Syrian refugees: A permanently temporary life

As the war in Syria grinds on, millions of Syrian refugees continue to live in limbo, waiting for the day that they can return home.

Over the years, the temporary living conditions of displaced Syrians have taken on a sense of permanence. The more than one million Syrian refugees in Lebanon were supposed to return home within months, but more than five years later Syria’s war is still raging.

Inside Jarrahia – an informal refugee settlement in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley, about 15km from the Syrian border – a dense network of improvised shacks resembles an impoverished slum. This is one among thousands of informal settlements in the country where Syrian refugees face a tough battle for survival.