The atmosphere naturally deteriorated during Damascus’s unchallenged custodianship over its smaller neighbor.
Today, Syrians are suffering from a storm of tragedies and the Lebanese are living through anxiety and disturbance. Even beyond this hardship, though, is the mutual sympathy and concern. It is the independent will of these two peoples that makes it possible to know the other and, in many cases, to assist one another. It is a wonder, and one that would have been difficult to believe just a few years ago.
However, friction still exists between the two peoples, and we must consider some of the regrettable incidents that have flared up. Not everything is black and white in this part of the world that is disrupted by tragedies and conflicts, and no one can blame the Lebanese government for associating the refugee issue with security-related concerns. The Syrians and Palestinians constitute one quarter of the country’s inhabitants, and cooperation between them and the Lebanese does not mean abandoning notions of sovereignty, which are still dominant.