They plunged Lebanon into debt and drowned its people into the sea

51 victims of illegal immigration since 2009

Eight years ago (on September 27, 2013), Indonesian authorities declared that a ship carrying about 100 Jordanian, Lebanese and Yemeni migrants seeking asylum in Australia had sunk off the country’s coast, causing the drowning of 27 Lebanese migrants among others.

This incident may repeat itself in this time of crisis as hundreds of thousands of Lebanese are seeking emigration from Lebanon in search of a better life. In light of the difficulty of getting a travel or immigration visa, thousands will resort to illegal immigration directly from Lebanon or through one of the countries that the Lebanese can get into without a visa (Indonesia, Malaysia, Turkey and the Turkish Cyprus).

Five similar incidents have occurred in the past years, leading to the death and drowning of 51 persons, mostly from Akkar and Trablous, not to mention the irregular immigration attempts foiled by the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) and the authorities of destination countries.

A table showing the major drowning incidents of illegal Lebanese immigrants (2009-2020).

Source: Information International, based on media outlets.