Lebanese open homes to “Arab brothers” fleeing Syria

Lebanese open homes to “Arab brothers” fleeing Syria

Mahmoud Orabi fled his hometown in southern Syria to cross the border into neighboring Lebanon wearing only his pajamas. Nearly a month later, he is still wearing the same clothes and has no idea when he and his family will be able to return home. Orabi and his family were among thousands of Syrians who fled their town last month after the military bombardment. A large proportion of the town's men were arrested and most of those who fled were women and children, according to Amnesty International.

“My whole family came with me, no one stayed there in Syria. I have one boy who was shot and another who was jailed in Syria,” said Orabi. “We decided to come to Lebanon because of the bad scene back home; killing, oppression, destruction, and what can I say. While on the way, they shot at us, a young man and lady died.”

An estimated 4,000 people have crossed from Syria into Lebanon fleeing violence in recent weeks, according to the United Nations Higher Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), although it said accurate numbers are difficult to confirm. The majority of those who have fled are staying with Lebanese families in northern Lebanon, some with friends or extended family, but many with strangers who have opened their homes to the refugees. The Lebanese authorities and international organizations such as UNHCR have assisted by distributing mattresses, blankets and food kits, and providing medical assistance, but much of the burden has fallen on ordinary families.

People who are forced to flee their homes due to persecution, whether on an individual basis or as part of a mass exodus due to political, religious, military or other problems, are known as refugees.. As defined in the 1951 United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees (the Refugee Convention), a refugee is defined as a person who “owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality, and is unable to or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country or return there because there is a fear of persecution...”

A special category are people who may have been forced to flee their homes for the same reasons as refugees but they have not crossed an international border. These people are called internally displaced persons. By the end of 2000, there were approximately 11.5 million refugees around the world who had fled their countries for a variety of reasons and an even greater number of internally displaced persons, between 20 - 25 million, who had abandoned their homes for similar reasons. Increasingly the majority of current conflicts in the world involve disputes between political or ethnic groups within countries rather than wars between countries. Given this trend, the number of persons caught up in conflicts in their own countries and forced to leave their homes is likely to increase.

(From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)
III. Render into English using prompts.

Москва, РИА Новости. Италия выделит Тунису незамедлительную финансовую помощь в размере 5 миллионов евро, а в марте предоставит дополнительный кредит на 100 миллионов евро для того, чтобы решить проблему беженцев из этой страны, наплыв которых в последние дни спровоцировал кризис на итальянском острове Лампедуза. За прошлую неделю на остров, расположенный в Средиземном море, прибыли более 5 тысяч беженцев из Северной Африки, преимущественно из Туниса. В связи со сложившейся ситуацией Совет министров Италии в субботу вечером объявил чрезвычайную ситуацию на Лампедузе. О планах финансовой помощи Тунису объявил глава итальянского МИД Франко Фраттини, который в понедельник побывал в североафриканской стране с кратким визитом. Иммигранты из Туниса стали активно приплывать к итальянскому берегу на многочисленных лодках после произошедшей 14 января 2011 года так называемой “жасминовой” революции, в результате которой президент Зин аль-Абидин бен Али бежал из страны с семьей в Саудовскую Аравию и на следующий день был отрешен от должности.

financial aid grant influx declare a state of emergency fled the country dismissed from office

IV. Scan the article. Focus on the key ideas.

Human Rights And Refugees

While some call for increased levels of cooperation and coordination among relief agencies, others point to gaps in international legislation and appeal for further standard-setting in this area. Everyone, however, agrees that the problem is both multidimensional and global. Any approach or solution would therefore have to be comprehensive and to address all aspects of the issue, from the causes of mass exodus to the elaboration of responses necessary to cover the range of refugee situations from emergencies to repatriation.

In this debate some facts remain beyond dispute. The first is that while some mass displacements may be preventable, none are voluntary. No one likes or chooses to be a refugee. Being a refugee means more than being an alien. It means living in exile and depending on others for such basic needs as food, clothing and shelter.

Information on the number of the world’s refugees, their geographical distribution, and the causes of their exodus is generally available. Seen from a chronological perspective, this information suggests that the refugee problem has undergone drastic quantitative and qualitative changes in the past five decades.

Since its creation, the United Nations has worked to protect refugees around the world. In 1951, the year in which the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)¹ was established, there were an estimated 1 million refugees within UNHCR’s mandate. Today that number has grown to an estimated 17.5 million refugees, an additional 2.5 million refugees cares for by the United Nation Relief and Work Agency for Palestine refugees in the Near East (UNRWA)² and more than 25 million internally displaced persons.

In 1951 most of the refugees were European. The majority of today’s refugees are from Africa and Asia. Current refugee movements, unlike those of the past, increasingly take the form of mass exoduses rather than individual flights. Eighty per cent of today’s refugees are women and children.

The causes of exodus have also multiplied and now include natural or ecological disasters and extreme poverty. As a result many of today’s refugees do not fit the definition contained in the convention relating to the Status of Refugees.
Notes:

1. UNHCR – Управление верховного комиссара Организации Объединённых Наций по делам беженцев

2. UNRWA – Ближневосточное агентство ООН для помощи палестинским беженцам и организации работ