This paper examines whether refugees’ interactions with authorities and regular citizens in Lebanon affect whether they feel pressured to either return to their home country or relocate to a third country. Lebanon hosts the highest per capita number of refugees of any country globally, the majority from neighboring Syria. In May 2015, UNHCR recorded over 1.1 million Syrian refugees in Lebanon. By June 2019, this number had decreased to over 900,000, indicating that around 200,000 refugees had left the country.
The analysis is based on a survey of about 1,700 Syrian refugees across Lebanon in June and July 2018. Refugees were asked if they had recently felt pressure from either Lebanese citizens or the Lebanese government to leave the country. The survey also solicited information from respondents about their registration with the United Nations (UN) and/or the Lebanese government, whether they had experienced either verbal or physical assaults, the estimated proportion of Syrians in their neighborhood, and their current living arrangements, whether in informal camps or host communities.
Main findings:
- Only 6 percent of refugees reported feeling pressured to leave Lebanon, indicating that the majority do not feel such pressure.
- Refugees registered by the UN or the Lebanese government are more likely to feel pressured to leave. Those registered with the UN are over five times more likely to feel pressured by the government to leave compared to those not registered. Additionally, the quarter of refugees registered directly with the government are more than three times as likely to feel pressured by the government to leave as those not registered.
- Refugees subjected to ill treatment are more likely to feel pressured to leave. Those who have experienced a verbal assault are more than 1.2 times more likely to feel pressured to leave than are those not subjected to verbal assault. Refugees who have been physically assaulted are nearly 1.2 times more likely to feel pressured to leave in general and more than four times more likely to feel pressure from the government than those who have not experienced physical assault.
- Refugees living in predominantly Syrian neighborhoods are almost twice as likely to feel pressured to leave compared to those in more mixed neighborhoods. Conversely, individuals living in camps are less likely to feel pressured to leave the country.
The authors conclude that the extent to which refugees feel pressured to leave their host countries is significantly influenced by the nature of their daily interactions with authorities and regular citizens. These interactions encompass the degree of monitoring by authorities, the treatment received from local residents, and the level of social connection with the host community.