Hundreds of Palestinian refugees gathered in front of the Canadian Embassy Tuesday morning decrying their situation in Lebanon and requesting asylum in the North American nation.
Local TV channel LBCI reported that around 700 people gathered at the embassy in Jal al-Dib calling for asylum in Canada, flying Palestinian and Canadian flags.
The demonstration was organized by the Palestinian Youth Organization for Humanitarian Relief in Lebanon and the Youth Movement for Palestinians in Syria.
Fathi Najjar, a representative of the former organization, told The Daily Star that both groups had handed letters to an embassy representative “explaining the suffering of Palestinians in Lebanon and the need for asylum in Canada.”
They also submitted lists of names of Palestinians residing in Lebanon that are requesting to be granted asylum in Canada.
The Canadian Embassy didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on the protesters’ calls.
Najjar said the action was in part prompted by a recent Labor Ministry crackdown on undocumented foreign labor.
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Lebanon’s Palestinian refugees have been holding protests for the last four weeks against the campaign, feeling it feel targets them unfairly.
Unlike other foreign workers, Palestinians cannot return to their homeland and often lack the documents required to get a work permit.
In addition, Najjar said that the group was also protesting against alleged corruption within the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, which he said handed out support and aid in an biased manner. “[UNRWA] is not helping people,” he said.
Last week, the Associated Press revealed via a leaked report that an investigation had been launched at UNRWA into alleged corruption, nepotism, sexual misconduct and abuse of authority. The revelation of the internal investigation led the Netherlands and Switzerland to suspend their funding to the agency.
When asked why the demonstrators had chosen the Canadian Embassy, Najjar cited the Canadian authorities’ past responsiveness to their demands.
In 2018, the embassy pledged 50 million Canadian dollars ($38 million) to Palestinian refugees at a meeting between Ambassador Emmanuelle Lamoureux and Claudio Cordone, the director of UNRWA in Lebanon.
“We want to go to a country that protects us,” he said. “The right of return feels closer in Europe and North America than it does here.”
This article has been adapted from its original source.
