• False assumptions & restricted movement prevents aid reaching vulnerable men

  • Fewer than 1 in 10 received aid in previous month, 88% had restricted their movement

Case study 

One 34-year old unmarried Syrian refugee man living on the outskirts of Sidon in southern Lebanon described to the IRC the difficulties he faces:

"All aid goes to families. No one is looking out for us, or asking what we need. We don’t get treated as refugees. I live alone. If I lived with other Syrians it would mean competition for me to find work.

“My residency visa expired in July. I can’t move freely now. I’m afraid to go to places where I might be asked to show my papers. That’s the reason I stay in this village. There are no checkpoints here. I’m worried that if I was stopped at a checkpoint I would be deported back to Syria.

“For the past year I’ve lived alone in the basement of a home. I pay rent and work on the garden that’s all. I’m not paid for that work. I’d be afraid to ask for money for the work I do in case the landlord asks me to leave. There are lots of other Syrians looking for somewhere to stay.

“There are men in the village who treat me badly. They call me bad names. Sometimes they call me a terrorist or that I’m with or against one side or the other. But there is nothing I can do. They know I can’t go to the police to complain. They know no one can protect me. Life gets harder and harder every day in Lebanon. The only solution is to leave and go to Europe."


Main report findings


Restricted movement and lack of aid 

Exploitation and abuse 

Negative impact on sense of masculinity