president is opposed to Muslims.
"Our country is very dear to us, we don't want America nor Europe nor any other country. We are Muslims and we want to keep our Islam, they don't want Muslims because Islam is terrorism to them," Syrian refugee Hamam al-Ayyash, originally from Aleppo, said.
The perceived difficulty of reaching the United States, including a long visa application process that involves extensive interviews and paperwork, has dissuaded many Syrians and other Middle Easterners from even seeking to do so.
"I am against anyone taking refuge in any country and giving up their Syrian ID, whatever the circumstances are. Honestly, I don't think people will be affected much because the United States are not giving visas anyway and people won't benefit from going there anyway," said Um Nour, a Syrian refugee from Homs.
Some U.S. media have reported that the new restrictions would not apply to members of religious minorities, some of which have faced persecution by militants including the Islamic State group.
"We don't want to go to America, we hope to go back to our country," one Syrian refugee woman who fled her home-country five years ago to South Lebanon's Sidon, said.
"Honestly, one's home country is better than all countries because this is where we were born, where we grew up, where we raised our children and where we went through the good and the bad. We wish to go back to our home country and no other country," the woman added, preferring not to give her name.
The United States has taken about 12,000 Syrian refugees compared to 2.8 million in Turkey, approximately a million in Lebanon and 650,000 in Jordan. More than 650,000 Syrians have arrived in Europe and requested asylum, mostly in Germany and Sweden, E.U data showed. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2017. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
