The signs of fatigue are obvious on the faces of the Lebanese General Security staff charged with stamping the passports of people crossing the Syrian-Lebanese border.

One General Security officer complained about the non-stop convoys of displaced Syrians entering Lebanon. "When the military situation escalates in the Damascus countryside, our work intensifies here. Sometimes we receive more than 500 Syrian and Palestinian refugees in a single day. At other times, things are puzzling, as the number of Syrian refugees coming from Syria is equal to the number of those returning to Syria," he said.

He continued speaking as if conversing with himself: "There is no logic to this war, nor is there any logic in the rates of displacement to and from Syria." He added that "Syrian refugees are deeply distressed by the immigration process to the extent that we feel that another Syrian uprising could hit us here. The Lebanese General Security building in the industrial area is too narrow and does not fit the ongoing convoys pouring in from the border. At times, some Syrian refugees get angry, complaining about the long wait in line to have their passports stamped."

Another officer added, "This building has not been expanded since it was first built during the French mandate in the 1920s."