BEIRUT: Andreas, a journalist working for a Danish newspaper, had been sending dispatches from Lebanon for several months before he was deported. “They have given me a week [to leave Lebanon]. They are doing that to everybody. They didn’t give a reason why,†he says. “I can’t live here as a journalist. I won’t be able to go and appeal in time.†With nothing more formal than a hand-scrawled note, Andreas was given his marching orders from Lebanon’s General Security, removed for failing to apply for an official work permit in the allotted two-month period. “I now have to leave the country; I haven’t had my passport in between applying for a visa extension and being asked to leave. I wanted just two months [to apply for a work permit] but I haven’t had time to visit the Information Ministry to apply,†Larsen says. Artist Jonathan had lived in Beirut for two years before his expulsion. He is currently stranded in Cairo, struggling to raise enough money to survive during his exile. “I had to leave Lebanon for an exhibition in Dubai and when I came back I wasn’t allowed in. They didn’t tell me anything. Suddenly, I was being evicted from Lebanon,†he says. Andreas and Jonathan are indicative of dozens of foreigners – overwhelmingly from Europe and the US – who have been kicked out of Lebanon in the wake of the assassination of senior Hamas official Mahmood Al-Mabhouh in Dubai earlier this year, allegedly at the hands of Mossad agents carrying British, Irish, French and Australian passports. Following the attack, Lebanese authorities have taken it upon themselves to remove foreigners working in Lebanon and turn many more away at Beirut airport, according to General Security’s most senior official. General Wafiq Jezzini explained how westerners would now be greeted upon arrival in Lebanon. “When someone arrives in Lebanon with a foreign passport and his family name suggests that he is of Jewish origin, the border center sends his information to the central information office at the General Security Directorate, which specifically takes responsibility for following this individual,†Jezzini said during an interview with Al-Manar TV last month. It took many interview requests for Jonathan to talk. He admits to being “intimidated†by General Security – an organization charged with gathering information for government and security agencies. Among Lebanese and foreigners alike, it has a fearsome reputation for deportation and imprisonment. After returning from his exhibition in Dubai, “I was denied entry twice and the second time the Lebanese consulate told me I wouldn’t be able to get back in,†says Jonathan. “Only later I found out how serious the situation was.†The swiftness with which Jonathan was expelled left him thoroughly unprepared, with a flat full of belongings abandoned in Beirut: “I had nothing with me, I had only a backpack. All my equipment, credit cards, cash; it’s all in Lebanon, which is why I have to come back. I don’t have a choice.†There are dozens of westerners currently exiled like Jonathan. A cursory enquiry on social networking sites revealed more than 20 internationals who have been deported from Lebanon since January. Many wouldn’t speak, for fear of jeopardizing their re-entry efforts. “It would not be very smart of me having my situation – let alone my name – mentioned in any article or story related to this topic,†said one. Another, applying for re-entry, responded: “I think it is better not to say anything,†such is the delicacy of many peoples’ situations. Those who did talk were clear about the motivation behind General Security’s latest drive. “They can decide to change the rules but we don’t get any information along the way. The problem is that it seems like you have no way of predicting what is going to happen to you,†says Andreas. “They never give any explanation at all but I suppose it will have something to do with [Mabhouh’s killing].†Jonathan agrees. “There are a lot of loose ends from the government’s point of view and of course people here are all afraid of spies,†he adds. Hizbullah MP Hassan Fadlallah, shortly after the Dubai assassination, told pan-Arab daily Al-Sharq Al-Awsat that “the government has to take the necessary measures to preserve security and stability in the face of Israeli attempts,†in reference to the renewed judicial drive to find and prosecute several individuals accused of spying for Israel. While there was no evidence to suggest that individuals are being targeted for having “Jewish sounding names,†the purge of foreigners without work permits has coincided with General Security’s latest operation. Several people contacted said that they had repeatedly applied for and been denied work permits. Margaret, a freelance writer for a number of Lebanese publications, has been in Lebanon for over a year and, in spite of first applying for a work permit in August, is still waiting to be officially registered in Beirut. She explains the difficulty in making progress on work applications at General Security headquarters, a labyrinthine, airless building next to what used to be the dividing line between West and East Beirut. “You don’t understand any information given to you, there’s no port of call to return to and every time you go there, you deal with someone different. You have to explain over and over again what it is you want,†she says. “Sometimes you think things are unfair in Lebanon but then you realize that things are just more black and white in Britain, or America, or wherever you come from. Someone needs to tell you what to do. “I’ve already told people not to [apply for work permits],†Margaret continues. “I always say no, because there is no incentive to do it the right way. Every time I have done something by the book, I’ve been punished.†Jonathan admits he was caught out by a system which previously suffered from several shortcomings. He maintains he is lucky not to be imprisoned. “What I’m going through seems to be a totally legal issue of immigration. My impression is that they are trying to crack down and make people pay for their work permits,†he says. “There are many cases of people being deported, one was even imprisoned. I’m lucky in a way; they told me that I was never allowed back to Lebanon, but only if I didn’t have a work permit.†Margaret, as numerous others, has been given until July to leave the country, should her work permit application not bear fruit. “General Security needs to start treating people who want to work in this country not as criminals but as potential employees,†she says. “There is no incentive to work legally in this country.†Note: All names have been changed to protect their identify BM
