Palestinian-Syrians have become refugees twice over as a result of the Syrian war. They face greater hurdles even than Syrian nationals as they try to flee to neighboring countries with longstanding Palestinian populations of their own that governments do not want to see grow. Some 70,000 Palestinian-Syrians are in Lebanon, on top of a pre-war UNWRA registered Palestinian population of 455,000 many of whom have fled Lebanon due to its 'cold war' against this population which be the hour that some in the PLO leadership in late July of 1982, while trapped under the Israeli siege, seriously erred and bought into Reagan-Habib fake promises of protection for the camps in Lebanon and recognition of a State of Palestine within 6 months.
"How can Lebanon turn its back on desperate people who have lost their homes, relatives and livelihoods and are running for their lives from a war zone?" asked HRW Middle East Director Joe Stark. "It is unconscionable and illegal that Lebanon (would) push them back to a place where their safety and very lives could be in danger."
The reason HRW is right is that the international refugee protection system, based firmly on the 1951 Refugee Convention, stipulates (in Article 33) that states have a duty of non-refoulement, and the duty to grant to refugees in their territory a range of legal rights (outlined in articles 2 to 32).
While there is no obligation under international law to grant asylum to refugees, states are still bound by the principle of non-refoulement. That principle, basically stated, is that no refugee shall be returned to any country "where his life or freedom would be threatened on account of his race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion." So basic and universally accepted is this premise that it is now generally considered to be part of customary international law and binding upon Lebanon, even though its government has to date not ratified the Refugee Convention. Additionally, the principle is not limited to those formally recognized as refugees, but also applies to asylum-seekers. Such persons must not be returned to any country where they would face persecution. Furthermore, the rule remains in effect until they are declared not to be refugees. Several times Lebanese officials have sought to avoid this international humanitarian obligation by arguing to local media outlets that those who have fled into Lebanon are not 'refugees' but rather 'displaced persons.' But no UN agency accepts such a bald-faced attempt at evading the non-refoulement obligations, and perhaps especially not by a country whose own citizens have so often benefited from the very same legal principle it now seeks to sidestep.
For the past year at the Masnaa border crossing between Syria and Lebanon the Lebanese government has acted in an arbitrary and illegal manner. On August 8, 2013, GS abruptly changed its entry policies for Palestinians living in Syria, and began turning away all Palestinian asylum seekers. Entire families, children, the elderly and the sick were stranded at the border, fearing to return to Syria. A Palestinian spoke with this observer at the time.
"Lebanese border guards told this observer, in the company of about a dozen Palestinian asylum seekers waiting to enter Lebanon that they had "received a call from the Lebanese General Security office telling him and his immigration colleagues managing who gets in our out of Lebanon, not to allow any more Palestinians to enter the country," he said. Word quickly spread to Beirut and Damascus and to taxi driver who make the daily run not to pick up Palestinians or you will lose a fare.
As the saga intensified, a partial solution was eventually agreed to by GS after the UN, EU, and several human rights organizations expressed condemnation of this exhibition of inhumanity.
Likewise, concerns similarly were expressed over Lebanon's callous new imperative in regards to Palestinians from Syria wanting to return to take the crucial Baccalaureate exams. Time was getting short as the first of June drew near and the students had to make arrangements for travel, housing, food, etc. The toughest decision for most was the risk of leaving Lebanon for Syria and possibly not being allowed back in to rejoin their families. Hurried meetings were held in Damascus by volunteers from the Palestine Civil Rights Campaign and the Sabra-Shatila Scholarship Program (sssp-lb.com), with a few similar meetings also occurring in Lebanon.
Appeals for help from international activists and some NGO's in Lebanon began to be offered. What the PCRC and SSSP as well as the Palestine embassy were trying to bring about was a one-time exemption, for 18 days, so Palestinian students could take the BACC in Syria and return to their families in Lebanon. To this end, Palestinian Ambassador to Lebanon Ashraf Dabbour repeatedly contacted GS, working to convince them to do the right thing by the students. Additional urgent appeals to GS were made by a few NGO's, but usually without so much as a returned phone call.
Finally, it was in this context that an American, as noted above, ran afoul of GS, finding himself placed in handcuffs while being told he would be immediately deported. Fairly clear was it to the no account fellow, however, that GS would not follow through on its threats, and as friends of the detained, including a couple of well-known journalists from mainstream media, began making inquiries on the matter, a solution was worked out--sort of on the spot.
Even sort of amiably.
GS relented and agreed to allow Palestinian students in Lebanon a one-time 19-day visa to take their BACC exams and return to Lebanon. The handcuffs came off. Apologies. Handshakes. Smiles all around and a few kisses on foreheads by the grateful American. And there are no hard feelings. One hopes.
At that point, less than 72 hours remained before the first exam on Sunday June 1, which necessitated the next somewhat frantic project: passing word of the exemption to the more than 6,000 Palestinian students who wanted to take the exam. Many had already resigned to putting it off a year, and no doubt some dropped out completely. But as the word spread, it soon came about that 68 Palestinian students were committed to going at the last minute so to speak.
And with respect to the thousands of Syrians who wanted to return to Syria to vote but were barred, they also got a reprieve. Soon al-Manar reported that GS was issuing badges for refugees headed to Syria to vote and that the badges were for a specific duration. "That means that the Syrians in Lebanon can vote without losing their status as refugees," the reporter said.
For its own part, the Lebanese National News Agency reported that "the Syrian border is currently witnessing a traffic jam because the Syrian refugees are heading to Syria to participate in the Presidential elections," providing also the additional information that GS was "implementing security measures in accordance with the Syrian elections along the border to organize their entry to Syria and their return to Lebanon."
What went unmentioned, of course, is that among those crossing the border would be 68 Palestinian students traveling to take their BACC exams--or that much of the credit for securing the exemption, and thus making the massive egress possible, rightfully goes to the Palestinian embassy.
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