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Transcript/ScriptLebanon Syria Migrants (TV)
HEADLINE: As War Winds Down, Syrians Escape Economic Crisis
TEASER: Many desperate Syrians are stuck in Lebanon after repeated unsuccessful attempts to reach Europe.
PUBLISHED AT: Thursday, 02/03/2022 9:35 am
BYLINE: Anchal Vohra
CONTRIBUTOR: Tilo Gummel
DATELINE: Beirut, Lebanon
VIDEOGRAPHER: Tilo Gummel
VIDEO EDITOR: Tilo Gummel
PRODUCER: Henry Hernandez
SCRIPT EDITORS: LR, BR
VIDEO SOURCES: VOA ORIGINAL
PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB __ TV _X_ RADIO __
TRT: 2:30
VID APPROVED BY: BR
TYPE: TVPKG
EDITOR NOTES: ))
((INTRO)) [[ Even though the armed conflict in Syria is easing, Syrians are still making the treacherous journey to Europe to escape a devastated economy. Some traveled to Belarus to cross into Poland, an EU member, but most were eventually detained and deported and now find themselves trapped in Lebanon with its collapsing economy. For VOA, Anchal Vohra has their story from the Lebanese city of Baalbek, near Lebanon’s border with Syria.]]
((NARRATOR))
Syrian refugee Osama Burhan transports coffins and washes corpses before they are buried to earn money to repay the debt he took on in his unsuccessful attempt to reach Western Europe through Belarus.
He walked through thick forests in freezing temperatures but every time he was caught at the Polish border and turned around. After many failed attempts, Burhan returned to Baalbek in northern Lebanon but has no intention of going back to Syria.
((Osama Burhan, Syrian Migrant (MALE IN ARABIC)) 00:02:44:08 → 00:02:58:22
“The situation in Syria is very hard. Sometimes I call some of my relatives inside Syria and they describe how the situation is. People are alive just because they are waiting to die.”
((NARRATOR))
Burhan sought refuge in Lebanon nine years ago to escape the Syrian war. But even as the military conflict subsides in his country, widespread destruction and a debilitating economic crisis have not allowed him to return.
Meanwhile hyperinflation in his host country, Lebanon, makes it difficult for him to pay for his family’s basic necessities.
Burhan’s friend, Visal Amjad, is an X-ray technician from Damascus. He knows his profession is much sought after in Europe. His home in Syria is destroyed, like much of the country, but in Lebanon he sees no future either.
((Visal Amjad, Syrian Migrant (MALE IN ARABIC))
“Our house was destroyed in the war and now we don’t have a house there. If we return, we don't have a house to stay in. /// In Syria there is no future. Everybody is leaving the country, especially young people”
((NARRATOR))
The citizens of Syria are stuck. Their government is cash-strapped after Syrian government forces inflicted extensive damage across the landscape.
And international sanctions imposed on Syria for its repression further complicate reconstruction efforts.
So, it is uncertain whether many refugees will ever return to Syria.
((RADIO VERSION: For Osama Burhan, there is no point in going back to Syria if he can make a decent living elsewhere.))
((Osama Burhan, Syrian Migrant (MALE IN ARABIC)) 00:04:33:23 → 00:04:40:19
“The country doesn’t matter to me. I just want to live with dignity. I want to continue my life in peace and safety.”
((NARRATOR))
He says that with no options available to him now, he has no choice but to head back to Belarus in a few months when the weather gets warmer and try once again to cross into Europe.
((ANCHAL VOHRA, FOR VOA NEWS, BAALBEK, LEBANON))
NewsML Media TopicsArts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
NetworkVOA
Embargo DateFebruary 3, 2022 15:23 EST
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English
