STORY: Thousands of Syrians escape to Lebanon after al-Assad's fall
SHOOTING TIME: Dec. 13, 2024
DATELINE: Dec. 15, 2024
LENGTH: 00:01:38
LOCATION: Beirut
CATEGORY: POLITICS/SOCIETY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of Syrians waiting to cross the Lebanese border
2. SOUNDBITE 1 (Arabic): ALAA HAMDI, Syrian citizen
3. various of Syrians waiting at the Lebanese check point in Al Masnaa
4. various of Syrians displaced crossing the Lebanese borders
5. various of Syrians gathering at the Lebanese Syrian borders after being denied entry visas to Lebanon
6. various of Syrian children at the Lebanese Syrian borders
7. SOUNDBITE 2 (Arabic): AMINA, Syrian citizen
8. SOUNDBITE 3 (Arabic): HUSSEIN ALI, Syrian citizen
9. SOUNDBITE 4 (Arabic): AHMAD, Syrian citizen
10. Syrians waiting at the Lebanese borders

STORYLINE:

Thousands of Syrians decided to flee Syria due to security concerns amid chaos, following the dramatic power shift in the already war-torn country.

Since the collapse of Bashar al-Assad's government, 1,000 to 1,200 people entered Lebanon from Syria legally every day, a source at the Masnaa border crossing told Xinhua.

Those people either hold residency permits for Lebanon or possess travel tickets for flights departing from Beirut Airport.

However, the Masnaa crossing is still packed with hundreds of people waiting to cross the border.

SOUNDBITE 1 (Arabic): ALAA HAMDI, Syrian citizen
"I have an air ticket and a hotel reservation, and I've been waiting here since early this morning. My flight was scheduled to depart at 7:00 a.m., but here I am, still waiting to get my passport stamped at the security office.

SOUNDBITE 2 (Arabic): AMINA, Syrian citizen
"We have been here for three days. We are sleeping on the ground, with no blankets, no food. The children are freezing from the cold."

SOUNDBITE 3 (Arabic): HUSSEIN ALI, Syrian citizen
"It's unfair. Our children are freezing, and we have to light a fire to keep them warm using paper bags and cartons. There is no water, no food. The situation is horrible, and look at how I set up a tent for them. In a few hours, the cold will prevent the children from sleeping."

SOUNDBITE 4 (Arabic): AHMAD, Syrian citizen
"We are dying from the cold here. We are trembling from the cold. We have been here for three days."

Lebanon is currently hosting about 2 million Syrian refugees who fled the country after it was engulfed by a civil war in 2011.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Beirut.
(XHTV)