At an informal refugee camp on the outskirts of Tripoli, Syrian refugees await the impending winter in overcrowded conditions. By official estimates, some 1.4 million refugees have sought shelter in Lebanon since the start of the country’s brutal civil war, with thousands more pouring across the border in recent days as the fighting between rebels and the military has intensified in the Qalamoun region. Here, a minibus selling household wares travels around the camp.
The Tenuk camp, on the outskirts of Tripoli, was first started by the Palestinian refugees. It now houses refugees from both Palestine and Syria. As with most refugee camps in Lebanon, it is built on privately owned land, and residents get no help from the U.N. or the Lebanese government.
Yusuf Sayman
The name Tenuk refers to the thin scrap sheet metal most houses are made of. Refugees rent the land and build shelters from any material they can find.
Yusuf Sayman
A small refugee camp in Akkar, Lebanon. Northern Lebanon houses hundreds of small refugee encampments. They are usually built in the woods, away from the public view due to growing anti-Syrian sentiments in Lebanon. These camps get no official help from the Lebanese government or the U.N. Residents usually have to pay rent to the landowners, and scrounge for food and heating in a country where it is nearly impossible for them to find work.
Yusuf Sayman
Akkar, Lebanon: A baby is seen sleeping in a small camp. Due to the lack of services such as sanitation and running water, the camps are infested with flies, especially during warmer months. The only medical help the camp gets is when the U.N. comes to vaccinate the babies.
Yusuf Sayman
The gas stove in the kitchen area of a tent, in one of the many small camps in the Akkar region.
Yusuf Sayman
Children play with burning garbage in a Lebanese camp that is located in farmland near Akkar.
Yusuf Sayman
A small camp in Akkar is made of 22 tents, all similar to this one. Some residents have been living here for two and a half years, while others are new arrivals. There is no education for the children, and residents rarely leave the camp as they feel unwelcome, and say they sometimes get attacked outside the camp.
Yusuf Sayman
A child burns wood for the stove that his family uses to cook and boil water.
Yusuf Sayman
This family of 10 moved to this camp after renting an apartment for four months. They had trouble paying the $100 rent for the apartment, as their only income is the monthly $100 they get from the U.N., which they say is barely enough for housing and bread.
A resident in one of the small camps in Northern Lebanon’s countryside. The resident, who wishes not to be named, says he feels very sick, but can not see a doctor as he has no access to health services.
Fatima (Not her real name) is a community organizer in the Tenuk camp near Tripoli. She has been living here for 13 moths with her three children. She paid $600 to secure a spot, and then built her house herself. Although she is illiterate, she helps other residents with forms to get help from U.N.
Yusuf Sayman
An improvised camp built on farmland in Akkar, Lebanon. The small structures in the background are makeshift toilets.
Yusuf Sayman
