Black and White
Black and White
The sultanate of Oman would like to begin by formally defining the topic
The Middle East and North African region are comprised of 18 states out
of which 7 are engaged in active armed conflicts. These states include
Syria, Yemen, Iraq, Palestine, Egypt and Libya. Along with armed conflicts
lack of basic necessities, sanitation, pandemic break outs, hyperinflation,
poverty and food insecurity have made the region experience history’s
worst Humanitarian crises. A humanitarian Crises itself as defined by the
OHCHR is a singular event or a series of events that are threatening in
terms of health, safety or well-being of a community or large group of
people. Over the past decade, the bulk of the world’s deadliest conflicts
have been in the MENA region. This has led to countless casualties.
Ladies and gentleman More then 360 000 people have lost their lives in
Syria alone. Overall, the region has to face more than 40 million migrants
and 14 million internally Displaced people. Ladies and gentlemen, these
conflicts have raged on for too long and have already claimed too many
innocent lives, birthed too much hatred and has caused enough
destructions. This must stop now.
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Furthermore, due to the instability the region is home to a large number of
refugees put significant economic and social pressure on their host
governments and societies. According to the Syrian government, for example,
demand for subsidized bread rose by 35 percent after the Iraqi refugee influx in
2006, costing the Syrian state US$34 million, while demand for water rose by 21
percent, at a cost of almost US$7 million per year.
Lebanon:
Lebanon has over 6 million inhabitants and shares a southern border with
Israel, as well as an eastern and northern border with Syria. Currently, there is
an ongoing refugee crisis in the country that is a direct result of the Syrian civil
war, which started in 2011. Millions of Syrian refugees have fled their home
country over the last decade because of the civil war, with many of them
settling in Lebanon.
Issues in Lebanon
The need for assistance has never been more urgent as the situation continues
to deteriorate in Lebanon. While life for a refugee is often already difficult—
needing to find food, shelter, and other necessities—the situation in Lebanon
has been even harder for Syrian refugees, especially children. As Lebanon is
also dealing with its own issues, like a financial and economic collapse and the
devaluation of the Lebanese lira by over 85%, the blast in the Port of Beirut in
2020, and the COVID-19 pandemic. Both food prices and the poverty rate have
skyrocketed in Lebanon, leaving vulnerable groups, like refugees, As already
90% of Syrian refugees live in extreme poverty in a near-impossible situation.
Some Lebanese and Syrian refugees are even escaping the situation already by
fleeing to neighbouring Cyprus.
Lebanon currently holds among the highest debt to GDP ratio in the world, and
a banking sector pressured into collapse, as the majority of its population finds
themselves on the brink of poverty.
Cause
This dire situation was caused by Lebanon’s structural problems, corruption
and the political elite. These recent developments only prove the extent to
which the Lebanese crisis is inherently political at its core, resulting from an
absence of good governance and rational economic policy, as well as the
political practice of invoking foreign protection and financing.