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In Issue nº 11, March 2016 Issue nº 11, March 2016 In Lebanon 8 Joint news supplement Joint news supplement 9 Special needs Special families on hiding them from society, specialized rehabilitative works for people especially if they are females. This situation with disabilities.» When it comes to the subjects female children or adolescents to right to work, «refugees are deprived of Refugees and Citizens United by a Tragedy double discrimination for being a female work and rely on the financial and in- and a person with disability, the fact kind assistance offered by donors.» «Most that exacerbates their psychological and refugees with disabilities live in arbitrary Preceding the War behavioral condition. The state of being a camps that lack architectural amenities. refugee and its harsh conditions contribute They are hostages of improvised shelter to the denial of females of their basic centers or camps that lack the lowest Children with disabilities in an environment that disregards rights, often manifested in preventing standards of health and safety.» them from leaving refugee tents in families Organizations for the disabled have called their needs with many girls in fear that their disability for «determining the degree and type would affect their sisters’ «lot» in marriage. of disability and the additional needs of Perhaps the low percentage (37%) of access refugees with disabilities through a single Imadeddine Raef* to these females is an indication of this specialized form and ensuring the access discrimination. Discrimination has been and participation of refugee children with The Syrian girl Y.D. (13) lives in a tent with eight other members of her family who are not registered on the lists of the UN High Commissioner for observed more than once through the disabilities in alternative educational Refugees (UNHCR), the fact that deprives them of the basic assistance on the one hand and refugee status on the other. The family, living in Younine Observatory on the Rights of Persons with programs through adapting the curricula camp in the Beqaa where no one in her family is productive economically, is hunger stricken. As a consequence, her sister M.D. suffers malnutrition. Disabilities, and in high percentages in gradually from the lowest to the highest Yasmine suffers severe spine curvature that causes her constant pain and mobility difficulties. She used to be able to stand and walk on her feet to Lebanese regions regardless of the family classes.» Moreover, «refugees with perform domestic chores that were required of her, the fact that exacerbated the curvature in her back. In addition to her stepmother’s mistreatment income or living standard; so how can the disabilities should be considered as a real and verbal abuse, her father prevented her from leaving the tent for «social» reasons, which led to her complete isolation in a corner of the tent, urinary situation be otherwise for females living in priority in ensuring their right of access incontinence and shame from her disability. refugee tents? to medical centers contracted by UNHCR An outcry in the wilderness and provision of appropriate therapy for them» in addition to «rehabilitating During a camp field visit, one of the social with 3,670 persons (1,257 females and 2,413 applied arbitrarily, as with the medical and Agreements have been concluded with Although Lebanon has not ratified the refugees with disabilities in specialized workers from the «Enabling persons with males). As a result, around 40 percent hospital care services where difficulties in specialists and the action team has been international convention that provides programs, especially those with war- disabilities to deal with the Syrian crisis of refugees with disabilities who have obtaining prosthetics and medical devices trained on the standards of referral for the organizations of disabled people with project» implemented by the Lebanese obtained a UNHCR registration card have persist. Moreover, most of the articles of each type of therapy and the procedures mechanisms for monitoring its proper caused disabilities.» They have also called Physical Handicapped Union in the Beqaa no specified disability either as a result of the law 220/2000 relating to educational in place have been organized for each application, these organizations have for «equipping refugee centers according got to meet the girl. She was referred to absence of a specialized form on the one integration, education, sports, recreation, type for best results in the follow up on found ways of voicing their issues to the to a mechanism of mobile architectural one of the international organizations hand or the narrow local classification of housing and decent employment have not the progress of each case in addition to International Organization. They have equipment to ensure their equal access to programs to provide her with a medical disabilities compared to classifications been applied for 16 years. equipping the necessary clinics and the drafted a shadow report submitted to the services with non-disabled refugees.» back brace. The device, however, and after adopted worldwide in an era following the mobile clinic. Thus, refugee children have UN-High Commissioner for Human Rights Lebanese human rights organizations are Hostages of the place obtaining it, caused her additional pain and Convention on the Rights of Persons with become a part of integrated work that goes in the framework of a periodic review on looking forward to March 2016, the date th turned out to be unsuitable for her. After Disabilities (CRPD). The project figures show that out of 284 beyond relief and therapy to integration Lebanon’s compliance with its obligations of the 24 session of the Human Rights referring Y. D. again to physical therapy Therefore, the no way to reach refugees refugees, 161 children were subject to in training and recreational activities. relating to the rights of persons with Council at the United Nations and call sessions, some progressive improvement with disabilities, particularly the children, intervention in Middle and North Beqaa For that purpose, workers in most relief disabilities, or what is called the Universal upon the Lebanese government to ratify was observed but the medical examination is by looking for them in refugee camps and (89 percent under the age of 15, 37 percent associations and organizations active in Periodic Report (UPR), coinciding with all the 219 human rights recommendations revealed that she was in need of prompt centers before determining the needs and females), where children make up 57 the Beqaa had to be trained on how to Lebanon’s official presentation of its that have been noted in writing and intervention. In addition to the brace, intervention possibilities to fulfill their percent of refugees and are distributed deal with individuals with disabilities. report in early November 2015 in Geneva. orally during the UPR as it constitutes she needed an urgent surgical operation needs. Research has revealed that most of among the four impairment categories In addition, the referral system has been The report was drafted by the Lebanese the minimum required standards and without which it is believed she would them live in and around , Majdel (auditory and verbal, visual, mobility and activated to respond to different needs Coalition of Organizations of Disabled anything less cannot be accepted. Time not be able to walk again. If her disability Anjar, Bar Elias and Marj (around 90 mental), as well as 19 cases of multiple that exceed the project’s capacity relating People and the Lebanese Disability is going by and the current Lebanese was to exacerbate, will she be able to be percent) while the remaining percentage impairments. Moreover, 75 percent of to mobility aids, health and medical Forum and presented by the Lebanese government, like its predecessors since mobile in a wheelchair around the camp? is spread over the towns of Ali Annahri, these children live in refugee tents while treatments and legal assistance (227 Physical Handicapped Union as the the adoption of the «Taif» Agreement, Can the refugee family change its place of , Gazza, Joub Jannine, Hermel, the rest live in rented apartments or persons have been referred to date and executive party. It guarantees the rights disregards the application of relevant residence? And is the surrounding public , Shmustar, Taalbaya, Taanayel and buildings that lack the basic architectural they are being followed up to ensure they of Syrian refugees with disabilities local and international legislation, space for both citizens and refugees and the Temnine. amenities for people with mobility, visual receive the required service). and demands their inclusion in the thereby making the calls of human rights families that are able to rent apartments It is evident that the infrastructure in or mental impairments. Thus, they are The social and psychological support services provided by the law 220/2000 organizations an outcry in the wilderness. any better for children with disabilities? those areas, as in the rest of Lebanon, lacks in fact the hostages of a place that does department has worked on implementing and the international convention. This The demands for equal rights among any architectural amenities that heed the not heed their needs as well as the needs external social activities and social and report, whose recommendations were refugees on the one hand, and between Figures and needs needs of people with disabilities either at imposed by displacement on the one hand various psychological support activities presented in last December upon refugees and citizens on the other hand, The case of Y. D. is one of 306 cases its minimum level as provided by section and their health condition on the other. for refugees and residents alike in the invitation of the Arab Network for face a hostile environment and a hostile observed by the project implemented four of the law 220/2000 on the rights of Nevertheless, when the intervention with addition to recreational activities for NGOs, notes that the «UNHCR form is human rights reasoning that continues by the Lebanese Physical Handicapped persons with disabilities or in accordance a child with disabilities involves treatment children to help them integrate in the not specialized, does not monitor the to confine children with disabilities Union; the project is involved with with the comprehensive system imposed and medical devices, he cannot be isolated local environment. This was preceded by type and degree of disability and largely to the medical and charitable models 284 of these cases. The project, in its by the CRPD and its optional protocol that from the rest of the children, refugees or empowering and training the action team depends on the descriptions of refugees and regards them as service recipients statistical and relief aspects, is an urgent the Lebanese Parliament has not ratified to other. In spite of the great difficulty of and a team of volunteers who would be (on the disability and needs) and not on and not as human beings with the need for a region that houses a very large this day, nine years after it has been issued. doing so, and according to Tufayli, the carrying out the activities, with special the observations of trained specialists.» right to full participation in public life. number of refugees in the absence of According to the coordinator Samar Tufayli project has worked to prevent the isolation focus on children and adolescents, child Regarding education, «refugee children Therefore, society has to remove barriers scientific statistics. The figures available of the «Enabling persons with disabilities of refugee children with disabilities in protection standards in emergencies, child with disabilities are deprived of alternative to their integration. Refugee children with from UNHCR for the Hermel and Beqaa to deal with the Syrian crisis project» parallel with working with Lebanese, development stages, communication, education programs within the arbitrary disabilities are the most marginalized and districts in general reveal the registration implemented by the Lebanese Physical Syrian, Palestinian and Iraqi children, i.e. providing moral support to a child and form of official and contractual education excluded categories, along with women of 9,342 persons with disabilities Handicapped Union, «If the infrastructure four times the number of Syrian children his family, disability and integration, and services provided in areas with refugees with disabilities and elderly people, and distributed according to type of disability for public and private use in towns and cities with disabilities, as part of the Emergency violence survivor care. The social and as a result of the absence of appropriate the programs that work with them require as follows: visual impairment with 1,362 is that way, how could it be otherwise in Project rehabilitative therapies section psychological reality has been assessed equipment, an adapted curriculum and a lot of elements of perseverance and persons (503 females and 859 males), the refugee camps that virtually don’t have that includes physical therapy, speech in target areas with the help of a rigorous trained educational staff.» In addition, in continuity for the accumulation of efforts mobility impairment with 1289 persons any amenities to aid the mobility of people therapy, occupational therapy and medical questionnaire (emotional, psychological, health and rehabilitation, «the budgets and skills with the hope that a fifth year (621 females and 1,271 males), mental with disabilities?» Syrians with disabilities devices. social and behavioral) and data analyzed that cover medical care, hospitalization would not go by without the refugees disabilities with 816 persons (346 females have fled to an environment already in Accurate information has been collected before drafting an action plan. and treatment of chronic and terminal returning to their homes. and 470 males), auditory and verbal a crisis, which does not meet the basic regarding the need of people with Difficulties are mainly related to dealing diseases have been gradually reduced impairments with 1,602 persons (640 needs of its citizens with disabilities and disabilities through field assessments and with the society’s received view of children to a minimum over the past year and *Lebanese journalist and researcher in human females and 962 males), other disabilities where legislation on the urgent services is referrals by associations and other parties. with disabilities and the insistence of some the periodic reports did not note any rights issues in Lebanon and the Arab world Designed by: Nisrine Sarkis