VZCZCXRO5116
PP RUEHBC RUEHDA RUEHDE RUEHIHL RUEHKUK RUEHROV
DE RUEHLB #0424/01 0861220
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 261220Z MAR 08
FM AMEMBASSY BEIRUT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1362
INFO RUEHEE/ARAB LEAGUE COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUCNRAQ/IRAQ COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHGB/AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD PRIORITY 0073
RHEHNSC/WHITE HOUSE WASHDC PRIORITY
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY 2068
RUEHNO/USMISSION USNATO PRIORITY 2336
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS PRIORITY
RHMFISS/USCENTCOM SPECIAL HANDLING MACDILL AFB FL PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BEIRUT 000424 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
NSC FOR ABRAMS/SINGH/GAVITO 
DEPT PASS TO EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAID PGOV PHUM PREF PREL SMIG LE IZ
SUBJECT: LEBANON: IRAQI REFUGEES RECEIVE BADLY NEEDED USG 
FUNDED ASSISTANCE 
 
 
SUMMARY 
------- 
 
¶1.  (SBU) The topic of USG assistance to the Iraqi refugee 
community arose in Poloff's March 18 meeting with Catholic 
Relief Service's (CRS) Country Director Melinda Burell. 
Burell said CRS, in conjunction with its local partner 
Caritas Lebanon, was working with Iraqi refugees by providing 
medical, humanitarian, and legal services.  Burell also 
provided information on recent trends within the Iraqi 
refugee community as well as some of CSR's future projects in 
Lebanon.  End Summary. 
 
CRS HELPS IRAQI REFUGEES 
IN LEBANON 
------------------------ 
 
¶2.  (SBU) In a March 18 meeting with Poloff, CRS Country 
Director Melinda Burell described CRS's achievements with the 
$750,000 grant from the State Department's Bureau of 
Population, Refugees and Migration (PRM).  Burell said CRS, 
by working in conjunction with its local partner Caritas 
Lebanon, has helped 1,500 Iraqi children with their 
educational needs by purchasing their books, enrolling them 
in schools, and even paying from some to go to private 
schools if the public ones are sub-standard.  CRS has also 
enrolled 200 to 300 young Iraqis in vocational training 
programs. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) CRS assisted 750 Iraqi refugees by providing them 
medical care, in addition to providing over 2,000 Iraqi 
families with humanitarian assistance by giving them family 
food packages and coupons for grocery stores, according to 
Burell.  Caritas provides counseling to Iraqi refugees and 
assists with legal services to help undocumented migrants 
obtain legal status by working with Lebanon's immigration 
agency, Securite General, to obtain a general amnesty for all 
illegal Iraqi refugees residing in Lebanon. 
 
MIGRANTS' CENTER 
KEY TO SUCCESS 
---------------- 
 
¶4.  (SBU) CRS has been able to provide the majority of these 
services to the Iraqi refugee community through Caritas's 
owned and operated Migrants' Center.  Most of the Iraqi 
refugees live integrated witin the Lebanese community, but 
they come to Carias' Migrants' Center for services and 
assistance  Burell said Caritas was a great partner and has 
even used some of its own funding to assist some Iraqis with 
their legal cases. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) The Migrant's Center is composed mostly of 
refugees, migrants, and some trafficking victims.   The 
population living at the center and using the center's 
services is mostly Sudanese, Philippine, Ethiopian, and some 
Palestinians.  However, now Iraqi refugees are on the verge 
of becoming the largest community benefiting from the center 
and its services, according to Burell.  CRS and Caritas 
officials also visit Iraqi families in their homes, as well. 
 
TRENDS WITHIN THE 
IRAQI REFUGEE COMMUNITY 
----------------------- 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Burell said Iraqi Christians were the original 
community of Iraqi refugees immigrating to Lebanon, but now 
recent arrivals are Shias and Sunnis.  Most Iraqi refugees 
reside in areas based on the confessional make up of the 
Lebanese village or city, according to Burell.  Many Iraqis 
do not want to return to Iraq, Burell added. 
 
¶7.  (SBU) Burell noted that, in the beginning more affluent 
Iraqi refugees were coming to Lebanon, but now poorer Iraqi 
families are also making the journey.  Burell mentioned that 
many Iraqi children have problems assimilating in local 
Lebanese schools.  Burell added that many Iraqi refugees are 
experiencing employment challenges and that Caritas has had 
to increase its counseling services to help deal with the 
trauma many experienced before arriving to Lebanon. 
 
BEIRUT 00000424  002 OF 002 
 
 
 
¶8.  (SBU) However, Burell notes that the numbers of arrivals 
per day have decreased from the rate of about 100 per day in 
2003, to around 12 to 15 a day, which was what the rate was 
before Operation Iraqi Freedom began in 2003.  Deportations 
are also down, Burell noted. 
 
POSSIBLE BACKLASH 
FROM LEBANESE COMMUNITY 
----------------------- 
 
¶9.  (SBU) According to Burell, there is fear that there could 
be a backlash from the Lebanese population towards the Iraqi 
refugee community, though it has yet to happen.  Burell said 
its current grant does not provide assistance to host 
communities, but noted that PRM recently sent out a Request 
for Applications (RFA) for programs directed towards the 
Iraqi refugee community.  Burell proposes to use ten percent 
of this potential $750,000 grant towards programs for the 
Lebanese communities, in order to reduce any potential 
tension between the local Lebanese populace and the newly 
arrived Iraqi refugees. 
 
OTHER ASSISTANCE 
TO IRAQI REFUGEES 
----------------- 
 
¶10. (SBU) In addition to the this grant, Burell said PRM 
provided a one-year $1.1 million grant to International 
Medical Corporation (IMC) in December 2007, to provide 
medical services, mostly psychological therapy, to Iraqi 
refugees in Lebanon.  In addition, as part of a $1,000,000 
grant from PRM, the International Organization for Migration 
(IOM) allocated $100,000 to educate and train Lebanese 
immigration and security officials about deterring the 
potential trafficking of Iraqi refugees in Lebanon. 
 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶11. (SBU) In our view, CRS and Caritas Lebanon have been good 
partners on assisting the Iraqi refugee community in Lebanon. 
 We favor their proposed approach of directing some 
assistance to head off resentment in the Lebanese communities 
where the Iraqi refugees live. End Comment. 
SISON