Photo taken from Hanine Sayyed’s X account.
After just starting her role as the new social affairs minister, Hanin Sayyed is already facing criticism on social media from those calling for the departure of Syrian migrants and refugees from Lebanon at any cost. Sayyed, speaking on Monday to the Saudi news channel Al-Hadath, stated that "the return of displaced Syrians must be voluntary," comments that contradict the rhetoric of a large part of political leaders in Lebanon as well as the expulsions conducted by security forces for years, which have been criticized by human rights organizations.
"Lebanon respects international laws, and the return of displaced Syrians must be voluntary. This issue is among the priorities of the next government," said Sayyed. "The situation in the region has changed, and there is a new regime in Syria. The prime minister will initiate discussions with the Syrian government to work together to ensure the safe and voluntary return of our Syrian brothers."
'Protecting Lebanese and their interests'
An economist by training and a graduate of Stanford and Columbia universities, Sayyed is an expert on social protection issues at the World Bank for the Middle East and North Africa region. She coordinated the World Bank's response to the Syrian crisis from 2011 to 2017. She is part of the prime minister's quota and succeeds Hector Hajjar, affiliated with the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM), a party that made the departure of Syrians one of its preferred issues.
Criticism quickly appeared on social media, notably from Ghassan Atallah, FPM MP of the North Lebanon III constituency. "The Minister of Social Affairs thinks her role is to please the Syrians ... while her real role is to protect the Lebanese and their interests and not to bow to the dictates of the international community. It’s a misstep, but we didn’t expect better anyway," he wrote Tuesday on X.
"As Lebanese, should we ask the minister to apologize, resign, or do both?" wrote a user on X.
"Resign, and let the position be given to someone who knows how to work," added another.
'An admirer of Jolani'
Ghina Ghandour, who describes herself on X as an "entrepreneur" and "engaged citizen" and who faced defamation charges in December from MTV said that the minister "failed the first test."
"It won’t happen the way you want or as the associations benefiting from the presence of refugees want. They must leave, and they will leave if we all agree on this. Hanin is apparently an admirer of Jolani. No to disguised naturalization," she wrote.
Calls for the repatriation of displaced persons have been increasing in recent years, and anti-Syrian sentiment is increasingly present within society. Lebanese authorities have tightened entry conditions to Lebanon for Syrians recently, and many Syrians whose papers were not in order have been expelled from the country.
In late January, President Joseph Aoun asked the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Filippo Grandi, to start organizing return convoys for displaced Syrians, calling on the international community to provide material and humanitarian support for this purpose, especially since some countries have already started to do so.
"We want refugees to return home as quickly as possible, and we are ready to cooperate with you in every way," stated Aoun, adding that since the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime on Dec. 8, they can return to their country safely.
This article was originally published in French in L'Orient-Le Jour.