MP Bassil says government decisions encourage Syrians to come to Lebanon, recalls FPM was alone in raising the issue in 2011

Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Gebran Bassil addressed the issue of Syrian displacement during a discussion with a youth group at the “Batrouniyat” event, criticizing the government’s policies. 

He said, “Instead of taking the necessary steps to return Syrians to their country, the government has allowed Syrian students to enroll in public schools without having any identification papers.”

He added, “Any student living in Syria can now decide to come study in Lebanon whenever they want, and this affects the level of public education.”

Bassil warned that “the danger in this issue is that the government is encouraging Syrians to stay in Lebanon, and even more, it is encouraging them to come from Syria to Lebanon,” stressing that “the Free Patriotic Movement has been the only party to adopt this stance and raise its voice since 2011.”

He continued, “Everyone remained silent on the issue of Syrian displacement, while the FPM is the only one fighting and proposing laws for the return of Syrians to their country. As long as the return has not happened, it means neither we nor your future are safe. The Syrian labor force is cheaper than the Lebanese, which forces Lebanese citizens to migrate while Syrian refugees take their place.”

Bassil also discussed the issue of voting by Lebanese expatriates, noting that “they obtained the right to vote from abroad for the first time in 2018 thanks to the FPM and through a law passed in Parliament.” 

He added, “Today, they have the legal option to vote either for one of the six MPs representing expatriates abroad or for an MP in their district in Lebanon.”

He pointed out that “the problem is that other political parties are trying either to eliminate this right or keep the six seats only. The major concern is that they may take us back to before 2018 and cancel overseas voting altogether, and this is something we absolutely reject as the Free Patriotic Movement.”