A unified strategy for the refugee crisis

As part of Executive’s ‘10 Ways to Save Lebanon‘ issue, we asked leading experts from a range of fields to put the case for one major policy for the country. In this article, UNHCR Representative in Lebanon Ninette Kelley urges different ministries to work together to develop a unified strategy for Syrian refugees, including making a decision about establishing formal refugee camps.   In early June 2011, I visited Wadi Khaled, the small mallet-shaped piece of land that juts out of the northeast corner of Lebanon, bordering Syria on its three sides. It was here that over the course of the preceding three months some 2,000 refugees from Syria had entered. Most had come from Tal Kalakh — fleeing a swift and firm response to growing unrest which was slowly starting to spread throughout Syria. The refugees had left their battered village, fallen homes and even family members, seeking safety