This article that I have attached to the bottom of my post gives a good description of some of the common problems and realities that I have encountered in the Our Lady of Faith Dispensary. The center is open Monday through Friday, from 8-2. On a daily basis, it is open for anyone to come in to see the nurse, take medications, make appointments with the doctors who volunteer in the center. We have a pediatrician, gynecologist, orthopedist and regular doctors who come in as volunteers once per week. We also have people coming in to talk, they are looking for help for many different issues which they encounter as their saving are running out. Each person and family has a different story. As the article will tell, most Iraqis coming to Lebanon, and also to other Arab coutnries like Syria and Jordan, feel that they are in a strange period of waiting to be granted approval from the United Nations to move to the United States or Austraila. After entering Lebanon, Iraqis must usually wait about two years for this process to take place and at the end they may not be granted permission to travel. In that situation, they face the choice between living illegally in Lebanon under very harsh conditons or returning to the danger of Iraq. Many know about the very harsh laws about citizenship in Lebanon because of the situation for Palestinian refugees. All Iraqi refugees are here illegally and are at risk of being imprisoned at any time and put into a cell with real criminals. One of our partners, Heart for Lebanon, is doing prison ministry with these people. I will try to find some more information about this particular issue but for now, the following article gives a good general description of the issues.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Local-News/2011/May-13/Conditions-for-Iraqi-refugees-in-Lebanon-less-than-ideal.ashx#axzz1kYcfGeBQ
