Writing for the Record, the MP for Central Ayrshire recalls a recent visit to Lebanon as the country tries to rebuild after a series of devastating set-backs.
The Commons delegation visits a UN camp for Syrian refugees in Lebanon (Image: Alan Gemmell MP)
l’ve not been in Beirut since 2008. Back then I arrived on the first flight to land at the airport after that year’s Hezbollah war. We drove into town past a memorial where prime minister Harriri had been murdered, there were still bursts of gunfire on the streets. In the commercial district, the Hagen Daz and Cartier stores were opening. I remember telling myself, ‘there is something special about this country’s ability to bounce back’.
This time it’s my first official visit with the Foreign Affairs Committee. We exist to provide oversight of the UK’s foreign policy by asking: what is Britain seeking to do in the world; are we doing that; and, what are we achieving for the country and taxpayers.
Since my ’08 trip Lebanon has suffered another series of tragedies, including a financial crash in 2019 that wiped out many people’s life savings and reduced wages by 90 per cent. After the fall of Assad, 100,000 Syrians fled to Lebanon, joining over one-and-half million Syrians refugees already in the country. And today, they have been in the middle of the war between Iran and Israel. Over 4,000 Lebanese people have been killed since March this year. Israel’s occupation of south Lebanon, and the evacuation warnings it has issued, displaced 20 per cent of the country’s population.
There is a new noise in the city. A whine. You hear it everywhere. ‘It’s the drone,’ someone tells me, ‘the Israelis have an MK2 above our heads all day most days. It’s the size of a small plane.’ Another tried to joke, ‘when my husband tells me he can’t find his keys, I tell him, ask the drone.’
This is as complex a set of problems as any country has to face. In discussions with the President, the Prime Minister and our brilliant team at the British Embassy, there is a job for the UK to do. Continue our support with the Lebanese Armed Forces to help Lebanon secure its borders and sovereignty. And, speak to the Israelis to focus them on withdrawing from Southern Lebanon.
We do a day of visits in the Beqaa valley. We are at the top of a watchtower with the General of the Third Land Border Regiment above yellow-green hills, olive trees and the country’s famous cedars. I’m staring at the main checkpoint into Syria. Alongside the regiment are a handful of former British army officers.
Over 10 years, they have refined a concept first developed in Northern Ireland and deployed in Afghanistan. For the first time the Lebanese Armed Forces can monitor and protect the length of the country’s border with Syria. The towers exert the army’s local control to stop drug and people smugglers and reduce the risk of terrorism. This British designed and funded project trains the soldiers too. It is building long-term relationships at every level of the army and government. The President and Prime Minister thanked the UK for this invaluable work.
The most difficult part of the day was meeting a Syrian family in a UN camp. Mariam invited us into her home and told us about her children and their daily life. Thanks to UK Aid she receives $140 a month on an e-card. Once she has food, water and electricity, she pays off debts. Or acquires new ones. Like buying new clothes for the children from a second-hand store near the camp. As we leave one of her daughters hugs my colleague and tells her she wants to be a doctor when she grows up.
In my first two years as an MP, the Middle East has been the most discussed foreign policy issue in parliament. The Labour Government took the historic decision to recognise the state of Palestine and placed sanctions on members of the Israeli government.
With colleagues I have called to ban products from illegal settlements in the UK. Here in Lebanon we have a role to play to help the incredible Lebanese people rebuild their country. In so doing we contribute to keeping the region safe and keeping the UK safe too.
Alan Gemmell is the Labour MP for Central Ayrshire
