Hundreds of Palestinian Refugees in Lebanon Ask for Asylum in Canada

Beirut, MINA – Hundreds of Palestinian refugees gathered outside Canadian Embassy in Beirut, Lebanese capital on Thursday, September 5. They asked for asylum in the North American country. They fly the flags of Palestine and Canada.

Many of the group deplored worsening economic and life conditions in Lebanon, which is experiencing severe economic crisis. They want more dignified life, Nahar Net reported.

There are tens of thousands of Palestinian refugees and their descendants in Lebanon. Most of them live in slum camps without access to public services, limited job opportunities, and no ownership rights.

“We want to immigrate, we want to go to Canada for a better life. There is no work or money or anything here. I have stroke and open heart surgery, nothing helped me, “said Haneya Mohammed, one of the protesters.

Periodic protests outside the embassy on Beirut north coast highway began a few weeks ago, after a halt to the undocumented foreign workforce by Lebanese authorities. The Lebanese Government’s policy sparked protests in several refugee camps spread across the country including in Beirut.

Protesters gathered that day also condemned widespread acts of corruption at the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees or UNRWA. (T/Sj/P2)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)