–Photo Credit: Lynsey Addario, Getty Images, Gettyimages.com

Articles and views shared in the Weekly News Report do not necessarily represent ARM’s views. Information in these articles has not been fact-checked by ARM and may contain some errors. ARM is simply compiling all news relevant to migrant communities to inform our advocacy efforts and to facilitate the work of organizations that cater to migrant communities.

FPM, Government Officials and Media Outlets are Fueling a Wave of Racism Against Syrians 

Racism against Syrians has been on the rise since the 6th Brussels conference that took place in May. FPM affiliates have used education, shortage of bread and subsidized goods to fuel racial discourse against Syrians. Much of this discourse then gets redistributed through newspapers, radio and TV stations.

In an interview with OTV, FPM’s Education Officer Rock Mhanna denounced the “integration” of Syrian students with Lebanese students, claiming that the priority of aid towards education should be given to Lebanese students only.

Meanwhile, several ministers are reporting confusing and misleading numbers, outlets then redistribute these numbers on social media and radio stations without any clear citation. For example, an article by Al Modon citing Hector Hajjar, Minister of Social Affairs, claims that “Lebanon supports displaced Syrians with 9 million USD monthly for bread.” This number does not align very well with Hector’s previous statement that “3 billion USD” are spent over the last 11 years on bread for Syrians. 

The same article reported discrimination against Syrian customers who were denied the sale of subsidized goods in supermarkets based on their identification papers. In another article, Syrians were reportedly assaulted by Lebanese customers.

Al Modon did not cite where the reports came from, making its discourse very ambiguous and suspect to rumors and word of mouth.

Honorary Consul of Nepal Meets with Minister of Labor [here]

The Honorary Consul of Nepal Mohammad Ghouzayel met with the Minister of Labor Moustafa Bayram where it was announced that Nepal has lifted the ban that had prevented Nepalese women who were domestic workers in Lebanon from returning. The Memorandum of Understanding between the two countries with regards to Nepalese workers in Lebanon was also discussed. 

Newspapers are Targeting Syrians using Misinformation and Scapegoating [here] and [here]

Al Diyar Newspaper said in an article that “statistics and media campaigns about displaced Syrians are the reason behind the Lebanese miseries,” and that those “statistics” increase tensions and racist incidents between Lebanese and Syrians.

However, the article uses similar exaggerated numbers to misinform its readers about the situation, and while the article did not directly blame Syrians for the economic collapse, it did blame the Minister of Economy for not taking “strict regulations to solve the refugee crisis.”

On the other hand, Annahar released an opinion piece that denounces the integration of Syrian refugees in Lebanon, calling it “an international scheme that aims to domiciliation.” The article claims that this “scheme was witnessed before with Armenians and Palestinians,” and that the objective is to “destroy the Lebanese identity.”

The article is filled with hate speech, exaggerated numbers and contradictions, for example, the article blames Syrian refugees for the economic collapse, yet admits that the economy of  Lebanon was already structurally flawed.