Viral video of Syrians picnicking draws racist commentary in Lebanon

A video which appears to show Syrians picnicking in a green space near Beirut's international airport has sparked outrage among some Lebanese in another wave of anti-Syrian racism in the country.

The video shows Syrian families picnicking and playing in a field of grass while the cameraperson comments: "The garden of Rafiq Hariri airport has become a place for Syrians to come grill and spend the weekend here."

The video spread widely, accompanied by a wave of anti-Syrian comments, many of them urging the Syrians to return to Syria.

"This is now the Beirut airport roundabout. Returning them back to their country is a national duty. #We are not racist," Carla Haddad, one Twitter user commented on the video.

"Soon they will move into our houses and we will be pushed outside," Jihad Noun, another user, said.

Lebanon hosts around 1.8 million Syrians, the vast majority of which fled the country's deadly civil war which started 12 years ago.

Anti-Syrian sentiment has been on the rise, especially in the last three years as Lebanon is mired in a painful economic crisis.

Lebanese authorities recently launched a deportation campaign, sending at least 600 Syrian refugees back to Syria.

The campaign, while celebrated by several Lebanese, has been condemned by human rights organisations which say the deportations are against international law and Lebanon’s humanitarian obligations.

A video of Syrian children swimming in a public fountain in Samir Kassir square in Beirut similarly provoked ire.

Soon after the video circulated on social media, municipal authorities drained the fountain.

Experts have said that a lack of public space in Beirut leads residents of the city to use places such as the Samir Kassir square and the roundabout near the airport.

"There is 0.8 meters square of green space for each person [in Beirut], most of it in private land like the American University of Beirut. Even if there is public space, it’s not renovated, safe or clean," Mohammad Ayoub, the founder of NAHNOO, a Lebanese NGO which focuses on public spaces and good governance, told The New Arab.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends at least 9 meters square for each city resident, with 50 meters square being the ideal.

According to Ayoub, public spaces in Beirut have always been operated in a discriminatory manner, with only foreigners allowed in public, green spaces in the past.

"There is an absence of management and public institutions and they don't want to take the blame. That's why they're saying the Syrians are responsible, look what they did," Ayoub said.