Syrian refugees crisis: A demographic and economic time bomb

The magnitude of the Syrian refugee crisis and its danger to Lebanese society is evident in the numbers that no one can deny.
 
According to the Ministry of Social Affairs, with a population of 4.87 million Lebanese, there are 2.43 million Syrian refugees, meaning that refugees comprise 45 percent of the Lebanese people.

According to the numbers, if the situation continues, the percentage of refugees will likely increase by 25 percent after ten years.

These numbers indicate a demographic change in the country, not to mention the economic pressure caused by this displacement in an already troubled nation.

Despite the demands of the Lebanese state to the international community to work on returning refugees to their home country, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) continues to strive to improve their conditions in Lebanon.

Sources confirmed to LBCI that the UNHCR requested the Ministry of Social Affairs to dollarize the amounts given to refugees in Lebanese lira to be $45 for the family and $20 for the individual.

After the Ministry rejected the request, the organization submitted another proposal to increase the amount to 15 million Lebanese pounds.

LBCI presented the number of refugees to the EU Commissioner for Crisis Management, who confirmed the continued support for Syrian refugees until a safe environment in Syria encourages their return.

Therefore, it seems that the international community does not care about the demand of the Lebanese state, which is preparing several proposals for the return of Syrian refugees to their homeland, to be presented at the Brussels conference in June.