Sudanese-Sri Lankan family to be deported after 20 years of residency in Lebanon

A road traffic accident has shattered the life of Sudanese porter, Taha Salem, Sri Lankan domestic worker, Davika, and their five children, Al Akhbar reported today. The family which struggled for 20 years to legalize their condition of asylum in Lebanon or any other country, today faces a decision of deportation which will rift their lives apart between Sri Lanka and Sudan, Al Akhbar said. In the details, the newspaper wrote that the ill luck of the family of seven began 6 months ago when the General Security decided to deport them based on the fact that a foreigner who lacks legal residency should be sent back to their country of origin. The newspaper went on to say, that a group of African refugees last night ended their 15-day peaceful sit-in in front of the UNHCR building in Beirut which is one of a series of past protests to no avail. The majority of demonstrators are Sudanese, besides nationals from Mali, Somalia, Eritrea and Ethiopia. Al Akhbar pointed out that after two weeks of an open protest action, the protestors failed to meet any UNHCR official. But yesterday afternoon, following the director of protection services at UNHCR’s meeting with the coordinator of the Sudanese Refugees Committee, Yahya Ismail, the sit in ended based on promises to decide on each file respectively. Such promises, according to Al Akhbar, are added to a list of promises by UNHCR to African refugees in Lebanon over the years, namely to Sudanese nationals, to get resettlement in a third country after Lebanon. Some have been waiting for over 20 years now, the newspaper wrote. (Al Akhbar, September 6, 2019)