Following the statements of Bashir Khedr, the governor of Baalbek-Hermel city in the Bekaa Valley, a “widespread racism” campaign against Syrian refugees broke out in Lebanon.
Khader said the cost of displacing Syrians to the country’s economy is estimated at more than $3 billion a year.
In response, Wadih Al-Asmar, head of the Lebanese Center for Human Rights, said Khader’s speech was “racist and fueled hatred”.
“It’s not because Lebanon is suffering from the economic crisis and is not interested in what the Lebanese state is doing to repatriate refugees, but rather because he compares his salary as a government employee to that of a Syrian refugee,” he added.
The governor of the city of Baalbek-Hermel blamed Syrian refugees for the collapse of the Lebanese lira and the consumption of infrastructure and public services.
He pointed out that during the crisis in Lebanon, more than two million IDPs benefited from subsidized materials such as medicine, food and fuel.
He pointed out that despite being in the highest administrative position in the country, his salary is less than that of an displaced Syrian.
But Syrian refugees have confirmed that UNHCR support does not exceed £800,000, meaning a family of four receives £2.4m a month, or about $22.
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