BEIRUT — Ever since the coronavirus landed in Lebanon on Feb. 21, all eyes have been on the country’s refugee camps, where overcrowding and fears of refugee infection are coupled with dire living conditions. Such conditions prevent refugees from buying hand sanitizers, masks and medical gloves, as water shortages turn hand-washing into a luxury refugees cannot afford.

Alaa Abbas, a 24-year-old Syrian refugee living in the Delhamiyeh camp in Lebanon’s Bar Elias region (the Bekaa Valley in eastern Lebanon), told Al-Monitor, “We are afraid the virus will spread in the camps, even though there are no infections yet. We are trying not to leave the tent in order to protect ourselves. The [Lebanese] security forces patrol the camps on a daily basis to make sure no one leaves unless necessary.”

“There is an organization (name unknown) that distributed one bottle of liquid soap to each tent and taught refugees how to protect themselves from the virus, but there are many people who cannot afford sanitizers and cleaning materials because they are not currently working. The assistance (money) we get from the United Nations barely covers our needs for about 15 days. What are we supposed to do during the remaining days of the month?” Abbas asked.

“We have been committed to tent confinement, but no one has provided us with any food rations or cleaning tools,” he added.