Inside Lebanon's refugee settlements. As Lebanon calls for more aid to tackle the refugee crisis, those living in Majdal Anjar and Shatila camps struggle to make ends meet. Gulf News visits Lebanon's informal settlements to find out what life is like for the refugees living there.
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http://gulfnews.com/culture/people/amid-stench-and-poverty-hope-for-better-life-in-lebanon-1.1903975
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http://gulfnews.com/culture/people/amid-stench-and-poverty-hope-for-better-life-in-lebanon-1.1903975
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00:00Ahead of the UN Summit for Refugees and Migrants in New York last week, we visited Lebanon,
00:10which has a higher number of refugees per capita and per square mile than any other
00:13country in the world.
00:17In Majdalanjar, Lebanon, on the border with Syria, thousands of Syrian refugees are living
00:22in squalid conditions in informal, tented settlements.
00:26There are no formal camps in the country.
00:29The UN Refugee Agency did identify possible lands for formal camps here, but these proposals
00:34were rejected by the Lebanese government for security reasons.
00:38We visited one settlement on the banks of the Litani River, where Fawad al-Saleem lives
00:42with his one-year-old son, Mohamed, and his parents.
00:56We came to Aleppo from one place to another, from one village to another, to adjust our
01:02situation.
01:03We know that there are children among us who are being beaten and shelled by snipers.
01:09Every day, two or three young people die in the streets.
01:13We went to Lebanon, thank God.
01:15We've been here for four years now.
01:17From four or five years ago until now, there hasn't been any progress.
01:22There hasn't been any progress for us.
01:28There's nothing from the UN.
01:30I mean, look at this tent.
01:33Look.
01:34There's no water.
01:36There's very little water coming in.
01:38Do we have to do anything?
01:40The child doesn't drink.
01:41There's nothing.
01:42Fawad and other families pay $50 a month to live on this land, a cheaper price than normal
01:55because it sits on the banks of the Litani River, which has become direly polluted due
01:59to the area's bad sewage system, and as a result is causing various medical problems
02:04for the people staying next to it.
02:12Out of 25 tents, there are more than 30 families.
02:16Most of the children who come to us are ill.
02:21We have a lot of children with cancer.
02:24We have a lot of children with cancer.
02:26We have a lot of people with cancer.
02:28There's also hope in the area.
02:30And the smell of this river is enough for you.
02:33This disease that we have.
02:35The number of Syrian refugees in Lebanon stands at 1.1 million, but with masses of
02:46unregistered Syrians secretly crossing the border in desperate droves, the Lebanese government
02:51estimates that figure to be closer to 1.5 million.
02:56In Beirut, Lebanon's capital, there are over 300,000 registered refugees.
03:01Some live in abandoned buildings, while thousands stay in overcrowded Palestinian refugee camps,
03:06such as Shatila, paying around $200 a month.
03:12MSF has two clinics in Shatila, which are invariably heaving with patients needing treatment
03:17and medication, often caused by unhygienic living conditions, malnutrition and a lack
03:22of sanitation.
03:23According to the UN, more than 70% of Syrian refugees in Lebanon live below the poverty
03:29line.
03:59in Beirut.
04:29With Lebanon bursting at the seams with refugees in desperate conditions, the Lebanese ambassador
04:47to the UN, Nawaf Salam, called upon world powers to do more to aid the crisis ahead
04:52of the UN summit last week.
04:54Many strong and hopeful words were shared by world leaders in New York.
04:57Whether those words turn into action remains to be seen.