He was arrested at checkpoints several times and was subjected to questioning in connection with his work and his residence permit, which was later revoked. Being continually subjected to arrests brought forth a sense of insecurity and instability, which in turn generated a state of intense fear and the desire to escape into the unknown.
A simple incident made Khalil’s life hard and unbearable in Lebanon. It pushed him to travel to Sudan – since it is one of the few countries that does not require Syrians to obtain entry visas – and then to Iraq, Turkey, Sweden, through Greece and Germany, overcoming all the journey’s dangers, exploitation, smugglers and human traffickers. «I was suffering terribly. Every time I would find work, I had to take a lot of verbal abuse, a lot of insults, rejection, and harassment. I did not have the minimum rights of a worker. I could not take a vacation even if I was sick. Not to mention my low wage that would change along with the employer’s mood. My life in Lebanon can be summed up in one word: injustice.»
At a time when Syrian refugees are facing great psychological and social pressures, partly as a consequence of the wars and battles they lived through in Syria, and dealing with difficult economic conditions wherever they are staying in Lebanon, there are new stressors that have become a key factor for the emergence and aggravation of stress and its effects on the Syrian society in Lebanon, namely security pressures and legal changes relating to the residence permits and employment of Syrian refugees in Lebanon.
Stability – whether psychological, functional or social – and a sense of security are two of the most important conditions for refugees to be able to adapt in a host country such as Lebanon. The lack of stability and security leads to a fault in the structure of refugee communities at various levels.
The implementation of the laws relating to obtaining residence and employment permits for Syrians has turned Lebanon into a place of forced residence, as Syrian refugees have no say in any decision or choice in their lives – which they were forced in the first place to lead in a foreign country – in addition to being subjected to restrictions on their movement and work. All these changes in the lives of Syrian refugees in Lebanon have many psychological repercussions on them as individuals and groups. Moreover, in view of these harsh laws, the number of non-registered refugees and those who are not on the radar of the security forces has increased, thus forming a more dangerous hotbed for crime and moral, behavioral and violent perversions in society.
These effects lead directly to increased tensions that may explode at any moment and result in a conflict with multiple causes. These effects include:
The continuous changes that Syrian refugees go through in Lebanon lead to a state of psychological instability, which results in many psychological symptoms, most notably anxiety, mainly as a result of the uncertainty of the future, fear of arrest, and fear of poverty. «I feel a lot of psychological pressure when I move around Tripoli,» says Omar, a young Syrian who has been living in Tripoli since 2012. «The energy I expend on fear and anxiety about being illegal could have been used to work for my future.» Anxiety, which is considered a mental disorder with strong symptoms, can often develop into a psychological disorder that has many psychological and physical effects on people who suffer from it, such as loss of appetite, sleep disorders, difficulty carrying out everyday tasks and depression, which may lead in advanced cases to suicide.
Frustration and despair are considered to be psychological symptoms that are created and exacerbated by living under threat. This constant sense of threat and lack of security leads to an increase in the production of adrenaline, cortisol and norepinephrine, the three most important hormones produced by the sympathetic nervous system in the face of any risk as part of what is known as the fight-or-flight response. Thus, when the nervous system is activated, a person may have different reactions: either to flee the situation, which manifests as depression, isolation and withdrawal in any confrontation, or being more defensive, which can take the form of conflict or fight. In the case of Syrian refugees, this conflict can be either internal, i.e. among the Syrians themselves, or external, i.e. between the Syrians and the Lebanese host community.
In addition, the psychological effects resulting from the legal pressures in Lebanon on Syrian refugees cannot be dissociated from their psychological vulnerability and proclivity to engage in illegal actions or activities, especially when the State is unable to keep track of them because of their irregular situation. As a result of their traumatic experiences, Syrian refugees are more likely to transform into persons who are quick to integrate into environments that may be incompatible with their reality, out of a desire for self-fulfillment, especially with regard to increasing economic productivity and helping their families. Given the strict laws restricting the movements of Syrian refugees, renewing their residence permits and working legally in the country, coupled with an overwhelming desire for self-fulfillment and a growing sense of guilt towards family and society, young Syrians can do nothing but find alternatives that may be considered violent or outlawed to make some money. According to a study conducted by International Alert in 2016, most young Syrians feel that life in Lebanon has become a great burden on them, and that the only solution is to leave to a country where they can guarantee rights for them and their families and live in justice and dignity. They also said that Lebanon is not the country where anyone can live in dignity, because of the pressures put on them. This feeling of frustration and uselessness, and the inability to do something can deprive Syrian refugees in Lebanon of the meaning of life, the ability and flexibility to adapt to the new reality in which they find themselves. This creates a breeding ground for internal conflicts, whether personal or with others, and thus turn them into ticking human bombs at times of frustration and need.
In addition, the psychological pressures that Syrian refugees undergo in Lebanon as a result of the security issues and their consequences have contributed to a heightened sense of persecution within the Syrian society, and this leads directly to widening the social gap between the Syrian society and Lebanese society, with the Syrians regarding Lebanon as a persecuting society that does not relate to their human suffering. This feeling has many consequences on the form of relations and social ties between the two communities, and takes the form of a relationship of persecutor, victim and rescuer, where the victim, i.e. the Syrian society, is looking to be rescued from the persecutor, i.e. the Lebanese society, with the help of the rescuer who can take many forms, including escaping the country illegally – putting their lives in great danger, such drowning, or making them vulnerable to human trafficking. It can also take other forms such as closed societies within the Lebanese society that are governed by their own laws and not regulated by any official or legal entity, as was the fate of some Palestinian camps that are not under the jurisdiction of the Lebanese State. These are often communities where poverty, destitution and crime are rife, with a high rate of child labor and early marriages, which are, naturally, phenomena that threaten the stability and security of the Lebanese State at various levels, including the economic, political and social.
Last but not least, the Lebanese State must consider all these factors seriously and deal with them before they aggravate and turn into uncontrollable phenomena that may lead to internal conflicts between the Syrian and Lebanese communities. The consequences may be undesirable in the long term. Increasing pressure on a persecuted and refugee society may be the fuse for a human explosion and today we do not have the capabilities to deal with such a potential event.