In the past two years, Palestinian refugees in Lebanon have been migrating at significantly higher rates in search of better work opportunities and a better standard of living.
Lebanon’s economic situation tightens its grasp on citizens and foreigners alike, said Abdelnaser Elayi, project manager at the inter-ministerial Lebanese-Palestinian Dialogue Committee.
“Before 2020, we would usually see about 6,000 to 8,000 Palestinians leave the country without returning, per year," Mr Elayi told The National
“Now, those figures are closer to 10,000 to 12,000. That is an increase by at least 30 per cent.”
Lebanon has 12 Palestinian refugee camps housing about 207,000 people in all.
There’s no hope for people like us.
Yahia Subaih
While the devastating economic situation is the main driver for this movement, Mr Elayi says, the trend is roughly equal among Lebanese nationals.
A December decision allowing employers to hire Palestinians locally, widening the scope of jobs they could take, had a marginal impact on departures, Mr Elayi said.
“Palestinians are still unable to take on unionised jobs like lawyers or doctors.”
“So those who have the means, education and qualifications to travel abroad for work, have continued to do so with little to no impact on migration rates.”
The Lebanese lira has tumbled since the August 2020 Beirut port blast and coronavirus outbreak, hitting new lows on the parallel market. The country is in the midst of its worst financial crisis in 30 years and UN estimates say eight out of 10 people live in poverty.
‘No hope’
Yahia Subaih, 55, is one of those looking for a way out of Lebanon, but he doubts he can afford it.
He walks for four kilometres from his home in the Burj Barajneh refugee camp to the capital, Beirut, 10 days a month but is still unable to make ends meet.
“Since 2020, the economic situation has gotten much, much, much worse,” he said. His employer reduced Mr Subaih’s work days to save on petrol, he said.
Mr Subaih barely earns $60 a month, nowhere close to the $200 he needs to feed and house his family of three. He says he relies on the generosity of others to get by.
“Most families in Lebanon feel they should have at least one member living abroad, sending them money in US Dollars, in order for them to survive,” Mr Elayi said.
As a result, he says Lebanese and refugees from Syria and Palestine find illegal ways to seek their fortunes elsewhere.
”I heard of people taking illegal routes to go abroad and make a living, but it costs $8,000 per person at least to secure a path,” Mr Subaih said.
He said Germany, Britain, the US, Canada and the Arabian Gulf are the most popular destinations for Palestinian migrants from Lebanon, in that order.
”It’s very difficult to get a visa from an embassy when you don’t have the qualifications necessary,” Mr Subaih said.
Illegal travel has become more prolific since 2020, among people seeking to leave Lebanon, Hoda Samra, a spokeswoman for the UN refugee agency, Unrwa, told The National.
”Those who don’t have finances take the illegal routes, which aren’t even cheap. But it puts them at the risk of exploitation by traffickers,” she said.
More than 1,570 people have taken that route from Lebanon from January to November in 2020, the UN estimates.
One thing remains the same, Mr Elayi says.
“The same feeling of hopelessness and uncertainty of the future, is what has been driving people to migrate from Lebanon before 2020 until today. But now, that feeling is exacerbated.”
For people like Mr Subaih who do not belong to the dwindling middle classes, neither legal or illegal migration is an option.
”I don’t know how we are surviving. There’s no hope for people like us.”
Andor
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECreator%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Tony%20Gilroy%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDiego%20Luna%2C%20Genevieve%20O'Reilly%2C%20Alex%20Ferns%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%205%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
'Panga'
Directed by Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari
Starring Kangana Ranaut, Richa Chadha, Jassie Gill, Yagya Bhasin, Neena Gupta
Rating: 3.5/5
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
Most wanted allegations
- Benjamin Macann, 32: involvement in cocaine smuggling gang.
- Jack Mayle, 30: sold drugs from a phone line called the Flavour Quest.
- Callum Halpin, 27: over the 2018 murder of a rival drug dealer.
- Asim Naveed, 29: accused of being the leader of a gang that imported cocaine.
- Calvin Parris, 32: accused of buying cocaine from Naveed and selling it on.
- John James Jones, 31: allegedly stabbed two people causing serious injuries.
- Callum Michael Allan, 23: alleged drug dealing and assaulting an emergency worker.
- Dean Garforth, 29: part of a crime gang that sold drugs and guns.
- Joshua Dillon Hendry, 30: accused of trafficking heroin and crack cocain.
- Mark Francis Roberts, 28: grievous bodily harm after a bungled attempt to steal a £60,000 watch.
- James ‘Jamie’ Stevenson, 56: for arson and over the seizure of a tonne of cocaine.
- Nana Oppong, 41: shot a man eight times in a suspected gangland reprisal attack.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
Developer: Treyarch, Raven Software
Publisher: Activision
Console: PlayStation 4 & 5, Windows, Xbox One & Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5
Brief scores:
Toss: Rajputs, elected to field first
Sindhis 94-6 (10 ov)
Watson 42; Munaf 3-20
Rajputs 96-0 (4 ov)
Shahzad 74 not out
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
