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Since the onset of the Syrian Civil War in March 2011, over 1.5 million Syrian refugees have fled to Lebanon, and constitute nearly one-fourth of the Lebanese population today. Lebanon currently holds the largest refugee population per capita in the world. UNHCR statistics indicate a massive influx of Syrian refugees into Lebanon between 2012 and 2014, which overwhelmed Lebanon's already crumbling infrastructure and public institutions. Between August and December 2012, the number of Syrian refugees increased from 36,000 to approximately 150,000; by May 2013, the number had increased to 463,000, and by October 2014, 1,151,057. These numbers only serve as estimates, however, given other refugees’ fear of registering with what they believed to be a pro-Assad Lebanese government. The majority of Syrian refugees reside in Northern Lebanon (Akkar District) or the Beqaa Valley, Lebanon's two poorest regions. Despite cooperation between NGOs and Government Institutions to provide necessary aid to Syrian refugee populations, refugees struggle to access the aid due to legal status, resource scarcity, poverty and lack of information distribution on these resources. Statistics As of 31 January 2020, the official distribution of registered Syrian refugees in Lebanon is as follows: Of registered Syrian refugees in Lebanon, 55.3% are between the ages of 0 and 17. Along with Syrians, the influx of refugees due to the Syrian civil war included 35,000 Lebanese returnees and 31,502 Palestinian refugees from Syria. As of 2023, most Lebanese sources estimate that the Syrian population in Lebanon has reached between 1.5-2 million refugees. This is mainly due the extremely high birthrates and the number of those that are unregistered in UNHCR. Refugee conditions in Lebanon Employment The Lebanese government sought to protect its domestic workers from the sudden influx of competing workers by denying Syrian refugees the possibility of legal employment. A 2013 World Bank report found that the influx of Syrian refugees doubled Lebanon's unemployment rate, particularly impacting unskilled youth. To maintain their livelihoods, many refugees resorted to child labor and prostitution, increasing the pressure on them to return to Syria or leave Lebanon for other destinations. Between 2011 and 2013, the International Rescue Committee estimated that wages in the service and agricultural sectors dropped as much as 50%. As a result, Syrian refugees, with significant competition from local Lebanese workers, opened informal businesses selling products below market prices. These businesses are not sufficient to impact the impoverished situation of most refugees. In 2014, the International Labour Organization estimated that 50% of young Syrians did not have activities to generate income, and this figure was raised to 66% among young women. The majority of Syrians find work as low- to semi-skilled laborers, with an estimated 92% working without set contracts. As such, this temporary work is heavily underpaid, intermittent, and outside of Lebanese labor protections, and fails to offer financial or job security. One in ten displaced Syrian children in Lebanon is forced to complement family income through work, and is subjected to child marriage, drug and alcohol abuse, violent groups, and begging. Housing The Lebanese government refused to set up official refugee camps to avoid the permanent settlement of Syrian refugees in Lebanon. Instead, Syrian refugees were initially sheltered in accommodation centers and any available housing as long as there was room. The majority of Syrian refugees (some 1.1 million) had to build their makeshift shelters (“informal tented settlements”) of poor quality on land rented from private landowners. Refugees also sought shelter in rented rooms, apartments, and garages. A 2014 assessment indicated that 30% of Syrian households lacked sufficient water, 15% lacked hygiene items, and 40% lacked proper access to latrines. The 2013-2014 Lebanon Millennium Development Goals report indicated that many displaced Syrian families subsisted off of one cooked meal per day. Just 6% of displaced Syrian children aged 6–23 months eat the minimum sufficient diet according to UNICEF/WHO standards. Education Minimal collaboration between the public, private, NGO, and iNGO sectors in Lebanon has resulted in the fragmented provision of quality education to Syrian refugee children. The overwhelmed public sector remains incapable of providing education during emergencies due to inflexible curriculums, limited capacity, and heavily regulated teaching. As a result, most Syrian students are absorbed into the private sector for primary education, and the informal sector for supplemental education. The percentage of Syrian students enrolled in public schools continues to drop due to the perception of poorer quality of education offered. The 2011–2012 schoolyear posed a significant dropout rate of 70% for Syrian refugee students given a lack of supplemental resources. The failure rate among Syrian children is twice the national average of that of Lebanese children. Public schools Syrian refugee children face many difficulties in Lebanese public schools, such as physical and verbal abuse from teaching staff and fellow peers. Although frequent abuse has been reported, much more abuse remains unreported for fear of loss of place at schools. Lack of remedial and language support also constitutes a great challenge for Syrian students. After seventh grade, Lebanese public schools teach science and math in English or French, creating a major barrier to the integration and retention of Arabic-speaking Syrian students in the Lebanese education system. Currently in the Lebanese public school system, the number of Syrian school-aged children is greater than the number of Lebanese children. During the 2013–2014 schoolyear, there were approximately 58,000 Syrian children in Lebanese classrooms, and 30,000 Syrian children in Syrian-only second shifts in the afternoon. As of mid-2015, more than half of the students registered in Lebanese schools were Syrian. A 2014 International Labor Organization report indicated that the gross enrollment rate of Syrian refugees was around 55% for primary education (6–10 years), but as low as 13% for secondary education (11–15 years). During secondary education, boys are more likely than girls to drop out of school and start working. Evaluation There are several advantages and risks posed by separate education systems for Syrian refugee children. Such a system facilitates Syrian children's adaptation to a new curriculum, as well as preserves their Syrian identity. Further, Arabic language proficiency in schools facilitate students' abilities to learn new material, and serves them in their eventual return to Syria. However, separated school systems can exacerbate tensions between Syrians and Lebanese nationals by creating a perception of lower-quality education for S.... Discover the Shelly Culbertson Olga Oliker Ben Baruch popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Shelly Culbertson Olga Oliker Ben Baruch books.