UNHCR spokesperson Matthew Saltmarsh speaks to CGTN Europe about the latest displacement of people in Lebanon as the Middle East crisis intensifies.
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00:00Well, Matthew Saltmarsh is from the United Nations Refugee Agency and joins us now.
00:04Hello, Matthew. So, we're hearing lots of figures.
00:06What do you know about the number of people in Lebanon who are on the move due to these strikes?
00:13Good afternoon. Well, the situation is devastating, as you've been hearing.
00:17The latest figures that we've seen are that some 100,000 people,
00:22as of last night, had moved primarily from the south.
00:27But that was on top, of course, of a larger number who had already been displaced prior to the latest escalation.
00:35So, you're looking at some couple of hundred thousand,
00:38and quite possibly those figures could rise depending on the level of attacks as we see them.
00:46Those people are cramming into vehicles, getting into buses,
00:50any way that they can to try to get north, maybe to Beirut, Mount Lebanon, the area around there, further north.
00:59But one of the big worries, of course, is that the strikes are not being confined to the south,
01:04as we've heard, around Lebanon, also in the Bekaa.
01:08So, some people have actually moved further, moved north to the border with Syria as well.
01:14Talk to me about the efforts to look after these people.
01:18I know that the UNHCR is working with a number of groups and organizations, and also with the government.
01:25What are you able to provide for them?
01:28Lebanon is a country that knows suffering all too well, very sadly.
01:33Some decades ago, it had its own civil war, previous invasion from Israel,
01:38and then more recently, the influx of Syrian refugees who came post-2011 amid the civil war in Syria.
01:46So, it's a country that's been wracked by uncertainty, displacement, humanitarian crisis for many, many years.
01:56So, we are in the country, obviously, we have a significant presence, we're working with partners,
02:02we're working under the government to try to locate the best shelters,
02:08the temporary accommodation that can house people, and on that, we ask that all those who need it,
02:14all those who are displaced should be able to access that shelter.
02:19That's the first step, and then it's bringing in water, food, medical supplies, psychosocial support, trauma support,
02:27just to help with that immediate shock of displacement.
02:31Of course, it all depends on how long this bombardment continues, but what contingency plans do you have in place?
02:38What sort of numbers of refugees are you trying to plan for?
02:44Well, there's already, according to the government's estimates, some one and a half million refugees in the country, Syrian primarily.
02:52Some other numbers of refugees, slightly smaller as well, and the country has suffered a significant economic shock.
02:59So, the needs are huge in the country.
03:02We do have supplies pre-positioned within the country, but also in the region,
03:08and as long as it's safe to do so, more can be brought in.
03:11So, that's the contingency plan.
03:13We work with the government, we work with a number of partners,
03:17just to make sure that we can provide those basic essentials for this period of turmoil right now.