SCL Derek Plumbly Visits Syrian Refugees and Host Communities in the Bekaa

The United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon, Derek Plumbly, today visited Zahleh and Joub Jennin in the Western Bekaa Valley to examine the conditions of the Syrian refugees and the local communities hosting them there as well as the ongoing efforts by UNHCR, the Lebanese Government and other partners to meet their needs.

The Special Coordinator met with representatives from UNHCR and other international humanitarian organizations in Zahleh who briefed him on the efforts, which started as of the beginning of November, to ensure that the necessary support is available through the coming winter season.

In Joub Jennin, Mr. Plumbly visited two projects implemented jointly by UNDP, UNHCR and the Union of Joub Jennin municipalities, including a new solid waste management plant under construction and a scheme to rehabilitate a potable water network. Mr. Khaled Saiid Sharanek, the head of the municipality of Joub Jennin and of the union of municipalities of Al Bouheyra, briefed the Special Coordinator on the strong coordination between the local authorities and the different UN actors, as well as on how those projects would benefit both Lebanese communities and Syrian refugees in the area. The Special Coordinator warmly welcomed this cooperation, and the contribution projects would make both in meeting the immediate need and to sustainable development in the longer term.

Finally, Mr. Plumbly met with Syrian refugees in an informal tented settlement in Kob Elias and listened to their painful stories of displacement. Mr. Plumbly said Lebanon and the international community would continue to support the refugees, as well as the generous host communities during this difficult period and hoped for a political solution to the crisis in Syria that would enable them to return to their homes.