Illegal Status

Because Sylvia and Sara are illegal in Lebanon, it is hard for them to move around. If they get picked up by the authorities, they will go to jail. Two months ago, their friend, Mary, was picked up. She's in jail now. Her husband watches their two small children, along with Sara, Sylvia, and the other neighbors.

Two of the members of our church are currently in jail. Their crime is not having legal papers to reside in Lebanon. In order to be legal, they would have to pay fines to the government. Many times, they are directly deported back to their country, after they secure the money for the plane ticket. If they have no money, they end up languishing in jail. This includes mothers with children.

Some Sudanese have refugee status with the UNHCR. But this does not protect them from being incarcerated as Lebanon is not an "asylum" country.

In order to be legal, someone has to pay $600 a year to the government, for the residency permit, work permit, and health insurance. If there is a sponsor or an employer, they will pay this. But many Asian and African migrant workers are freelance, which means they find a Lebanese person to sponsor their papers, but they still have to pay the $600. Sometimes the Lebanese sponsor will make the foreigner pay them a special fee on top, maybe around $200, for going to the trouble of filing the papers. Freelance women charge L.L. 5000/hour ($3.33) for domestic work.

I would say this a clear-cut case of human rights abuses, and straight-up shamefulness on the part of a cheap, corrupt government. Local and international groups are working and pressuring the Lebanese government to change the system. But the Lebanese are purely controlled by sectarian concerns. They cannot be an asylum country. People born on this land will never automatically get citizenship. If the Palestinians became full, equal citizens, the Muslim numbers would outweigh the number of Christians (though the Shia are currently the majority which the government won't admit.) Therefore, no one will get asylum, much less citizenship, or as an extension, basic human rights.