As the eyes of the world transfix on the flight of Syrians trekking their way to safety in Europe, less attention has been paid to the Syrian refugees living in neighborly countries. Even less attention has been paid to host communities whose vulnerability has reached a breaking point as a result of the massive influx of refugees from Syria.
Since its beginning in 2011, the Syrian conflict has created a refugee crisis with no parallel in modern history. In fact, at the time of this writing, the conflict has thus far caused over 250,000 dead and over 11 million displaced. Over 4 million Syrians have been registered by the United Nations High Commissioner of Refugees (UNHCR) as refugees living in neighborly countries, excluding those who have entered these countries illegally. No other country in modern history has welcomed more refugees than Lebanon. In fact, Lebanon has the highest per capita number of Syrian refugees in the world. With an estimated population of about 4.3 million, Lebanon, according to UNHCR, has taken in approximately 1.2 million registered Syrian refugees. Government officials and independent researchers put the overall number at 1.5 million. This does not include approximately 450,000 Palestinian refugees living in refugee camps established over six decades ago and 50,000 Palestinian refugees from Syria. One in about three people in Lebanon is a refugee.
How could a country, let alone one scarred by a horrific civil war and tormented by chronic socio-economic and political problems, face up to this daunting challenge? How has the international community, together with the government of Lebanon and humanitarian aid organizations, dealt with this unparalleled refugee crisis?
My interest in the humanitarian aspect of the refugee crisis has only deepened as no sign for resolving the bloody Syrian conflict appears in sight. So much has changed since my first visit in summer 2012 to northern Lebanon where most Syrian refugees lived. Then, refugees and host communities seldom engaged in mutual recriminations and blame. Certainly, the massive influx of refugees into Lebanon by 2015 and the spillover effects of the Syrian conflict into Beirut have clearly affected both refugees and host communities alike. Ominously, during my recent field research trip to Lebanon in summer 2015, including to Syrian refugee camps, I sensed in my daily interactions with refugees and Lebanese the morbid feeling permeating their charged environment, which could potentially lead to emotionally-driven 
backlashes.
Since 2011, the international community, led by UN agencies and partner aid organizations, has developed, through successive regional responses plans addressing the refugee crisis on the regional and individual country levels. Unfortunately, a combination of factors, ranging from serious gaps in funding, massive refugee presence, security risks, parochial politics, crumbling social delivery services, to strict defensive governmental measures has put the whole humanitarian effort in danger of total collapse.
This has led to a dramatic shift in attitudes towards refugees on the popular and institutional levels, potentially leading to social conflict. Put simply, the refugee crisis has had a devastating effect on Lebanon, creating a new tragedy afflicting the vulnerable Lebanese and deepening the tragedy of Syrian and Palestinian refugees. Significantly, this double tragedy has the seeds of conflict not only for social stability but also for disruptive and deadly massive population movements. The Syrian refugee crisis has become a serious threat to regional and international peace and security, whose first victims are going to be a mass of vulnerable individuals across nationalities.
My lecture on the Syrian Refugee Crisis strives to trace the development of the refugee crisis, with a focus on Lebanon, and in the process to underscore in comprehensive details both the successes and failures of the efforts undertaken by the international community and the government of Lebanon to deal with the refugee crisis. The lecture tries to paint a clear picture of the potential double tragedy taking shape in Lebanon, whose humanitarian ramifications will inescapably be prohibitive for human conscience.
Robert G. Rabil, Ph.D., has a master’s degree in government from Harvard University and a Ph.D. in Near Eastern and Judaic studies from Brandeis University. Currently, Dr. Rabil is teaching an eight week course titled “U.S. National Security” on Mondays from 9:30-11 a.m., and two one-time lectures, “The Crisis of Syria’s Refugees: The Future Saviors or the New Salafi-Taliban” on Saturday, Nov. 14 at 1 p.m. and “Iran, Hezbollah, the United States and Israel: The Coming Confrontation” on Saturday, Dec. 12 at 1 p.m. He served as Chief of Emergency of the Red Cross in Lebanon and was project manager of the U.S. State Departmentfunded Iraq Research and Documentation Project. He has written extensively on Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Israel, U.S.-Arab relations, reform in the Arab world, radical Islam and terrorism. He is a frequent speaker at major universities, including Harvard University. He delivers lectures and participates in seminars and forums sponsored by the U.S. government, including the U.S. Army and the National Intelligence Council. He is Professor of Political Science at FAU. Professor Rabil was recently conferred with an honorary Ph.D. in humanities from the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts.
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I am glad that Prof. Rabil emphasizes that the burden of Syrian (and other) refugees has fallen not only on European nations but that the neighboring countries such as Jordan,Lebanon, and Turkey have been inundated with refugees almost from the outbreak of the Syrian civil war. Two years ago I met with Syrian refugees in Amman, Jordan, it was already then clear that the host nation is unable to deal effectively with this influx. My hope is that the US will be more generous in allowing some of these refugees to find a home here. Paul Mojzes
Dr.Rabil’s insights are based on his primary ,”hands on ” research . His Nov 14th lecture on this critical crisis should be very informative.
My guess is the Assad is happy to be rid of the Sunni refugees who seem to make up the majority of the people fleeing Syria.
Ed OD
While European countries have absorbed vast numbers of Syrian refugees, they continue to be the target of those feeling more needs to be done. At the same time, little has been said about Saudi Arabia or the Gulf States. The Saudis, in particular, present themselves as the heartland of Sunni Islam, have vast financial resources, are more compatible demographically with the Syrians, and have air-conditioned tent facilities for a million Haj pilgrims. It may be time to redirect moral persuasion.