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STORY: UN / RIZA LEBANON INTERVIEW
TRT: 02:59
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 4 OCTOBER 2023, NEW YORK CITY / FILE
FILE – NEW YORK CITY
1. Med shot, exterior, United Nations flag
4 OCTOBER 2023, NEW YORK CITY
2. SOUNDBITE (English) Imran Riza, Special Coordinator for Lebanon, Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, United Nations:
“Lebanon's a very talented place, but it is facing a great deal of difficulty.”
3. Wide shot, journalist, UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon, TV studio
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Imran Riza, Special Coordinator for Lebanon, Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, United Nations:
“Last year, there were perhaps slightly over 7,000 people that resettled to a third country, and there is no major voluntary repatriation at all happening at this time. So, you have a population of some one and a half million refugees in Lebanon that have been there now for 12-13 years.”
5. Wide shot, journalist, UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon, TV studio
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Imran Riza, Special Coordinator for Lebanon, Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, United Nations:
“There has been a real upswell at different points, and now again, it's at a crescendo of a lot of anti-Syrian rhetoric in Lebanon. And this has been exacerbated because of the last four years, because of the socioeconomic crisis that Lebanon is in, because of the impoverishment that's happened over the last few years, and the need for assistance for a whole set of different populations.”
7. Wide shot, journalist, UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon, TV studio
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Imran Riza, Special Coordinator for Lebanon, Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, United Nations:
“Lebanon has been incredibly generous over the years and not just with Syrian refugees, I mean, in history has been one of that. It's not a signatory to the Convention, but I think in a lot of ways it does a lot better than a lot of countries that are signatories.”
9. Wide shot, journalist, UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon, TV studio
10. SOUNDBITE (English) Imran Riza, Special Coordinator for Lebanon, Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, United Nations:
“Our presence there is very much to assist Lebanon, the Lebanese, the Lebanese Government in handling this refugee crisis.”
11. Wide shot, journalist, UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon, TV studio
12. SOUNDBITE (English) Imran Riza, Special Coordinator for Lebanon, Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, United Nations:
“We are, at this time, for example, assisting probably around 1 million refugees and 1 million Lebanese. And then, in addition to that, Palestine refugees and migrants.”
13. Wide shot, journalist, UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon, TV studio
14. SOUNDBITE (English) Imran Riza, Special Coordinator for Lebanon, Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, United Nations:
“The frontline in these clashes has been actually the schools they've been used. So, the first thing is to try and get some sort of a cessation. At the moment, there is a bit of a cessation, but unless you have real demilitarization, in a sense, of the camp, of that area, and the various militias that are facing each other off on that, you're not going to get anything sustainable.”
15. Wide shot, journalist, UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon, TV studio
16. SOUNDBITE (English) Imran Riza, Special Coordinator for Lebanon, Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, United Nations:
“Many youths are trying to leave that are not given the current crises. And so, what we're trying to do is make sure that they have some hope within the country and involvement in that way.”
17. Wide shot, journalist, UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon, TV studio
Imran Riza, Special Coordinator for Lebanon, said that the UN and the International community are currently assisting “around 1,000,000 refugees and 1,000,000 Lebanese. And then, in addition to that, Palestine refugees and migrants.”
In an interview in New York today (4 Oct), Riza said, “Last year, there were perhaps slightly over 7,000 people that resettled to a third country, and there is no major voluntary repatriation at all happening at this time. So, you have a population of some one and a half million refugees in Lebanon that have been there now for 12-13 years.”
He continued, “There has been a real upswell at different points, and now again, it's at a crescendo of a lot of anti-Syrian rhetoric in Lebanon. And this has been exacerbated because of the last four years, because of the socioeconomic crisis that Lebanon is in, because of the impoverishment that's happened over the last few years, and the need for assistance for a whole set of different populations.”
He stressed, “Lebanon has been incredibly generous over the years and not just with Syrian refugees, I mean, in history has been one of that. It's not a signatory to the Convention, but I think in a lot of ways it does a lot better than a lot of countries that are signatories.”
He noted, “Our presence there is very much to assist Lebanon, the Lebanese, the Lebanese Government in handling this refugee crisis.”
He highlighted, “We are, at this time, for example, assisting probably around 1,000,000 refugees and 1,000,000 Lebanese. And then, in addition to that, Palestine refugees and migrants.”
Asked about the violence in the Ein Al Helwa refugee camp, the Special Coordinator for Lebanon said that the main concern is to try to bring back some stability.
He added that the schools are not open and the moment.
He also said, “The frontline in these clashes has been actually the schools they've been used. So, the first thing is to try and get some sort of a cessation. At the moment, there is a bit of a cessation, but unless you have real demilitarization, in a sense, of the camp, of that area, and the various militias that are facing each other off on that, you're not going to get anything sustainable.”
Asked about youth, he said that many “are trying to leave that are not given the current crises. And so, what we're trying to do is make sure that they have some hope within the country and involvement in that way.”
