refugees in Lebanon have been barred by law from 77 job categories. Five
years ago (February of 2005) pro-Hezbollah Labor Minister Trad Hamadeh
issued a decree that officially reduced the job restrictions imposed on
Palestinian employment down to 25 jobs. However, this decision remains
stillborn due to impossible to meet requirements of work permits (only 2% of
Palestinians in Lebanon have ever been able to secure one -- sometimes
through bribery) reciprocity (which cannot be met since Lebanon does not
recognize a state called Palestine) and other government imposed
barriers designed specifically to keep Palestinians out of jobs. Since 2005, the
number of work permits delivered to Palestinians (261 in 2009) has only
varied, as Professor Hanifi has documented, by plus or minus 10 percent
every year, proving that there has been no real change in terms of Palestinian
employment.
Among those in Parliament and the public favoring granting Palestinian
refugees the right to work and the right to purchase a home, the old bromides
about naturalization and Palestinian refugees taking Lebanese jobs are
still pervasive, but losing ground. Even some of Lebanon's intensely sectarian
media is beginning to discount them. The documented history of Palestinian
refugee fueling economic growth in countries, such as Syria and Jordan,
which have met their international obligations to Palestinian refugees, make
clear that Lebanon has much to gain from meeting her obligations and
allowing Lebanon's Palestinian refugees their internationally guaranteed
rights.
In these countries, Palestinians enjoy full citizenship rights, in the
French sense of the word. Without being granted nationality, they have the
essential social, legal and political rights of any other citizen, including
freedom of movement, the right to work and to own a home. This is what
Lebanon's Palestinians are seeking and have a fundamental right to be
granted without further delay.
As Salvatore Lombardo, the director of UNRWA told key Lebanese leaders
on 6/30/10 during a Conference with the Lebanese-Palestinian Dialogue
Committee (LPDC):
"Let's not forget that this will have a huge impact on
Lebanon's
economy and stability. Lebanon will gain, it will have a workforce that
will invest here."
Abdallah Abdallah, the Palestinian ambassador to Lebanon, has joined
virtually all Palestinians in Lebanon in denying any intent to obtain
naturalization or political rights. "All what the Palestinians want is the
right
to work like any other foreign nationals."
Palestinian refugees are not in Lebanon as tourists.
Palestinians were terrorized by Zionist forces and gangs while being forced
from their homeland and are so far unable to return. Consequently they have
no choice but to live and stay in Lebanon, which distinguishes them from
economic migrants and other foreigners. Yet, Lebanese law considers
Palestine refugees as foreigners, disregarding the protection needs of long-
term forced displaced persons guaranteed by international law.
As much as the well-being of the Palestinian community is dependent on the
well-being of the Lebanese economy as a whole, the Lebanese economy itself
is dependent on the work, capabilities and human resources of this skillful
community. An increased participation of Palestinian refugees in the
Lebanese economy, both in terms of quantity and quality, would therefore
greatly benefit the economic life of the entire country.
Unlike other groups of refugees and foreigners, due both the long history
of their presence in the country and the impossibility of return, Palestinians
have no other "economic affiliation" but to the Lebanese economy.
Palestinian refugees also contribute to Lebanon's high seasonal agricultural
labor demands, as well as to the great need for construction workers.
It is common to see Palestinians, sometimes risking arrest, among those (Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
congregated under Beirut overpasses seeking shade from the intense sun
while waiting and hoping for day labor construction work when can bring
their families $15-18 for a ten hour shift. Their exclusion from being able
to work legally is not only a violation of internationally guaranteed rights,
it is bad economic policy for Lebanon.
What Lebanon's economy now enjoys from Palestinians will increase.
The Washington DC and Beirut based Palestine Civil Rights Campaign and
those in Lebanon and internationally who are working to secure civil rights
for Palestinian refugees advocate a rights-based approach based on
international legal norms and universal moral and religious teachings. While
these arguments are sufficient, it is also worth emphasizing the benefits
that the Lebanese economy will reap from access to the Palestinian refugee
labor market.
At the time of their exodus, only four years after Lebanon's independence
from the French in 1943, Palestinian assets brought into Lebanon were
estimated at four times the value of the Lebanese economy. Ever since,
periods of economic expansion have greatly benefited from Palestinian
capital being invested in the country.
As it is now, Palestinian refugees contribute massively to the Lebanese
economy, based on their numbers through active engagement in the black
market or informal-illegal labor force and by daily economic consumption,
as well as millions of dollars of financial contributions by International
Organizations such as UN specialized agencies plus donor countries and
NGOs, who are assisting Palestinian refugees in Lebanon. Various studies
have concluded that Palestinians account for 10% of all consumption in
Lebanon, with food, health care and rent being the main expenditures. More
than 90% of Palestinian refugees spend all their income in Lebanon
contributing directly to the Lebanese economy. Allowing them to work will,
it is estimated by the International Labor Organization, double this figure
and dramatically spur growth.
Current financial benefits to the Lebanon economy from her Palestinian
guests include the following:
