BEIRUT, May 10 (NNN-NNA) – Lebanese Minister of Social Affairs, Hector Hajjar, yesterday urged the international community, to compensate Lebanon with 30 billion U.S. dollars, for hosting Syrian displaced people over a long period, a statement by the Ministry of Social Affairs, said.
“We rely on the international community’s compensation for Lebanon, which has so far incurred losses estimated at 30 billion U.S. dollars,” Hajjar said, during the European Union’s sixth conference titled “Supporting the future of Syria and the region” held in Brussels.
Hajjar said that the Lebanese government pays an extra one billion dollars annually on energy subsidies, and an additional spending of up to three billion dollars on bread for the Syrians.
The minister added that, Lebanon currently hosts nearly 1.5 million displaced Syrians, accounting for 30 percent of the inhabitants in Lebanon, and they “live in tents, under inhumane conditions, distributed over 1,000 of the 1,050 Lebanese towns.”
Hajjar continued by emphasising “the loss of many job opportunities for the Lebanese, as most of the displaced are engaged in a competitive and illegal economic activity, without contributing to paying taxes.”
Lebanese President, Michel Aoun, has on many occasions urged the international community to help Lebanon secure a safe return for refugees to their homeland, as Lebanon is suffering from an unprecedented financial crisis and cannot bear any extra burden.– NNN-NNA
