BEIRUT, LEBANON -
On the 30th March 2014, hundreds of hopefuls travelled to Beirut to audition for Arab Idol, a very popular singing program in the Arab World owned by the MBC network.
Upon arrival, people wishing to audition filled out a form and received an audition number. The next step before auditioning was showing identification to MBC employees.
A Palestinian singer (who does not wish to have his name mentioned for personal reasons) waited in line, received his number and then handed over his identification, the MBC employee looked at his ID and said "Palestinians from Lebanon are not allowed."
"Palestinians from Lebanon are not allowed."
The Palestinian man naturally asked why not, he was told the same thing by the MBC employee.
Interestingly, the winner of Arab Idol last year was Mohammed Assaf, a Palestinian refugee from Gaza. If Mohammed Assaf had been a Palestinian refugee from Lebanon, he would not have been given the chance to audition.
Palestinian refugees in Lebanon do not have passports, they have a travel document, the fact it is not an actual passport is the alleged reason that Palestinian refugees from Lebanon are not allowed to audition.
However, on the Arab Idol website, the requirements for identification were "bring with you a photocopy of your passport or your personal identification."
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| Screenshot of requirements http://competition.mbc.net/arabidols2_disabled/form2.php |
This discrimination against Palestinian refugees from Lebanon is prevalent both inside Lebanon and across the region. It is difficult for Palestinians from Lebanon who only have their travel document to travel and very often are barred from entering countries in the Arab world.
This incident is representative of the wider issues affecting Palestinian refugees from Lebanon, they are recognised as refugees but discriminated against for the same reason.
right of return!!!!
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