- Title: In Lebanese town, mounting trash shows strain of refugees
- Date: 31st March 2017
- Summary: BAR ELIAS, LEBANON (MARCH 28, 2017) (REUTERS) ****WARNING CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** VARIOUS OF BAR ELIAS TOWN IN LEBANON'S BEKAA VALLEY VARIOUS OF SYRIAN REFUGEE MAKESHIFT SETTLEMENTS SURROUNDED BY PILES OF GARBAGE VARIOUS OF WATER SWAMP OVERFLOWING WITH TRASH (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) MAYOR OF BAR ELIAS, MAWAS ARAJI, SAYING: "The presence of Syrian refugees complicated things. The landfill out there receives sixty to seventy tons (of garbage) daily that go untreated. Now, this project is facilitating things for us." VARIOUS OF LANDFILL NEAR WASTE MANAGEMENT FACILITY BULLDOZER ON TOP OF GARBAGE MOUNTAIN EXTERIOR OF WASTE MANAGEMENT FACILITY FUNDED BY EUROPEAN UNION (EU) EUROPEAN COMMISSIONER JOHANNES HAHN VISITING FACILITY VARIOUS OF WASTE MANAGEMENT FACILITY EQUIPMENT EUROPEAN UNION LOGO ON EQUIPMENT MORE OF HAHN WALKING IN FACILITY HAHN CHECKING BANNER SHOWING ILLUSTRATED PLAN FOR PROJECT (SOUNDBITE) (English) EUROPEAN COMMISSIONER, JOHANNES HAHN, SAYING: "The European Union is fully aware about all the efforts and burden Lebanon, in particular your community, is suffering due to this long-lasting crisis." MORE OF FACILITY EQUIPMENT (SOUNDBITE) (English) EUROPEAN COMMISSIONER, JOHANNES HAHN, SAYING: "We understand, and I think where we are today is one of the first important examples that we also have to address the deficiencies in the infrastructure which are triggered by this unprecedented doubling, or even more than doubling, of the population in the region." VARIOUS OF CONSTRUCTION WORKERS OUTSIDE WASTE MANAGEMENT FACILITY (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) MAYOR OF BAR ELIAS, MAWAS ARAJI, SAYING: "This is what we are warning all the organizations of, there is tension, until now we were able to restrain it but the time will come when it will erupt." TENTS AT SYRIAN REFUGEE MAKESHIFT SETTLEMENTS GARBAGE AROUND TENTS SYRIAN REFUGEES (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) SYRIAN REFUGEE FROM ALEPPO, HASSAN IBRAHIM, SAYING: "We've appointed someone here to collect garbage and litter from around the camp and throw it in the dumpsters. (Reporter asking in Arabic: "So he cleans around?") He does collect the garbage, so when the municipality comes, everything is ready." VARIOUS OF SYRIAN REFUGEES BETWEEN TENTS AT MAKESHIFT SETTLEMENT VARIOUS OF WATER CANAL OVERFLOWING WITH TRASH (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) SYRIAN REFUGEE, METHEB SAYED DAHER, SAYING: "We don't have water... there is no clean water for us to wash, we don't have any." MORE OF WATER CANAL OVERFLOWING WITH TRASH MORE OF SYRIAN REFUGEE MAKESHIFT SETTLEMENT
- Embargoed: 14th April 2017 14:15
- Keywords: Mideast crisis Lebanon Syria refugees infrastructure waste garbage EU Brussels conference
- Location: BAR ELIAS, LEBANON
- City: BAR ELIAS, LEBANON
- Country: Lebanon
- Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace
- Reuters ID: LVA0016AAI5VR
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: At the entrance of a rural town in Lebanon's Bekaa valley, a blue sign says "Welcome to Bar Elias, population 50,000" but in the past six years, that number has more than doubled with Syrians seeking shelter from the war across the border.
"The presence of Syrian refugees complicated things," said Mayor Mawas Araji. "The landfill out-there receives sixty to seventy tons (of garbage) daily that go untreated."
The refugee crisis has drained public services in the historically poor area in Lebanon's farming heartland, Araji said.
Yet perhaps the most glaring strain has been the garbage mountain rising among the hills, or the open water canals overflowing with trash in the winter.
With the influx of people, Bar Elias now handles 40 extra tonnes of refuse every day, in a country that already had no national waste disposal plan.
Since the Syrian conflict began in 2011, at least 1.5 million people have poured into Lebanon - around a quarter of the country's population - where most languish in severe poverty.
Makeshift settlements have popped up all around the country as the Lebanese government has long rejected setting up refugee camps.
To stem the flow of Syrians making the perilous journey to Europe by boat, the European Union has funnelled billions into Syria's neighbouring countries, giving Lebanon 147 million euros between 2014 and 2016.
For government officials, the need for foreign funding is clear in cases like Bar Elias, where aid groups have warned of dire environmental hazards. The EU funded a 4.5-million euro waste management facility set to open next month in the town, around 12 km from the Syrian border.
The massive hangar will process 150 tonnes of waste daily from Bar Elias and two nearby towns, creating several jobs, Araji said.
On a recent visit to the Bekaa, European Commissioner Johannes Hahn said the EU was "fully aware about all the efforts and burden Lebanon ... is suffering due to this long-lasting crisis."
The new Bar Elias facility represents a prototype that should become part of broader national plans for development, a senior national policy advisor for Lebanon's ministry of the displaced said.
Lebanese officials will take their vision for such a plan to Brussels next week, highlighting how the refugee crisis has strained Lebanon's already crumbling infrastructure. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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