Collective Action

A protest by residents of north Lebanon’s Bsharri calling on their municipality to evict local Syrian refugees started on October 30 and lasted until November 3rd. The protesters were calling on local officials to implement a decree ordering Syrian refugees to be evicted from the town by November 25.   In a bid to pressure local authorities to stick to the deadline, hundreds of residents have been protesting since Monday at Bsharri’s public school for girls on a daily basis. Residents complain that Syrian students registering for the new academic year showed they would not be leaving the area.   Protesters have been arriving at the school around 1:30 p.m. each day as Lebanese students finish classes and Syrian families arrive to go about the process of registration for schooling.   With the influx of Syrian refugees into the country, many Lebanese schools have operated a two-shift system – classes for Lebanese nationals and some refugees in the mornings and for Syrian refugees in the afternoon. For Lebanese students, the new school year has already begun, while Syrian students are still registering.