COVER STORY: Sudan's refugees trapped in Lebanon
March 29, 2008 (Beirut NSV) - With no end to their exile and suffering, Sudanese refugees in Lebanon are swamped with multitudes of challenges in a country where they are living illegally.
“People need to know the situation is bad,” Bol Athuai,38, a resident of Edmonton, Canada, said of the refugees’ ordeal in Lebanon after he had himself toughed it out in the country from 1997-2007, when the UN resettled him in Canada.
Similar to many of his colleagues who found new homes in Western countries such as Australia, USA and Canada, Bol’s chances of resettling to Canada were enhanced after he landed in jail for being in the country illegally. In prison, the United Nations-Lebanon learned about his case through his friends who had alerted them about his dire condition.
While in jail Bol followed up with officials from the Canadian embassy on resettlement papers until he finally arrived in Canada last year, after waiting for five years. To get his visa stamped, he made a payment of $3000.
Since the end of the north-south war in 2005 with the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, life for Sudanese refugees has taken a worse turn. The Lebanese government is unequivocal in its opposition to further [illegal] hosting of Sudanese refugees after the coming of peace to Sudan, according to sources in the country.
“They have to go to Sudan because during the [South-North Sudan] war the Lebanese government and UN signed an agreement that recognized Sudanese as refugees,” Rose Yoki, 42, mother of two and South Sudanese residing in Canada said of the Lebanese government’s stance on refugees.
Each time the refugees who are still living in Lebanon sought the assistance of the United Nations, they are told ‘Now you don’t have more war, why can’t you go back?’ said Rose, who left Sudan for Lebanon in 1988 as a student of social studies. She was lucky to be allowed into Canada in 2001 as conventional refugee with her husband and two children.
‘Stuck in Beirut’
Emanuel Lado Loro and his family are some of the estimated several hundreds Sudanese refugees caught up in Lebanon. Born in Juba on Christmas day 1971, Emanuel is married to Angelina Steve Akol David (31) also born in Juba. Together they have five children: Samuel (13) was born in Khartoum, Samson (10) and Linda (8) were born in Damascus, Syria, and George (5) was born in Beirut, Lebanon. They also have an adopted child, her name is Aweil Akol David, 14; she was born in Khartoum and she is Angelina‘s niece.
In 1992, Emanuel was forced to leave Juba after a series of tragic events such as the killing of his father who was burnt alive inside his house. Soon after arriving in one of the refugee camps in Khartoum the situation deteriorated and Emanuel found himself spending most of his days in detention. There in the camp in Khartoum he met with Angelina who also had a rough journey to Khartoum.
After the loss of her father Angelina accompanied her mother who was trying to join family members in Khartoum. On their way, they were attacked, Angelina was kidnapped and her brother Richard was killed while he was trying to save her. She then was sold to someone as a slave but she later managed to escape and joined her family in Khartoum.
Angelina and Emanuel had their first child Samuel in the refugee camp but due to rising pressure on Emanuel and all the young men of his age, he was forced to flee the camp and to live as a fugitive in Gadaref. Finally and with the help of a church, Emanuel, Angelina and Samuel were able to fly to Syria in 1997.
The Syrian government noticed the growing number of Sudanese refugees and tried to block them from coming in. Later, Syria started deporting Sudanese back home and Emanuel tried to escape that by asking for a refugee status at the UNHCR's office. Emanuel did not disclose the exact details of what happened at the UNHCR’s office but it seems he was unfairly treated and refused refugee status.
The next plan for the couple was for Angelina to try to seek the refugee status from the UNHCR. Someone recommended Angelina tell the UN Emanuel was missing. The family reasoned a story of a single mother taking care of three children would draw more concern and sympathy from the UNHCR’s side but unfortunately the lie was discovered and both Angelina and Emanuel were blacklisted by the UNHCR. It was no longer logical to remain illegal in Syria for a long time, they explained; The country is known for its tight police control and therefore it was a matter of time before Emanuel got caught and deported.
Yaac Awuou, 38 , who lived in Lebanon between 2000-2004, before coming to Canada, and like Bol, did his resettlement in prison, said they were beaten in prison. He points to a case of a South Sudanese called Deng Denato who was imprisoned for several years prior to his release in January 2001. He died a month after his release from jail.
Another man was beaten by prison authorities until he was paralyzed. Others, including a man called Deng Lual remain in Lebanese jail to date, for living in the country illegally. “Only God knows” how these people will get out because the money they make go to daily life, Yaac said. People used to escape to Syria then to Sudan but now the border is closed. “It’s difficult to get out a family.”
In November 2000, Emanuel joined a club of people who benefited from the uncontrolled borders between Syria and Lebanon and moved to Beirut with his family. Unlike Syria, Lebanon’s police control is not so rigid and there is no forced deportation, a source said. But the Lebanese police arrested Emanuel for being an illegal resident in July 2001 and spent one year behind bars. A year later, the Lebanese police dropped him at the local Sudanese embassy. The ambassador was very upset and yelled at the police and warned them never to bring him people from South Sudan again!
Emanuel was then released and given three months to get legal papers but six years later Emanuel remains in Beirut, without papers and luckily without being caught. But for how long can he remain in this situation?
Why Emanuel is unable to legalize his status? It is simply because it costs a lot of money. Emanuel is unable to pay the US$750 yearly residence fees as this is equivalent to three times his monthly income.
The problem is if he decides to legalize today, he will have to pay an additional US$3,000 in penalties for the past six years he spent illegally in the country.
Emanuel works illegally in a company that offers cleaning services for businesses. His monthly salary is US$250. Angelina does housekeeping of hotel rooms but she has to take care of her children including the five-year old (George) who is not in school yet, so she works part-time. In total, a family of seven people has less than US$500 to spend every month and in a country like Lebanon this money is barely enough to feed two people properly.
Emanuel has to pay for shelter in a city where renting a single room costs more than US$200. “Life is bad there because if you are a foreigner, the housing is terrible because you can‘t afford the rent and the Lebanese government doesn’t allow a foreigner to work. They classify Sudanese as refugees and this [makes it] difficult to survive,” Rose said.
Luckily many buildings in Beirut provide a small apartment of one single room, a kitchen and a bathroom at the ground floor or the basement. That apartment is reserved for the supervisor and it could be given for free but you have to keep presence and take care of cleaning the building, a friend who lived with the family told The New Sudan Vision.
Aside from barely affording rent, Emanuel’s family has no medical coverage. “If the kids are sick here, it’s not affordable to pay for their treatment,” he says. Psychologically, things are difficult for Emanuel’s kids, and others, as they feel isolated.
"Lebanese society is plagued by discrimination" which makes it hard for Emanuel and other South Sudanese children to grow up in a healthy environment, said Emanuel‘s family friend, a Lebanese.
At 14, Aweil is unable to walk the streets of Beirut without being harassed. Samuel, Samson and Linda look different from the other boys and girls in the neighbourhood and so are not invited to play with them. Some days Samuel sits alone because the boys in the neighbourhood beat him and they refuse to play with him.
Since the July 2006 war between Hezbollah and Israel in Lebanon broke out, the security situation in the area has deteriorated. The devastating war was followed by a political crisis that has paralyzed the economy and increased the threat of going back to civil war. In order to maintain their income level, Emanuel and Angelina have to work more hours including night shifts. The security threat is always there and if the situation escalates to civil or regional war as is expected, people like Emanuel and his family would pay the highest price.
For instance, during the war in 2006, South Sudanese refugees hid in churches, while northern Sudanese reported to the Sudanese embassy in Beirut for protection, Bol, who had been there before coming to Canada, said to The New Sudan Vision.
"The only thing that Emanuel is happy about in Beirut is the education. Schools are everywhere and the level of education a child can get particularly in learning two languages at the same time since kindergarten proved to be very beneficial. But school is good as long as you have access to it," Emanuel's friend said.
So far, Emanuel was able to get the right assistance and all of his children can go to a good school for free but as soon as they finish their primary studies there will be problems.
The best possible way for them would be to go to public high schools but then they will require legal papers.
One would ask why wouldn’t Emanuel go back to Sudan? Like any other parent, Emanuel wants his family to live differently, away from troubles and uncertainties. He has on many occasions filled applications for Canada but to no avail. Emanuel has cousins in Canada while Angelina has relatives in Australia.
For years Emanuel has been trying to get out of Lebanon but all he gets are false promises, long years of wait and financial barriers, said the friend. "His family is stuck behind those barriers and while they go on with their miserable life they are being surrounded by several time bombs: Their health, the Lebanese police, the dangers of the civil war, the low morale of the discriminated children, the patience and endurance of Emanuel and Angelina, etc. Any of these bombs can blow up at any moment adding another tragic chapter to this story."
In 2006, Emanuel thought of leaving Lebanon using what is known as “human trafficking” for a cost of $4000. Emanuel and his family could be “smuggled” on a boat to nearby Greece, and there they could enter the European Union as refugees. Many have done that but also many have lost their lives along the way. But the friend dissuaded him from taking this route.
Emanuel, like other South Sudanese in his situation, said he would be willing to consider going to Sudan but there remains unanswered questions. ”One never knows what to do with children like I have. In order to think of going back home and things are not stable,” he begins; “If it was possible I would go back tomorrow. But how do I return? Where will I go and put my children?” he asks.
*For more information on this story and how you may help, please contact:
George Roukos
Montreal, Canada
Cell: 514-677-4773
E-mail: groukos@yahoo.com
Mading Ngor
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Cell: 780-695-2753
E-mail: madingngor@gmail.com
Jok Gai
Trail, British Columbia, Canada
Cell : (250) 364 8112
E-mail: jokgai@hotmail.com
*The New Sudan Vision gives special thanks to George Roukos, a Lebanese student pursuing an intensive MBA at HEC Montreal, who inspired The New Sudan Vision to embark on writing this critical story. He had written to our columnist Jok Gai about Emanuel’s family and we decided to follow up the story for more than two weeks.
