After giving them sanctuary last year, Uruguay will now help a group of Syrian refugees reach another country, President Tabare Vazquez said Thursday.
The South American nation welcomed the 42 refugees fleeing Syria's civil war in October 2014. But they've been protesting outside the presidency since Monday, demanding authorities help them leave for other countries. They say Uruguay is too expensive and they have little economic opportunity there.
Vazquez said Uruguay has reached out to Lebanon because that's where the refugees would like to go. Since Lebanon is not willing to welcome them, his government is asking the five Syrian families to choose another country.
"Uruguay is going to do everything it can for the Syrians," Vazquez said. "We proposed to them that they freely choose the country where they want to go, and the government will talk with that country's authorities to see if they want to welcome them."
Vazquez denied claims by some of the refugees who said they were tricked or that Uruguay promised more than it could deliver. He said Uruguay "clearly stated the conditions" before they arrived.
The refugees lack passports from their home country, and cannot get Uruguayan ones because they are not citizens. Uruguay has provided them with local IDs and travel documents, but not all countries recognize them. In August, one of the families tried to travel to Serbia but was held for 23 days at the Istanbul airport. Ultimately they returned to Uruguay.
The Syrian families have been sleeping in front of the presidency building in protest.
Since civil war broke out in 2011, more than 4 million Syrians have fled the country, according to the United Nations.
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