How many Syrian refugees from each country will depend on need: ambassador

The governments of Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey are alljockeying to be the main source of the 25,000 Syrian refugees to beselected for Canada's new resettlement program.

Close to four million Syrians are currently living in UN refugeecamps, informal settlements, on the streets and in crowdedapartments in those three countries, straining the resources ofeach.

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But Michelle Cameron, Canada's ambassador to Lebanon, said theeventual breakdown of how many refugees are selected from each ofthe countries will depend on one thing who needs resettlementmost.

It's not a skilled worker immigration program, where technicalpoints or quotas are in play, she said in an interview withTheCanadian Press from Beirut.

"We have to let the files dictate," she said."It's the most vulnerable, who pass our medical screening, that
pass our security screening, that want to be resettled."

Cameron said she'd like to see between one-third and one-half ofthe total come from Lebanon.

First round of Syrian refugees to be largely privately-sponsored

Meanwhile, UN officials in Jordan had originally been working ona plan to submit 7,000 files from that country but that number couldclimb to 10,000.

Turkey currently hosts the highest number of Syrian refugees atabout 2.2 million, but selection procedures there are more complex,as the Turkish government, not the UN, controls the processdirectly.

Beyond the UN, private groups are also working to identify andselect refugees, whose files are then handed over to the Canadiangovernment for review. Cameron said Beirut has a few thousandprivately sponsored cases in their inventory.

She said she expects flights out of Lebanon to begin within thenext two weeks, once there are enough files cleared to actually fillan entire plane. Most of these refugees are expected to be privatelysponsored.

Among other things, she's working with the Lebanese government totry and speed its side of the process, which involves reviewingfiles for potential domestic security issues before exit visas canbe granted.

Lebanon overwhelmed with1 million refugees

Lebanon currently hosts about a million Syrian refugees,overwhelming its population of less than five million. In May, thecountry stopped registering new refugees altogether.

About 70 per cent of Syrians in Lebanon live below the povertyline. A survey in August revealed only one in five adults reportedearning any money in the previous month and 94 per cent of familiesare in debt.

Half the children aren't in school and many have begunmissing meals as their families can't afford food.

There are no formal refugee camps and about a fifth of thedisplaced people live in informal settlements.

Cameron said she recently took a visitor to see one. As theywalked away, her companion remarked on the smell of sewage andsuggested it was coming from fertilizer in nearby farmers' fields.It wasn't.

Many of the settlements depend on international aidagencies to set up water and sanitation, and not all have access to
them.

Between 15 and 50 families are in each settlement, Cameron said,living in shacks with muddy floors, the walls covered with plasticto keep out the rain and snow.

"Can you imagine living in that plywood box, covered in plastic,you have a few children and they look up at you andsay 'I'mhungry'?,"

"It's difficult for the average Canadian to comprehend that kindof scenario. This is really about protecting the most vulnerable.Saving, if you will."