By Rana Zalghout | Staff Writer
Last week, a series of tweets by the Baalbek-Hermel Governor Bachir Khodr and his meeting with Dar Al-Fatwa caused controversy as he speculated whether refugees were exacerbating the Lebanese crisis. In the meeting, a video was taken of the governor asserting that Syrian refugees accelerated the deterioration of the Lebanese economic and financial crises.
Khodr mentioned that the aid that refugees receive comes in huge amounts to the point that the governor’s salary is less than the income of Syrians residing in Lebanon. “My job as a governor is the highest administrative position in the Lebanese state, and my salary is less than what a Syrian refugee gets in Lebanon,” Khodr said. In his opinion, the Lebanese population is suffering, including those who work in high administrative positions, yet the refugees are living a better-quality life without having to worry about the money they get. “At this rate, I have to sell a kidney to keep working. We carry the burden, and they blame us. We cannot give more than this!”
To add to that, the governor expressed his frustration that the public sector employees, who are pressured to work every day and fulfill their duties, are working free of charge because their salaries are too low as a result of inflation. He also explained that he is ready to serve the Lebanese people even if it was for free, but he can’t afford the burden of working for free when it comes to refugees and asylum-seekers.
There were different opinions about Khodr’s speech, some Lebanese, refugees, and media outlets considered that what Khodr asserted is a hate speech fueled by racism against Syrian refugees. For instance, Megaphone News–an independent online media platform covering daily news–posted Bachir Khodr’s video, labeling it as a racist speech. According to the post, the governor of Baalbek-Hermel chose to ignore the crisis that was prompted by different Lebanese politicians and shifted the blame to Syrian refugees. Megaphone reported that the blame should be put on the Lebanese authority responsible for corrupting the country and ignoring the voices of the struggling people.
However, many Lebanese expressed on social media platforms that the governor’s speech is correct and doesn’t infer any hate or racism towards refugees. “Call it whatever you want, but if someone wants to reside in another country, they need to pay taxes and abide by all the immigration laws. Not live for free, learn for free, get paid for nothing, get food and clothing and books all for free when the nationals can barely get money to eat,” expressed an Instagram user.
It is significant to point out that Khodr’s speech can be understood from two different perspectives, a racist one and a politically correct one. In fact, not all Syrians in Lebanon receive aid from UNHCR and other international organizations. Many previous resources have reported that some members of the Lebanese government are stealing the money that is sent to Lebanon to support refugees. Amidst the crisis, both Lebanese and Syrians are struggling. Therefore, instead of directing accusations against certain members and groups, one should start to think of how to save Lebanon from this deteriorating situation.