Lebanon’s refugee restrictions could harm everyone’s health

ENAR

Government responses to the spread of the COVID-19 virus have exposed the extra barriers to healthcare for refugees and migrants worldwide. But discriminating against already marginalized noncitizens not only erodes their capacity to avoid or survive infection, but inevitably has a negative impact on the wider society’s health. This is undeniably the case in Lebanon, home to nearly 1.5 million refugees—almost a quarter of its population. Both Palestinian and Syrian refugees have suffered from long-standing discrimination and marginalization as a result of Lebanese policies that deny them access to basic rights, including housing, work, education, and healthcare. The COVID-19 outbreak in Lebanon has only heightened the marginalization of both groups. Many municipalities have introduced unjustifiable, discriminatory movement restrictions and curfews on Syrian refugees that do not apply to Lebanese residents as part of their effort to combat COVID-19. And leading Lebanese politicians have fueled anti-refugee sentiment by implying that Syrian