who comprised 10 % of the population ( as of 2013 ) and have experienced marginalization and limited rights , since Lebanon is not a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention that obligates nations to assist refugees .
When millions of Syrian refugees began pouring across their borders , Jordan and Lebanon were initially extraordinarily generous . However , as the war has progressed , tensions have become strained as the influx has had a major impact on the region – hospitals are overflowing with Syrians , schools are doing doubleshifts to accommodate refugee children , there is a massive water shortage ( especially in Jordan ), and competition for housing and jobs has raised rent and lowered wages . Some 170,000 Lebanese have fallen into poverty because of the strain the refugee crisis has had on the economy , according to a World Bank / UN assessment . Furthermore , support for refugees in neighboring countries can inadvertently breed resentment and violence if the local population is not allowed to use the services allocated to refugees . During the Iraqi refugee crisis in Jordan in 2008 , attention and funding increased for Iraqi refugees , even though Jordanians in the vicinity also had very limited resources ; this created a backlash against Iraqi children .
As neighboring countries became overwhelmed by Syrian refugees , by mid- 2014 , Lebanon and Jordan began to restrict their borders , as well as Turkey . According to the UN Refugee Agency ( UNHCR ), many Syrians in urban areas have been forced to deplete their savings as the war has dragged on , and they are now obliged to live in substandard housing and send their children to work in informal or dangerous jobs . As neighboring countries have become crowded and the war has continued , with infrastructure and basic delivery strained from the demand to accommodate the high influx of refugees in addition to their own populations , refugees have sought refuge elsewhere - many risking the dangerous journey by land or by sea into Europe despite the risk of pushbacks as happen with alarming frequency at the borders between Turkey and Greece . In 2015 , half of all migrants / refugees who attempted the Mediterranean route were Syrians – over half a million people .
There are three main options for responding to such a refugee situation : “[ 1 .] resolving the original conflict in the country of origin and returning refugees to their homes , [ 2 .] permanently settling the refugees in the host country , perhaps with an option for citizenship , [ and 3 .] resettling them in a third country ,” ( RAND , p . 15 ). Refugees may wish to remain in neighboring host countries due to similar linguistic and cultural affinities and since closer proximity provides a better judge of when / if they can return to their country of origin . However , this does not always work out well in the case of protracted displacement . A RAND study notes that as displacement continues – such as with Palestinian refugees – “ the longer a crisis goes on , the more receiving countries tend to limit refugees ’ other options , such as precluding citizenship , higher education , or employment . Other governments and international donors succumb over time to budgetary pressures by cutting food handouts to camps or social programs in urban settings ,” ( p . 15 ).
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