Comment on Syrians struggle to find place to bury their kin in Lebanon

BAR ELIAS, Lebanon — When Saada Khalaf, a Syrian refugee in Lebanon, lost her husband to a long illness earlier this year, she could not find a place to bury him in the eastern Lebanese town where the couple had lived since they fled the civil war back home. The nearest cemetery where she and her relatives were allowed to bury him was in the village of Dalhamiyeh, about 10 miles (16 kilometers) from the town of Bar Elias. Some 1.5 million Syrian refugees who fled their country’s conflict are believed to be living in Lebanon, equal to about a third of the Mediterranean country’s population of 4.5 million people. With many cemeteries almost full, Syrians are facing difficulties finding places where they can bury their loved ones who die in Lebanon.