Al-Rahi Demands Repatriation of Displaced Syrians

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi on Sunday reiterated his call for the return of the displaced Syrians to their country.

“In the name of neutrality, we demand the return of the displaced Syrians to their country, so that they preserve their land’s resources, culture, dignity and history,” al-Rahi said in his Sunday Mass sermon.

Noting that “their return is related to a Lebanese, Arab and international political decision,” the patriarch warned that “their number has crossed the 1.5 million mark, which is equivalent to at least 35% of Lebanon’s population.”

“The absence of this decision has started to take the form of a conspiracy against Lebanon’s entity, unity, identity and security,” al-Rahi cautioned.

He also emphasized that “resolving their case requires urgency, especially with the eruption of the war in Ukraine and the emergence of new displacement waves in Europe and the world.”