The Syrian refugee crisis in Lebanon

In 2018, the Syrian popular uprising-turned-civil war entered its eighth year, and so did Lebanon’s refugee crisis. This past year was critical for Lebanon. Not only did the country hold its first parliamentary elections since 2009, it also saw decreased funding for refugees, a highly controversial policy by the country’s General Security to return refugees to Syria, and ongoing tensions between the foreign ministry and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) over refugee returns. Donor fatigue worsens With Lebanon hosting, globally, the largest number of Syrian refugees per capita (only Turkey hosts more in absolute terms), it came as no surprise that international aid was more readily supplied during the early years of the conflict. This aid came in the form of not only direct assistance for Syrian refugees, but also funding to help the Lebanese government mitigate the impact of the refugee crisis on its infrastructure and