• Social Issues
    Jul 13, 2021

    Interactions and Attitudes between Lebanese and Syrian Communities in Lebanese Municipalities

    • Daniel Garrote Sánchez
    Interactions and Attitudes between Lebanese and Syrian Communities in Lebanese Municipalities
    The presence of a large Syrian refugee population in Lebanon has had numerous impacts on the Lebanese economy and society. One main area of concern regards social cohesion between the local hosts and Syrian refugee communities. Various studies have suggested different, sometimes conflicting, theories on how the two communities engage with one another and what forms of interaction improve or hinder social cohesion. In order to better understand the dynamics and attitudes of the two communities, LCPS conducted in 2018 a survey of host and refugee communities in three mid-sized cities in Lebanon: Saida, Zahle, and Halba. Through the survey, we find numerous variations in attitudes between and among the two communities, as well as variations across the different municipalities arising from varying geographic, economic, and confessional factors. The policy brief concludes with recommendations on how to better improve social cohesion and move toward cooperation between the two communities. 
    Daniel Garrote Sánchez contributed to this project while being a senior researcher at the Lebanese Center for Policy Studies. He currently works as a labor market consultant at the World Bank. His areas of work include economic migration, labor markets and the task content of jobs, conflict and forced displacement, and development of lagging regions. Prior to joining LCPS, he served as a labor migration consultant for the World Bank and the Ministry of Labor of Saudi Arabia. He also worked for six years as an economic researcher at the Central Bank of Spain covering a range of macroeconomic topics such as fiscal policy, labor markets, and deleveraging. Garrote Sánchez holds a master’s degree in Public Administration and International Development from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government.
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