LEBANON: Syrians set up shop in Lebanon

Record ID: 276499

  • Title: LEBANON: Syrians set up shop in Lebanon
  • Date: 8th May 2013
  • Summary: TRIPOLI, LEBANON (RECENT) (REUTERS) WIDE OF 'BAWABAT HOMS' (ARABIC FOR 'HOMS GATE') BUTCHERY AND RESTAURANT IN TRIPOLI EXTERIOR OF RESTAURANT CLOSE OF SIGN READING IN ARABIC 'HOMS GATE' WIDE OF THE RESTAURANT'S INTERIOR WORKERS BEHIND REFRIGERATOR CLOSE OF MEAT WORKER ARRANGING MEAT (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) SYRIAN RESTAURANT OWNER, AHMAD NAASRANI, FROM HOMS, SAYING: "Like e
  • Embargoed: 23rd May 2013 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Lebanon
  • Country: Lebanon
  • Topics: Business,Industry
  • Reuters ID: LVA4ADL1T8N6O2SUI9I781U9S7QD
  • Story Text: Lebanon is under a huge burden trying to cope with the influx of half a million Syrian refugees in a small nation of four million.
    The government says it's suffering under the need to provide more electricity and services for them during a time when many Lebanese on the street complain of a rise in food prices and housing.
    But some Syrian refugees like Ahmad Naasrani, from the city of Homs, have taken on a new approach to deal with their situation.
    Naasrani has opened a restaurant and butcher shop in Tripoli where there are now thousands of Syrian refugees in and around the city.
    Naasrani's businesses not only provide him with a source of income, but it's also a way to help other Syrian refugees, who work at his restaurant.
    "Like every other investor in Lebanon, there is no difficulty. We are working to get the license and so far we faced no difficulty,'' said Naasrani.
    Abou Omar, a Syrian worker who works in Naasrani's restaurant said the job helps him to support his family.
    "Of course there is a financial need to provide the house's rent and to help my parents, you need money to be able to spend on the house and on many other things. And because I am married and I live with my parents, it is obligatory that my brother, Abdallah, and I work to cover the expenses of the rent and to secure a living," said Abou Omar, who is also from Homs.
    Syrians like Naasrani and Abou Omar consider themselves lucky seeing that thousands of other Syrian refugees depend on aid and have virtually no source of income.
    Abou Mohammed from Homs is one of the refugees who is still dependent on aid.
    "There is no work. We have been living on aid for a year now, on a box of sugar or rice and others. We are living in wooden cabins that we pay rent for, 100,000L.L. ($66.49) for each. Those who are working are fine, and those who are not are waiting for God's mercy," he said.
    Homs, a city in central Syria, has been damaged extensively in the conflict.
    Many residents of Homs and its surrounding rural area have fled to Lebanon which is close to the border with Syria.
    Like Tripoli in the north, Sidon in the south is also coping with a large number of refugees.
    Jalal Abou Al-Chamat moved to Lebanon four months ago and opened his own sweet shop just a month later.
    He said the decision to open the business required a lot of courage.
    "It was a very hard experience because it is not easy to do such a risky step, but thank God we succeeded and customers who buy tend to come back, and they are the ones who are advertising the shop," said Jalal.
    "I am receiving all the help I need, people are being helpful with me and they are offering services and being like my family and more. When I go back to Syria, I will talk about (this experience) to people," he added.
    The refugee wave has swelled just as Lebanon's economic slowdown hits government finances.
    Lebanon's economy has suffered from years of domestic political turmoil, Syria-related clashes between militia, a wave of kidnappings and plummeting tourism revenues.
    Inflation hovers at around 10 percent and its budget deficit after debt repayments jumped to 67 percent in 2012.
    Last year, the International Monetary Fund said weak policymaking by the government was a greater concern even than the fallout from Syria's civil war.
    But whether the influx of refugees in the tiny mediterranean state is a blessing or a burden for the economy remains a case for debate among Lebanese.
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