Nabatieh governate in South Lebanon asked its municipalities that Syrian refugees stay on lockdown for the elections period, from Saturday, May 14th at 6 pm till Monday, May 16th at 8 pm.
Syrian refugees are not to leave their homes during the designated period unless in case of emergency.
Municipalities in Nabatieh were instructed to do their best in spreading the content of the decree by all means possible.
This comes as preparation for the upcoming Parliamentary elections on Sunday, May 15th. However, the 38-hour-long lockdown sparked debate online regarding the racist antics of the government.
A Reddit user “MiMastah” commented, “The problem with this thinking is that they think that the “Syrian Threat” comes from the Syrian laborer. The fact is, any Syrian “operative” in Lebanon will have full Lebanese documentation. Tell me that’s not true.”
This is not a singular action. West Bekaa municipality has taken a similar step according to an official letter shared on Twitter.
Other municipalities have also posted the same message on social media, notably on Facebook.
In the meantime, Lebanese cybernauts urge municipalities to focus more on political partisans as they are more likely to be the ones raising tensions during the elections.
