LEBANON / COVID-19 SYRIAN REFUGEES

A new report by World Bank and UNHCR revealed that there is a jump in poverty among refugees during pandemic, adding that cash programmes that help offset impact must be scaled up in 2021. UNHCR

• Categories: News & Features / News Stories / Unifeed
• Video Length: 00:02:44
• Production Date: 17 December 2020
• Asset Language: Arabic
• Corporate Name: UNITED NATIONS HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR REFUGEES - UNHCR; WORLD BANK
• Subject Topical: POVERTY; PUBLIC HEALTH; REFUGEES
• Geographic Subject: LEBANON; SYRIA
• MAMS Id: 2594020
• Parent Id: 2594020
• Alternate Title: unifeed201217c

Description

STORY: LEBANON / COVID-19 SYRIAN REFUGEES
TRT: 2:44
SOURCE: UNHCR
RESTRICTIONS: PLEASE CREDIT UNHCR ON SCREEN
LANGUAGE: ARABIC / NATS

DATELINE: 02 AND 05 OCTOBER 2020, MINYEH, LEBANON

Shotlist

02 OCTOBER 2020, MINYEH, LEBANON

1. Various shots, Syrian refugee Abdel Nasser Al Mahmoud walking in slow motion in the agricultural fields near his tent in north of Lebanon
2.SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Abdel Nasser Mohomad Al Mahmoud, Syrian refugee:
“I was twelve years old when I started working and I’m still working.”
3. Various shots, Abdel Nasser moving boxes inside a greenhouse
4. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Abdel Nasser Mohomad Al Mahmoud, Syrian refugee:
“There is less work, so I started working with farmers, planting lemons. There was little before coronavirus and now there is even less”.
5.Med shot, Abdel Nasser moving plastic boxes used for harvest inside a green house
6. Various shots, wide moving shot inside the tented settlement where Abdel Nasser and his family live
7.SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Ayoush Yassin Al Ali, Abdul Nasser’s mother:
“We are in a different fight. This is like a war. Hunger kills people. This situation of hunger and to see my children and us hungry. It’s a deep tragedy.”
8. Wide shot, Abdel Nasser’s family sitting down inside their tent
9.Close up, Abdel Nasser’s youngest sister
10. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Mohomad Ahmad Al Mahmoud, Syrian refugee:
“There is no more variety in our food. We eat the same thing. And this has caused us health problems.”
11.Wide shot, time lapse of the settlement
12. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Ayoush Yassin Al Ali, Abdul Nasser’s mother:
“UNHCR is helping us but it doesn’t cover our food for the week. It’s been two days since I cooked anything. We ran out of gas for cooking. We are suffering a lot.”
13.Close up, water tap running
14. Close up, water collecting in a pan
15. Close up, Ayoush in the kitchen
16.Wide shot, Ayoush in the kitchen
17. Wide shot, Abdel Nasser, his brother and mother sitting inside their tent
18. Close up, Abdel Nasser
19. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Abdel Nasser Mohomad Al Mahmoud, Syrian refugee:
“With the current coronavirus situation, there isn’t any work, so it’s better that I help my parents than to go to school.”
20. Various shots, Abdel Nasser working with plants in the green house

05 OCTOBER 2020, MINYEH, LEBANON

21. Wide shot, Abdel Nasser picking up recyclables from the beach near Minyeh
22. Med shot, Abdel Nasser picking up plastic
23. Wide shot, Abdel Nasser sitting down looking out to sea surrounded by plastic

Storyline

A new report by World Bank and UNHCR revealed that there is a jump in poverty among refugees during pandemic, adding that cash programmes that help offset impact must be scaled up in 2021.

The report published this week examines the impact of COVID-19 on pushing Syrian refugees and their host communities in Jordan, Lebanon and the Kurdish Region of Iraq (KRI) into poverty.

The report found that an estimated 4.4 million people in host communities, close to one million Syrian refugees, and a further 180,000 internally displaced Iraqis in KRI have fallen below the poverty line since the onset of the crisis.

The report also notes how the existence of well-established refugee registration and cash delivery systems prior to COVID-19 enabled organizations like UNHCR to quickly scale up their response and mitigate some of the worst impacts on the most vulnerable.

Abdel Nasser Mohomad Al Mahmoud is a Syrian refugee living in Lebanon.

SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Abdel Nasser Mohomad Al Mahmoud, Syrian refugee:
“I was twelve years old when I started working and I’m still working.”

When his father lost his job due to the deteriorating situation under COVID-19, Abdel-Nasser became the main provider for his family. He collects recyclables but under COVID-19 he had to find additional work

SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Abdel Nasser Mohomad Al Mahmoud, Syrian refugee:
“There is less work, so I started working with farmers, planting lemons. There was little before coronavirus and now there is even less”.

The family fled heavy shelling in Syria in 2013 . They now have to overcome a different battle.

SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Ayoush Yassin Al Ali, Abdul Nasser’s mother:
“We are in a different fight. This is like a war. Hunger kills people. This situation of hunger and to see my children and us hungry. It’s a deep tragedy.”

Abdul Nasser’s family survive on very little.

SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Mohomad Ahmad Al Mahmoud, Syrian refugee:
“There is no more variety in our food. We eat the same thing. And this has caused us health problems.”

The cash assistance they get from UNHCR helps but it’s not enough.

SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Ayoush Yassin Al Ali, Abdul Nasser’s mother:
“UNHCR is helping us but it doesn’t cover our food for the week. It’s been two days since I cooked anything. We ran out of gas for cooking. We are suffering a lot.”

SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Abdel Nasser Mohomad Al Mahmoud, Syrian refugee:
“With the current coronavirus situation, there isn’t any work, so it’s better that I help my parents than to go to school.”

Efforts by aid actors and governments in the regions were found to help reduce the impact on poverty. But they need to be scaled up. Much more is needed.