From time to time, the Lebanese singer Elissa raises widespread controversy on social media by calling on refugees in Lebanon to return to their countries. To which many activists responded with harsh criticism, accusing the singer of “promoting inflammatory rhetoric against refugees.”
This is how the BBC Arabic channel published a detailed report on its website, in which it monitored the tumultuous debate about the phenomenon of refugees in Lebanon. And it confirmed that preliminary figures indicate the presence of about 200,000 Palestinian refugees and nearly 900,000 Syrian refugees, according to United Nations statistics.
The discussion flared up, after Elissa re-shared a group of tweets criticizing the presence of Palestinian and Syrian refugees in Lebanon, and considering them “a burden that burdens the state economically and politically.”
These tweets come against the background of the escalation of tension in the region, during the past days, following the firing of dozens of rockets from southern Lebanon, which Israel accused Palestinian groups of being behind.
Elissa says, “I do not think that I am insulting anyone when I demand that he return to his homeland, because it is the homeland of man and his dignity. Because I love you, I hope you all return to your homelands.”
Although Elissa did not specify the identity of those who asked them to leave Lebanon, many accused her of adopting “populist speeches that are not appropriate for an artist, from which they used to speak in a tongue against all forms of violence and discrimination,” according to the British television report.
The controversy reached its height after her fellow Syrian artist, Asala Nasri, got involved in responding to it. The artist, known for her opposition to the regime of President Bashar al-Assad, called for taking into account the difficult conditions of refugees. And she said in a tweet: “We are all refugees on earth, and no one owns any place in any land. We are all visitors, no matter how long our visit is. We must have mercy on each other, the world is difficult and the conditions of people are difficult, and no one puts a tent over his head, and what is available today may not be available tomorrow.
Some saw that Elissa’s posts intersect with political discourses and partisan campaigns that hold the Syrian refugee responsible for the deteriorating economic conditions in Lebanon. Therefore, commentators believe that Elisa fell into the trap of incitement against refugees. While some saw that Asala is unrealistic, and does not realize the difficulties of life that the Lebanese are going through today, due to the refugee crisis.
It is really unfortunate that the people of art have drifted behind the populist discourse, because it offends their image in the first place. The crisis that Lebanon is experiencing today is a crisis of power and a political system, and has nothing to do with the issue of refugees and their number. On the contrary, humanitarian aid has helped pump a large amount of foreign currency into Lebanon’s economy.
The United Nations agencies contributed through their expenditures the equivalent of 3 percent of Lebanon’s GDP. Since 2011, an increasing number of Lebanese jobs have been created, thanks to aid programmes, which would not have been available without the arrival of the refugees. Not to mention that Palestinian and Syrian refugees usually work in jobs that most Lebanese refuse. The competition is often between refugees, whether they are Syrians or Palestinians, and between Bangladeshi and Ethiopian foreign workers, for jobs in different fields such as agriculture, construction, industry, or low-paid services.
The problem that Lebanon is experiencing today, in addition to its political calamity and rampant corruption, is the absence of accurate data on the refugees in Lebanon and the extent to which the Lebanese economy benefits from their presence. Therefore, this issue was and will remain a record of bidding among Lebanese politicians, and a fertile material that the partisan Lebanese media employs, in a way that serves its political agendas.
Little author
And from the wars of adults to the joy that children give us, perhaps to keep the world in some balance. It is the four-year-old Emirati child, Saeed Al Mahbari, who is the youngest author of his first book, “The Happy Elephant and the Bear.” He wrote it in simple language, but it was loaded with human values, and it got him into the Guinness Book of Records.
The story tells of a special friendship that came unexpectedly to confirm that kindness is stronger than anger. His success was celebrated by the pioneers of social networking sites, and they shared pictures of him on their pages, accompanied by the book. That Emirati child is not only the pride of his country, but of the Arab world as a whole. Our tired world lacks many similar stories to regain some of its light and splendor.
Said is not the only child in his family who entered the Guinness Book of Records. His sister, Zabi Al-Mahri, preceded him as the youngest publisher at the age of 7, after the success of her first book, “I Had an Idea,” and large copies of it were sold.
Encouraging, motivating and supporting parents for their children’s dreams may lead them to high positions and nurture their aspirations for the future. As for the media’s adoption and dissemination of such news, it gives viewers hope for a future that may be better than the bitter reality we live in. Saeed and his talented young companions alone are the beacon of tomorrow in the shadow of the darkness and the humiliating, shameful and unjust reality that most of our Arab countries live through. A reality whose details are credited to our rulers, who extinguished the homelands and displaced their people, and work diligently to make their peoples ignorant.
Lebanese writer
