KRC Report
May 09, 2005

Following the assassination of prime minister Rafic Hariri, the Syrian workers were subject to horrible racist aggressions that led in some cases to the death of some innocent civilians.

These racist aggressions started since the first day of the assassination and increased gradually to cover a wide area in Lebanon. The results of the aggressive acts ranged between murder attempts by gunshots and knife stabs and written and oral threats, in addition to blazing their tents and cars and their little kiosks for selling candies and groceries, which represent their only means of life.

We would like to note that none of the perpetrators has been prosecuted, and there isn't any serious and complete documentation for all the aggressions against the Syrian workers. Besides, not all the accidents have been reported which makes the calculation of victims and losses a mission almost impossible. And please find hereunder a report of the accidents that occurred and been reported.

In the first day of the assassination of prime minister Rafic Hariri, in February 14, some men in Cola region, Beirut, attacked small kiosks and tents owned by Syrians. The shop windows were broken and the shops were ravaged and stolen.

Some news revealed the death of two Syrian workers by the end of February when they were thrown from a building of 4 stories in Aramoun. Two others were killed in Ghbeiri, in the Southern Suburb of Beirut, by stab wounds.

On the 6^th of March, 4 Syrian workers were beaten in Sidon. Four persons entered the room where they lived after they had cut the electricity. They beat them, kicked them, insulted them and left them with several bruises.

On the 8^th of March, it has been reported that more than two bodies for Syrian workers have been transported across the borders through Jdeidet Yabous since the 14^th of February.

On March 9, the death of a Syrian worker in the shop of his employer has been reported in Sidon, and unknown persons put fire in a truck for transporting goods holding a Syrian plate parked in Chevrolet, Furn El Chebbak. The truck was burned with flammable materials.

On the 12^th of March, Tarik El Jedideh region woke up to hear of a crime against the Syrian Youssef Moussa Moussa (43 years) whose body was stabbed with 14 wounds made by a sharp tool. The stabs pierced his chest, stomach and face and he was found lying on a pavement in front of his shop.

It was revealed that the murderers stole all the revenues of the store. The car of the Syrian Thaer Souedan (33 years) was set on fire in Ouzai by unknown persons. The same day, in the evening, a group of Syrian workers were beaten near "Al Nafoury Bakery" in Choueifat, and the reasons remain unknown.

In March 13, a group of young men in an unknown car attacked the Syrians Moustafa and Ibrahim Hammoudi in Chiah, in the southern suburb of Beirut. Their kiosks loaded with orange cases were destroyed.

And one of the demonstrators shot a gunfire against the Syrian Chaaban Aabboudi (36 years), while the demonstration was passing in Hazmieh, but he missed him and disappeared among the crowd.

In March 19, a group of Syrian workers found a letter threatening them and asking them to leave Lebanon immediately, and some young men assaulted Syrian workers in Hakr el Sheik Taba village in Akar, and threatened of killing them if they don't return to their country.

Monday morning, on the 21^st of March, the room where the Syrians Mohammed and Mansour Mohammed lived burst into flames in Merdachieh, Zghorta.

In March 23, a cabin made of iron and plastic owned by a Syrian took fire in Khaldeh, and unknown people shot gunfires on the citizen Toufic Atallah in Ain El Mreiseh. The latter was wounded in his feet when some people had seen him selling roses and thought he was Syrian. They ran away to an unknown destiny after leaving him bleeding alone.

Three explosions happened in the same day due to bombs put near a sawmill and a house occupied by Syrians in Al Rafid village in Rachaya El Wadi.

On March 24, unknown people threw a sound grenade on a car owned by the Syrian Mohammed El Mouh in Deir El Harf, Baabda.

The next day, in March 24, unknown people put 50 grams of dynamite in front of the door of a store in Ersal village in the Bekaa. Two Syrians, Mahmoud Mohammed Selim and Ahmed Mohammed used to live in the store. The same day, another unknown person put 100 grams of dynamite in the chimney of a restaurant invested by the Syrian Abdel Hakim El Kawas (44 years).

In March 28, a house inhabiting Syrian workers in the middle of Baalbeck took fire.

The next day, an unknown person put a hand grenade in front of the house of the Syrian Abdel Wahab Chrio (37 years). Chrio lived in the house with his Syrian wife in Ersal.

An unknown person threw 300 grams of dynamite on a lathe factory in the same village, on March 30. The factory was invested by the Syrian Mahmoud Kabaje (39 years).

Next day in the evening, a sound grenade was thrown by some unknown persons on a house rented by Syrian workers in Ain Marfak, Baabda, and a fire erupted in a room occupied by Syrians in Darb el Tabbaneh building in Tripoli.

In April, the aggressions continued and this time against three Syrian workers in a construction in Batloun, Chouf.

On April the 2^nd, three persons stabbed the Syrian worker Mahmoud Hammam (22 years) with a knife in Bab el Raml, Al Bohsas, Tripoli. They pointed a gun to his head and stole his money. The same incident happened to his fellow citizen Kamal Husseini (23 years) who was stabbed with a knife in Sed El Bouchrieh, Northern Matn. Later on, the criminals took away on a motor bike.

On the dawn of April 3, unknown criminals set fire to some kiosks for selling poultry in the "Sunday Market" in Jisr El Wati, Northern Matn. Lebanese and Syrian merchants whose losses were estimated of 27 million Lebanese pounds owned these Kiosks.

On the same day, three people holding guns and arms assaulted Syrian workers and shot them but they missed the target and took away to an unknown destiny.

On the same day, three workers presented a claim to the police station of Al Naher detachment after unknown people in Jisr Al Fiat had beaten them.

In Mansourieh, the Iraqi Mohammed Amin was desperately beaten by 5 men who left him with serious wound in his head and arms and chest.

Five young men attacked too the Syrian citizens, Ziad Zahi and Kamal Assaad who was immediately transported to the Intensive Care Unit.

On April 4, unknown persons threw a sound grenade on a house occupied by Syrian workers in Al Haouch, Tyre.

On April 8, at noon, a fire ravaged some of the tents in which Syrian workers lived in Al Aabdeh, Akar.

Next day, at night, some of the Syrian workers in a factory in Chabrakieh El Marj, in Zahle were the victims of a murder attempt carried out by seven unknown persons who threw Molotov bombs on the container where the workers lived. Their goal was to intimidate and attack them, but once they failed, they ran away after spreading leaflets calling them to go away.

On April 12, unknown persons attacked the Syrian Ayad Jihad Salha, when he was alone at his place of work as a guardian of a villa in Baalchmeih, and killed him with 8 bullets of a 6-mm. gun and they didn't steal anything from the luxurious villa.

On May 5, at 8 o'clock, two tents inhabited by Syrian workers took fire in Al Aabdeh, Akar. The Lebanese neighbors helped extinguish the fire and prevent it from spreading to the other tents in a camp including more than 20 tents.

The Lebanese General Security issued a report on April 13, about the aggressions against the Syrian workers in Lebanon since February 14. The report included 31 isolated incidents and aggressions against the Syrians’ residences and 43 physical aggressions with rods against them in the period between February 27 and March 23.

Other incidents happened in the period between the 1^st and the 6^th of March. Syrian workers had been kidnapped and a Syrian woman had been raped while several cars owned by Syrians were burnt. And in 17 other incidents Syrian workers received threats for leaving the Lebanese territory. But the report failed to mention the murder of Syrian workers in Aramoun, Sidon and Beirut.

We should note that three Syrian workers had been killed in the assassination of prime minister Rafic Hariri. The victims are Mahmoud El Hamad ( 22 years), Mahmoud El Khalaf (22 years), and Farhan El Issa ( 22 years). The latter's body is still missing until now.

Khiam Rehabilitation Center condemns these racist practices against the Syrian workers in Lebanon and refuses the attempts to make them responsible for the practices of the Syrian security agencies in Lebanon. KRC also considers these aggressions a violation of the international laws that protect the foreign manpower and considers also that they harm the historic and social relationships between the people of the two countries.

KRC condemns all the racist declarations that incited or justified the killing of Syrian workers, such as “Because their number is less than the number of Lebanese killed by Syrians", (A declarations made by the dean of the National Front Carlos Edde, in May 6, 2005).

Killing is a violation for the human right in life, had the victim been a Syrian or a Lebanese or an Assyrian. This is a crime against humanity that cannot be justified, had the number of victims been 1 or 10.

KRC asks the Lebanese authority to carry out a serious investigation in order to find the criminals and prosecute them. We ask the Lebanese authority to take serious arrangements for the protection of Syrian workers in Lebanon and stop the wave of racist hatred against the foreign workers in general and try to organize the foreign manpower. KRC finally asks all the NGOs and human associations and syndicates to work harder and raise their voice against the racist practices targeting the Syrian workers that increased after the assassination of prime minister Rafic Hariri.