German Government Criticized for Stance on Lebanese Refugees

German opposition parties and humanitarian organizations criticized the German government on Monday for not taking a pro-active role in helping the growing number Lebanese refugees find an asylum in the European Union.

"When the interior minister in the face of this catastrophe refuses to take in refugees, that is an expression of spiritual coldness, missing Christian charity and lacking humanitarian responsibility," said Claudia Roth, leader of the opposition Green party.

Over the weekend, Germany's Interior Minister Wolfgang Schäuble suggested in an interview with the German weekly Der Spiegel that helping Lebanese refuges in the region would be better than "luring" them to Europe.

"It would be not just premature but also objectively misguided if Germany or even individual (German) states offered 'refugee protection' of their own accord," Schäuble was quoted as saying.

Helping locally

According to the German interior minister, European countries could, in principle, offer shelter "in case of a massive influx," but the current situation did not warrant such a response.

"Experts at this point do not expect a mass influx to Europe," Schäuble said. "For that reason, I am very much in favor of not luring people to Europe with promises and spreading them widely, but rather of supporting them on the spot, in the region," he said.

In a statement issued on Monday, Pro Asyl -- a non-profit human rights organization for refugees -- urged the German government to take the initiative and lobby on the European level for the EU to open its gates to Lebanese refugees.

Germany should at least help with the evacuation of the Lebanese refugees who have relatives in Germany, the group said.

A humanitarian catastrophe

There are around 40,000 Lebanese living in Germany along with numerous German citizens of Lebanese origin. Over 6,000 German citizens have been evacuated from Lebanon since the beginning of the conflict there, according to the German Foreign Ministry.

"That Interior Minister Schäuble is rattling down his credo about refugees having to be taken care of in the region is an attempt to relieve himself of responsibility, said Bernd Mesovic of Pro Asyl.

The UN has estimated that up to 800,000 Lebanese have been internally displaced since the Israeli bombing started. with an estimated 119,625 people living in 652 schools and public gardens in and around Beirut. An estimated 45 per cent of the internally displaced are children.

The Lebanese health ministry estimated that 750 people have been killed and more than 2,000 wounded in Lebanon. Israeli officials said Hezbollah rocket attacks have killed some 18 civilians and wounded more than 300 people.