The Media Line: Lebanon’s Informal Economy Is at Risk as Syrians Return to Their Country 

Lebanon’s Informal Economy Is at Risk as Syrians Return to Their Country 

Discriminated against for the past decade, the Syrian population has been used as a scapegoat for all the problems that Lebanon has suffered in these years. But now, those who repudiated them fear their departure. 

By Taylor Thomas / The Media Line 

Ahmed is the go-to guy for everything. Approaching 30, this young Syrian refugee knows each and every tenant in a dozen buildings in Geitawi, Beirut’s trendy neighborhood. Ahmed, though not a tenant himself, acts as their caretaker. He collects the monthly payments for the private generator that provides their electricity, helps move furniture from one apartment to another, carries gas cylinders up the stairs, and has a network of friends and acquaintances he entrusts with plumbing jobs he can’t do himself—which, in reality, are very few. But that list is dwindling. When he calls, there are no longer promises of being there in 10 minutes, but rather a shared message: “I’ve returned.” 

With the fall of Bashar Assad’s regime last December, hundreds of thousands of Syrians returned to their homes—or what remained of them. More than 1 million exiles returned in 2025 to the new Syria, including 332,000 from Lebanon, out of the more than 722,000 officially registered by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Many others were, and are, in the country illegally, so their return or continued presence is not included in these figures. 

Discriminated against and excluded for the last decade, the Syrian population has been used as a scapegoat for all the problems Lebanon has suffered in recent years. And these have been numerous: one of the worst economic crises in the world since the 19th century, one of the largest non-nuclear explosions in history, a war that has left thousands dead and dozens of villages razed, and a tragic list of other hardships. 

However, now those who once rejected them fear their departure. Many worry that the Lebanese market will suffer the most from the return of Syrians to their homeland. “The Lebanese criticize Syrians for taking our jobs, but when it comes to jobs they don’t want, they refuse them,” Maria Naim, a Lebanese human rights activist, told The Media Line. No one wants to fill these job gaps, which involve greater physical effort for less pay. 

“In terms of employment, the construction and agricultural sectors are among those most directly affected by the return of refugees, since most of those who work in them seasonally are Syrians,” Naim added. Furthermore, more than 90% of Syrians in Lebanon work in the informal sector, leaving them without adequate protection or benefits. 

Who but the most vulnerable, precarious and desperate population would accept such appalling working conditions? Syrians in these two sectors, along with the service sector, accept lower wages and longer hours without social security benefits. Even before the Syrian civil war, they worked seasonally in agriculture and construction. 

Ahmed answers the phone at any hour, including Sundays. He knows that with each errand for a neighbor, a tip usually comes along—and with a few of those tips, his day and his family’s day change. “My wife and son are already in Syria,” he told The Media Line. “I’ll go and see, I’ll be there for a couple of weeks to check on the situation, but I’m fine here, I don’t want to leave,” he added. 

In Lebanon, Ahmed can’t advance much because his nationality limits the jobs he can accept. Agriculture, industry, construction and public works, catering, cleaning, delivery services, and building maintenance are where Syrians are concentrated—omnipresent and indispensable. “Now that they are leaving, a labor gap is being created that affects the productivity of these sectors, and it allows us to see how much they depend on them,” Naim said. 

Some managers of public works and restoration companies have expressed the seriousness of the situation, to the point that they have helped Syrians regularize their status due to the greater difficulty in finding workers willing to accept the same poor conditions. But some, like Naim, are trying to see it as an opportunity. “This gap in the labor market is bad because it affects productivity, and the market has to adapt, but it could be good for other migrant workers or teenagers, for example, who want to work in restaurants,” she added. 

The current Lebanese government also seems to see it this way, offering incentives to leave, such as eliminating exit taxes and canceling fines for overstaying visas. The minister of social development, Hanin Sayyed, said the goal was to register the departure of “half a million Syrians by the end” of 2025. UN agencies, led by UNHCR, are also helping them return with legal support, psychosocial services, and subsistence programs, which include $100 per person upon departure and $600 per family upon arrival in Syria. 

Upon crossing the border, this small amount of money vanishes fast. “When they return to Syria, the economic conditions are extremely difficult, with limited job opportunities, lack of access to education, and even localized armed clashes in certain areas,” Naim said. “Many, upon returning, suffer from a lack of adequate housing, because either their house no longer exists or someone has taken it from them, and the economic opportunities are insufficient to support their families if they all remain in Syria.” 

A UNHCR source told The Media Line: “Inside Syria, returnees face dire living conditions as the humanitarian crisis persists despite the major shift in the political and security situation.” The source continued: “The humanitarian crisis reached its 14th year, being one of the largest in the world, and leaving 16.7 million—about 90% of the population—requiring humanitarian assistance.” 

That is why Ahmed has sent his wife and son back. For him, it is important to remain in Lebanon and keep his job so he can send them some money. He also does not rule out the possibility that they will cross the border again. “There are Syrians who are returning to Lebanon because, although they want to stay, they don’t see it as viable due to the conflicts, the financial situation or the difficulty in finding work,” Naim said. 

“Much of the country is destroyed, so many return to nothing and have to start from scratch, which generates a lot of stress,” she added. One in four Syrians lives in extreme poverty, while two-thirds eke out a living below the lower-middle-income poverty line. Fourteen years of conflict have devastated the Syrian land and economy. 

The UNHCR source told The Media Line: “Many refugees remain hesitant to return due to the uncertain short- and long-term conditions in Syria, such as safety and security, access to education and livelihoods, unresolved housing, land and property issues, as well as the availability of humanitarian assistance upon return.” Although many Syrians are willing to return to rebuild their country, not all are. For Ahmed, the future lies among those dozen buildings in Beirut’s trendy neighborhood.