Lebanon grants Palestinian refugees right to work; critics say stumbling blocks remain

Lebanon grants Palestinian refugees right to work

BEIRUT — Lebanon on Tuesday granted the country’s 400,000 Palestinian refugees the right to work in the same professions as other foreigners, lifting a decades-old ban that has relegated the refugees to only the most menial jobs.

The bill was among the most serious efforts yet by Lebanon to transform its policies toward the refugees, although Palestinian leaders in Lebanon and human rights workers say it is only a first step with significant stumbling blocks remaining.

The Palestinians living in Lebanon are isolated from the rest of the country in their camps to a higher degree than anywhere else in the Arab world.

“I was born in Lebanon and I have never known Palestine,” said Ahmed al-Mehdawi, 45, a taxi driver who lives in the Ein el-Hilweh refugee camp, which is notorious for its lawlessness. “What we want is to live like Lebanese. We are human beings and we need civil rights.”

Some 4.7 million Palestinian refugees — who fled or were driven from their homes during the 1948 and 1967 Israeli-Arab wars — and their descendants are scattered across the Middle East. They live mostly in the West Bank, Gaza, Lebanon, Jordan and Syria, according to U.N. figures.

Their fate is one of the most emotionally charged issues in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. Palestinian negotiators have demanded at least partial repatriation, but Israel has refused, saying an influx of refugees would dilute its Jewish majority and threaten the existence of the state.

Unlike in neighboring Arab countries Syria and Jordan, where Palestinians enjoy more rights, the refugees in Lebanon live mostly on U.N. agencies’ handouts and payments from the rival Palestinian factions. Those who do work are generally either employed by the U.N. agency UNRWA or as laborers at menial jobs such as construction.

Parliament lifted the restrictions that kept Palestinians almost entirely out of the formal labor market, although they are still subject to the same regulations as other foreign workers.

Lebanon’s National News agency said the lawmakers amended a segment of the existing labor law that dates back to 1946.

But the laws governing foreign workers in Lebanon pose a unique problem for Palestinians, who are stateless.

Lebanese law restricts some professions only to Lebanese, while many other professions — such as law, medicine and engineering — require the employees to be members of the relevant professional association.

But most of these associations say foreign membership depends on reciprocity in their home country, which effectively bars Palestinians who don’t have one.

“If you’re a Palestinian born and raised in Lebanon and your dream is to become a doctor, you’re out of luck,” said Nadim Houry, the Beirut director at Human Rights Watch.

Houry said Tuesday’s vote was a welcome step, but more needs to be done.

Ali Hamdan, an aide to Lebanon’s parliament speaker, said Tuesday’s vote will legalize much of the work that many Palestinians already are doing and open up positions in fields such as insurance and banking.

“For the first time, Lebanon, which is a small country, is trying to solve a historic crisis for the Palestinian refugees,” Hamdan said.

Beyond the legal restrictions on them, Palestinians also face deep prejudice from many Lebanese.

The bitterness dates back to the early years of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict when Lebanon was flooded with tens of thousands of refugees, upsetting its delicate religious and sectarian balance.

The situation worsened when the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat moved his base here in 1970 after he was expelled from Jordan in a bloody crackdown because his forces tried to form a rival government.

Many Lebanese have not forgiven Arafat’s fighters for attacking Israel repeatedly from southern Lebanon, giving Israel a pretext to attack villages and twice invade.

Associated Press Writer Zeina Karam in Beirut contributed to this report.