Sudanese Community Goes on Strike to Protest ‘Appalling’ Situation in Lebanon

Several non-governmental organizations signed on Monday a petition in support of Sudanese refugees’ rights in Lebanon.

“The situation of the Sudanese refugees in the country is deplorable,” a statement issued by the non-governmental agencies said.

Twenty-one Sudanese refugees have been on hunger strike in front of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees since June 11, holding it responsible toward people who are registered with the Agency as refugees and asylum seekers in Lebanon.

“Men and women have difficulties in finding work that would allow a decent pay, given that they don’t have any legal stay permit,” they pointed out.

The non-governmental agencies the Sudanese Refugees on Hunger Strike,

Nasawiya, Anti-Racism Movement, the Migrant Communities Center including International human rights advocate Elmoiz Abunura urged the UNHCR to take “quick” and “concrete” action to aid the Sudanese refugees.

The Sudanese children are not allowed to pursue their education and when they do, even with the UNHCR refugee status, Sudanese are always at risk of arbitrary detention and illegal deportation to their country of origin, the agencies noted.

They also underlined the constant discrimination they face in NGOs vis-a-vis other nationalities of refugees such as Iraqis.

The statement said that everyone who joined the sit-in on a sidewalk facing the UNHCR headquarters in Jnah was detained for six hours in Ramleh el-Bayda police station after allegedly receiving a phone call from the UNHCR.

“We don’t know about this strike and we didn’t tell the police, but probably a random police patrol was passing and arrested everyone,” the UNHCR spokesman said.

According to the statement the hunger strike is “accompanied by a parallel hunger strike by Sudanese refugees in Lebanese prisons.”

The non-governmental agencies held the UNHCR directly responsible for the dreadful conditions the Sudanese community is facing including their “legal, economic and vulnerable security status, which automatically subjects them to constant harassment and discrimination.”