Hosted annually on the 20th of June by the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), the theme of the Day was “Protection”. Tents and other relief items went on display in around 20 capital cities to highlight the hardships faced by families forced to leave their homes.

Young Iraqi man playing the Dabke Choueibi drum.    Photo: Norwegian Refugee Council/Robert Beer

A fun day out for families
In Lebanon, NRC and partner agencies organized a day of fun for over 500 members of the refugee community in a local school in the mountains outside of the capital city, Beirut. Iraqi refugees, supported by NRC’s education project, enjoyed festivities that included fair-ground rides, music, games for children and traditional Iraqi dancing accompanied by a drum, known as Dabke Choueibi.

“The dance is common when Iraqis gather together and want to express their happiness”, explained Riyadh Al-Karam, Head Teacher at NRC’s Education Centre in Beirut and himself a refugee. “This is particularly important when we Iraqis find ourselves in a foreign place”, he continued, “as it is part of our identity and community life”.

For six year-old Mehdi from Baghdad, the day was simply about having fun.

“I had to keep running with my friends to go on all of the rides and then we watched the football”, he said. In a game with both NRC staff and members of the refugee community playing together, Iraqis showed off why they are the reigning Asian Cup champions by besting the opponents in a 4-3 thriller. “Next year I will play with my friends”, said Mehdi, “and we will win again.”

Iraqi refugee children celebrating World Refugee Day.    Photo: Norwegian Refugee Council/Robert Beer

Lack of legal protection
Lebanon is not a signatory to the 1951 Geneva Convention for Refugees, which provides legal protection for the 11,4 million refugees across the globe, according to UNHCR. Refugees do not, therefore, have basic rights, such as freedom of movement inside the country. They risk arrest at army and police checkpoints, which can lead to arbitrary detention and deportation back to Iraq, despite holding a UNHCR refugee card.

Lebanon is responsible for a sizable Iraqi refugee population. Over the past two decades, around 50 000 Iraqis have been forced to cross borders into Lebanon by the brutality of Saddam Hussein’s regime and the violence following the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003. Furthermore, the country also hosts over 400 000 Palestinian refugees, who fled the creation of the State of Israel more than 60 years ago in 1948.