Lebanon’s families in crisis: Mothers skipping meals so their children can eat

The location of Darb El Seem, along a riverbank on the outskirts of Saida, is idyllic. But for the 250 Syrian refugees – 150 of them children – who live there, the informal settlement is a place of desperation, disease and hunger.

Rehaf, a mother of three who lives in one of the 40 tents, says that conditions gradually deteriorated for much of the seven years since she fled the Syrian city of Homs. “But the past 18 months have seen them slip below even my worst nightmare,” she says.

Lebanon has been driven to the brink of collapse by a series of concurrent shocks. A huge and worsening socio-economic crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic and the August 2020 Beirut Port explosions have exacerbated vulnerabilities, and plunged more families into poverty, with repercussions on children’s physical and mental health and their education.

A rapid assessment conducted by UNICEF in April 2021 shows that more than three in 10 families had at least one child who either went to bed hungry or skipped a meal.

While all nationalities are affected, and many Lebanese households have fallen into poverty, Syrian refugees are particularly hard hit.

"Food prices are so high now that I can’t keep us adequately fed every day," says Rehaf, whose husband lost his job as COVID-19 restrictions affected local businesses.

"We live on bread and zaatar. My children eat first and, if there’s anything left, I’ll eat that. Days pass by without me eating anything at all.

"Every day my children ask me for more. What should I tell them?" Rehaf says her family cannot afford to buy vegetables at today's prices. "And we haven’t eaten meat for nearly a year," she adds.

She has been buying food and medication on credit and borrowed money from neighbours. "We’ve never had enough money, but up until a year ago, I was able to manage. Whatever I borrowed was repaid at the end of the month. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to repay everyone. "

The UNICEF survey shows that 60 per cent of households in Lebanon have to buy food on credit or borrow money – 100 per cent in the case of Syrian families.

Rehaf says the dire situation is affecting her children's health. "Over the past year, I’ve had to watch as my children have grown progressively weaker."

She and her husband too have been getting sick more often, because of inadequate nutrition, and as a result of deteriorating sanitary conditions in the settlement, she says.

"When we first arrived, my husband and I were both healthy. Now, we’re always getting sick – but now we’re unable to afford to buy any medicine."

Rehaf says she worries about the future of her young children, who gathered around her as she spoke.

“This is a terrible place to try to bring up children. With the schools being closed, I used to worry about their education, but today I worry about their mental health too. For too long they have lived with basic elements of a child’s life being stripped away… one by one.

“What’s the solution?” Rehaf asks. “We want to leave – to travel to any country. Life cannot be worse than this, wherever we go”.

UNICEF supports families in Darb El Seem through local partners Terre des Hommes and Sama for Development. Activities on-site include movement, sports, and singing – all respecting social distancing – as well as hygiene and COVID-19 awareness sessions.

UNICEF plays a significant role in the response to the protracted refugee crisis and the economic depression. It has achieved significant results under the Lebanon Crisis Response Plan, providing WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene), education and child protection support. In parallel, UNICEF is enhancing its social protection programme by creating a child grant for 70,000 children and working with ILO and national authorities to strengthen the national social protection system.