00:00Ahead of the UN Summit for Refugees and Migrants in New York last week, we visited Lebanon,
00:10which has a higher number of refugees per capita and per square mile than any other
00:13country in the world.
00:17In Majdalanjar, Lebanon, on the border with Syria, thousands of Syrian refugees are living
00:22in squalid conditions in informal, tented settlements.
00:26There are no formal camps in the country.
00:29The UN Refugee Agency did identify possible lands for formal camps here, but these proposals
00:34were rejected by the Lebanese government for security reasons.
00:38We visited one settlement on the banks of the Litani River, where Fawad al-Saleem lives
00:42with his one-year-old son, Mohamed, and his parents.
00:56We came to Aleppo from one place to another, from one village to another, to adjust our
01:02situation.
01:03We know that there are children among us who are being beaten and shelled by snipers.
01:09Every day, two or three young people die in the streets.
01:13We went to Lebanon, thank God.
01:15We've been here for four years now.
01:17From four or five years ago until now, there hasn't been any progress.
01:22There hasn't been any progress for us.
01:28There's nothing from the UN.
01:30I mean, look at this tent.
01:33Look.
01:34There's no water.
01:36There's very little water coming in.
01:38Do we have to do anything?
01:40The child doesn't drink.
01:41There's nothing.
01:42Fawad and other families pay $50 a month to live on this land, a cheaper price than normal
01:55because it sits on the banks of the Litani River, which has become direly polluted due
01:59to the area's bad sewage system, and as a result is causing various medical problems
02:04for the people staying next to it.
02:12Out of 25 tents, there are more than 30 families.
02:16Most of the children who come to us are ill.
02:21We have a lot of children with cancer.
02:24We have a lot of children with cancer.
02:26We have a lot of people with cancer.
02:28There's also hope in the area.
02:30And the smell of this river is enough for you.
02:33This disease that we have.
02:35The number of Syrian refugees in Lebanon stands at 1.1 million, but with masses of
02:46unregistered Syrians secretly crossing the border in desperate droves, the Lebanese government
02:51estimates that figure to be closer to 1.5 million.
02:56In Beirut, Lebanon's capital, there are over 300,000 registered refugees.
03:01Some live in abandoned buildings, while thousands stay in overcrowded Palestinian refugee camps,
03:06such as Shatila, paying around $200 a month.
03:12MSF has two clinics in Shatila, which are invariably heaving with patients needing treatment
03:17and medication, often caused by unhygienic living conditions, malnutrition and a lack
03:22of sanitation.
03:23According to the UN, more than 70% of Syrian refugees in Lebanon live below the poverty
03:29line.
03:59in Beirut.
04:29With Lebanon bursting at the seams with refugees in desperate conditions, the Lebanese ambassador
04:47to the UN, Nawaf Salam, called upon world powers to do more to aid the crisis ahead
04:52of the UN summit last week.
04:54Many strong and hopeful words were shared by world leaders in New York.
04:57Whether those words turn into action remains to be seen.
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