Lebanon, a new starting point for migrants

The Lebanese flag flies over the site devastated by the double explosion at the port of Beirut (illustrative image).

REUTERS / Hannah McKay

Text by: Paul Khalifeh Follow

3 min

Since last October, Lebanon has been facing the worst economic and financial crisis in its history.

The situation has worsened considerably since the double explosion at the port of Beirut on August 4, which left 192 dead, more than 6,500 injured, and destroyed part of the capital.

Faced with the situation, more and more Lebanese are turning to immigration.

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From our correspondent in Beirut

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A new phenomenon is now recorded in Lebanon: the multiplication of attempts to cross the sea to the island of Cyprus, located 160 kilometers from the Lebanese coast.

Since the beginning of September, at least five boats carrying some 200 migrants wishing to go to Cyprus have been spotted.

One of the boats was intercepted by a Lebanese navy patrol which brought it back with its occupants to the Tripoli region, in the north of the country, from where it had left.

Another was rescued by ships of the UNIFIL naval force which is crossing off the Lebanese coast in accordance with a United Nations mandate.

One person on board had already died.

A third boat was turned back by the Cypriot coast guard. Others managed to dock on the island, which is part of the European Union.

This frequency of attempts to cross to Cyprus is unprecedented.

Lebanese migrants mostly

The majority of these migrants are Lebanese who have lost all hope of seeing better days in their country, hit by

and serial tragedies.

But there are also Syrians and Palestinians.

There are several million potential migrants in Lebanon.

The land of the cedar welcomes on its soil a million and a half Syrians, including a million refugees, and 300,000 Palestinian refugees, who live in difficult conditions, aggravated by the current crises.

We must add hundreds of thousands of Lebanese who only dream of leaving.

Those who can afford it have already left or are preparing to do so by legal means.

The poorest, as we have seen, do not hesitate to take illegal routes.

An exponential increase in crossing attempts

A Cypriot delegation is expected in Beirut in the coming days to try to " 

 ", according to the words of the Cypriot Minister of the Interior.

The two countries have an agreement to “return” migrants to discourage attempts to cross.

But this will undoubtedly be insufficient to stop this phenomenon.

Security and humanitarian sources in Beirut expect an exponential increase in crossing attempts in the coming months if the situation continues to deteriorate on all fronts in Lebanon.

►Also read: Lebanon, a country on its knees

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• Lebanon

• Economic crisis