Legal Assistance To Vulnerable Persons In The Context Of The War In Syria / Lebanon

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The programme titled « Legal assistance to vulnerable persons in the context of the war in Syria” is funded by the European Regional Development and Protection Programme (RDPP) for Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq, which is supported by Czech Republic, Denmark, European Commission (DEVCO), Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Switzerland, and United Kingdom. The contents of this document are the sole responsibility of CLDH and can under no circumstances be regarded as reflecting the position of the RDPP. Yehya, Syrian, male, born in 1990, detained for illegal entry. Do you remember the birth of your first child? Yehya missed it because he is a refugee... Yehya is a Syrian refugee in Lebanon. Fleeing the war in Syria he was arrested in February for illegally entering Lebanon. At the time of his arrest, his wife Sally was expected to deliver their first baby at any time. CLDH lawyer applied for his release in the hope that the judge would let him be present for this once-in-a-lifetime happy event. Unfortunately, the application for release was rejected and Sally delivered their baby Farooq while Yehya was still detained. Yehya was then released and could finally hold his gorgeous baby proudly in his arms. Refugees are humans before being refugees! Yehya could not be present for his wife's delivery for the sole reason that he was punished for escaping his country at war.

Ahmad*, Syrian born in 1985. . He fled to Lebanon in 2013, after being wanted from the security forces in Syria. He was a political activist, for which he was detained for 6 months in Syria. There he was tortured severely.In Lebanon, he was living in a house with 5 strangers in Mar Elias and was illegal in Lebanon. He became a beneficiary at Nassim Center for the rehabilitation of victims of torture (CLDH project) in April 2014. A CLDH lawyer assisted him in legalizing his stay and acted as his legal representative to UNHCR. CLDH lawyer pushed for his resettlement since he was threatened on a daily basis for his activism in Syria. In 2015, he got married and CLDH assisted him in registering this at UNHCR. Just after his marriage, in May, UNHCR opened his file for consideration of resettlement. A CLDH lawyer attended all his UNHCR interviews and within 6 months his file was submitted to a European Embassy. CLDH lawyer intervened multiple times with UNHCR, and emphasized the urgency and the vulnerabilities of the family. His wife became pregnant in the meantime. In 2016 he finally received the positive news that he and his family were travelling through legal resettlement to Europe. From Europe, he contacted CLDH lawyers and sent pictures, indicating that he finally felt safe.