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Fleeing Syria, Palestinians Find Little Support from their Brethren in Lebanon
(Christian Science Monitor) Claire Duffett - As the number of Palestinian refugees from Syria swells, competition for the jobs available to Palestinians in Lebanon intensifies, undercutting already abysmal wages, driving up housing costs, and aggravating tensions. Palestinians in Lebanon simply can't absorb the unprecedented number of refugees arriving. The PLO estimates the number of Palestinian refugees from Syria may reach 100,000 by the end of 2013 - joining the 450,000 Palestinians in Lebanon before the Syrian war began. In Syria the Palestinians had many of the same rights as citizens. This is not the case in Lebanon, where Palestinians are banned from working in the public sector and in many professional fields and are barred from owning property. On the other hand, Palestinian refugees from Syria have access to more benefits than Syrian refugees. Palestinian children can attend UNRWA schools, while cash grants and other services from UNRWA tend to be higher and more comprehensive than those from UNHCR, the refugee agency responsible for Syrian nationals. Watching these handouts being distributed causes further division, since the grants are not available to Palestinians who have been living in Lebanon for decades. "They're thinking: 'We're getting nothing while that other family is getting support from the international community," said Yasser Daoud, who works with Palestinians in Lebanon.