NPR

The Syrian refugee crisis is getting worse by the day.

Not only are more refugees fleeing into Lebanon, but aid to those who have already arrived is being cut dramatically.

The United Nations World Food Program earlier this month slashed the monthly food subsidy for Syrian refugees in Lebanon to just $13.50 per person. Less than a year ago the figure was $30 per person per month. The reason for the decision was reportedly a budget shortfall.

Simona Sikimic

Hundreds of protesters gathered in downtown Beirut on Tuesday to demand the authorities take urgent action to remove the growing mounds of rubbish left to rot in the city streets amid high summer temperatures.

Some called on parliament to resign due to the crisis, while others demanded a wider “revolution” to take place. Police and armoured vehicles were called in to deal with the protesters but the march appears to have remained largely peaceful.

Belen Fernandez

“Either the contracts are extended or you will drown in garbage.”

According to Lebanon’s Al Akhbar newspaper, these were the words of former Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri in October of 2010, when he warned a cabinet session of the repercussions of failing to renew the contract of private waste management company Sukleen, run by Hariri family friends.

Since the 1990s, Sukleen has been responsible for waste disposal in Beirut and the Mount Lebanon governorate.