BEIRUT - Caretaker Social Affairs Minister Wael Abou Faour said that he was dismayed at the Lebanese state’s inability to respond to the needs of the Syrian refugees on its soil.
“I wish the state could do more,” Abou Faour said on Thursday, following a meeting with Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Valerie Amos.
“Unfortunately, we do not have control over one blanket, or one food portion, and the state doesn’t have the capacity to deal with one refugee tent.”
“What it is doing is cooperating with international organizations to alleviate the [refugees] suffering.”
The minister also said that the sole demand he made to the UN official in the name of the Lebanese government was to allow access for humanitarian aid “within Syria.”
“This is the only solution capable of reducing the burden of the refugees on Lebanon.”
Earlier in the day, Abour Faour had described the situation of the Syrian refugees in Lebanon as “disastrous,” amid a winter storm that has blanketed regions with snow for a second consecutive day.
Lebanon is witnessing snowfall at altitudes as low as 500 meters and a significant drop in temperatures, in the second day of a winter storm.
The storm, “Alexa,” has killed two people and injured 14 others.
https://now.mmedia.me/lb/en/lebanonnews/525374-abou-faour-laments-states-inability-to-tackle-refugees-crisis
