Lebanon: Church head says Syrian refugees ‘draining state resources’

Syrian groups have criticised a top Christian cleric in Lebanon after he accused Syrian refugees of "draining the state's resources".

Maronite Patriarch Bechara Boutros al-Rai called on MPs to urgently work on the return of the refugees, thought to number as many as 1.5 million.

He made the comments in an Easter message delivered on Sunday.

Syria's political opposition called them offensive, while a monitoring group warned they were inflammatory.

Lebanon has hosted the largest number of refugees per capita in the world since neighbouring Syria descended into civil war in 2011.

The influx has placed a huge strain on infrastructure and public services despite support from the international community.

Over the past four years, Lebanon has also experienced one of the most severe and prolonged depressions the world has seen.

It has left more than 80% of the population living in poverty and struggling to afford food and medicine. The situation for refugees has also worsened, with 90% of families in need of humanitarian assistance to survive, according to the UNHCR.

The economic crisis has been compounded by political paralysis, with a deeply divided parliament unable to agree on a new president since October and a caretaker cabinet with limited powers left to run the country.

In his Easter message, Patriarch Bechara - who is the head of the largest Christian denomination in Lebanon - told MPs to "stop destroying the state... and impoverishing and humiliating the people", and called on them to quickly elect a new president.

But he also warned them that Syrian refugees were contributing to Lebanon's problems by "draining the state's resources, disturbing social security, and competing with the Lebanese for their livelihood".

He accused the international community of "protecting" Syrian refugees at Lebanon's expense.

"It is the duty of Lebanese MPs and officials in collaboration with the international community to work on their return and provide aid for them over there," he added.

The Syrian National Coalition, a opposition umbrella organisation, tweeted on Wednesday that its political committee had discussed the situation in Lebanon and "confirmed its rejection of the offensive statements" of Patriarch Bechara.

The director of the Syrian Network for Human Rights, Fadel Abdul Ghani, meanwhile told the Arabi21 news outlet that the cleric had used inflammatory speech against vulnerable people.

He also said Syrian refugees in Lebanon received international aid rather than Lebanese government subsidies.

The UN and human rights groups have previously warned that Syria is not safe for refugees to return to, and last year opposed Lebanese government plans to start returning refugees.

Update 13 April 2023: This story has been updated to clarify the comments made by Patriarch Bechara about the return of Syrian refugees