REPORTAGE. "The pretext for firing them is the resumption of the tourist season" : in Beirut, displaced people fleeing the war poorly received in certain neighborhoods

As Israeli troops continue their invasion in southern Lebanon, the toll is increasing: more than 3,350 dead, more than 10,000 injured and more than a million displaced, according to the authorities. The ceasefire no longer holds, pushing thousands of Lebanese into forced displacement once again. In Beirut, reception centers are overcrowded and displaced families are sometimes expelled from public spaces where they have found refuge, as in this district of Biel, which is the most upscale in Beirut.

At the foot of large buildings and on vacant land, hundreds of displaced families. “We pitched our tent here, but it’s private property, we had to remove it,” explains Abou Hassan around the improvised fire where his children crowd. “The first day of Eid, police came to evict us, they sorted the Lebanese and the Syrians.”

“They tell us to go and live further away in the Sports City, but the living conditions there are impossible, it’s like a big prison. At least here, the children have space to play.”

Abou Hassan, a displaced Syrian

à franceinfo

As the war drags on, these displaced people, whether from the South, the Bekaa or even the suburbs of Beirut, have the impression of having become undesirables. “The pretext used by the state to fire these people is the resumption of the tourist season, explains Youssef, an activist in the camp. Several night clubs are present here. They open every night and many people have difficulty sleeping because of this. A large part of the families present here are non-Lebanese, and in particular Syrian. These are people who have nowhere else to go. We provided them with tents on several occasions for accommodation, but each time they were either taken by the security forces or simply destroyed.”

Despite threats of expulsion, families are getting organized. Two tents and very small tables serve as an improvised school. Sahar, the teacher, “miss” as the children call her, is also displaced.

“At the beginning, I had one or two students, now I have more than 40.”

Sahar, a displaced teacher who improvised a school

à franceinfo

“They often draw their homes that they had to leave, the businesses that they had to abandon when fleeing and they have lots of questions: Miss, are we ever going to return home? Miss, is the war going to end soon?relates the teacher. I always tell them: of course, and in the meantime, read, study! This is how we manage to deceive the war.”

But for children, the return is still uncertain. Since the extension of the fighting announced this week by the Israeli army, even more civilians have been forced to join this camp.