The cabinet is scheduled to discuss on Thursday a relief plan for refugees from Syria that requires more than 320 million dollars to provide the necessary humanitarian aid for the displaced and avert a security and social crisis.
Social Affairs Minister Wael Abou Faour told local newspapers that the plan was discussed by several cabinet ministers during a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Najib Miqati at the Grand Serail on Wednesday.
“Each minister made his own proposal and suggestion on how his ministry is working to resolve the problem of the refugees,” he said.
“It is up to the government today (Thursday) to take the appropriate decisions” during the session at Baabda Palace, he added.
The session is expected to witness a debate among the ministers over the rising influx of refugees.
Energy Minister Jebran Bassil, who represents the Free Patriotic Movement in the cabinet, told As Safir daily that Lebanon has reached the stage of “explosion” over the rising number of displaced Syrians and Palestinians.
“If we are going to be accused of racism by seeking to avert an explosion, then we should make that additional sacrifice to preserve the interest of the country,” he said.
The FPM backs the control of the border and not its closure, Bassil stressed.
But Interior Minister Marwan Charbel told the same newspaper that he will propose a plan that deals with the security aspect of the influx.
“Things haven't gone out of control yet,” he said. But he warned that the rising influx could lead to the infiltration of gunmen to Lebanon through illegal crossings.
“We should keep our eyes open and take the appropriate measures,” Charbel added.
Minister of State for Administrative Reform Mohammed Fneish agreed, saying the issue of the refugees should be dealt with on humanitarian grounds without ignoring the security and social repercussions of the increasing number of refugees.
“The relief aid will be very costly and we will discuss in the cabinet the state's ability to afford it,” he told As Safir.
An Nahar daily, which received a copy of the plan's summary, said the number of officially registered refugees in Syria has reached 150,000 while around 50,000 are still not registered.
There are estimates that the number of displaced could reach at least 300,000 in the next six months.
The plan aims at providing state institutions involved in the relief aid with 320,276,000 dollars despite the inability of the government to meet that end, An Nahar said.
It warns that the government will have to deal with the case “differently” if immediate foreign assistance is not provided.
