Patriarch al-Ra’i: “Syrian refugees threaten Lebanon security”

Lebanese Maronite Patriarch Beshara Mar Boutros al-Ra’i said Syrian refugees in Lebanon threaten the social security of the country, in his Christmas message which he delivered in the presence of Lebanese President Michel Aoun. 

Al-Ra’i said that Lebanon “needs to tackle the dangers of two million refugees” who he explained “threaten the internal security" of Lebanon. He added that the refugees snatch the daily bread of Lebanese citizens and pose a heavy burden that the people and government of Lebanon cannot handle. 

Lebanon hosts about 1,300,000 Syrian refugees who live in difficult humanitarian conditions. The Lebanese military and security services have been conducting daily raids to detain Syrian refugees with charges of “entering the country illegally “or with “terrorism-related” charges. The UN High Commission for refugees said that around 70 percent of Syrian refugees in Lebanon live below poverty line.