to keep the kids locked up all day, buried in this tent. We can't afford many things we need, medicine for example. The children all have the flu."

Frozen to death

On the day we visited the camp in the Bekaa, there was news of a tragedy in southern Lebanon.

A six-year-old Syrian boy died crossing the border. His father carried him through the blizzard.

He was among a group walking over the mountains into Lebanon.

image caption Lebanon's government is fearful of the political consequences of allowing permanent refugee settlements

Two men died as well. They got lost. They were eventually found just 200m (656ft) from a Lebanese Army checkpoint.

They may have been smugglers, rather than refugees fleeing the conflict. The little boy was still a victim of the war and the weather.

Therefugees are now experiencing their fourth winter in Lebanon, but they are still living in makeshift camps, huddled together under plastic sheeting.

The Lebanese government is fearful of the political consequences of allowing permanent refugee settlements.

The UN refugee agency, the UNHCR, has provided emergency winter aid of one kind or another to some 660,000 people in Lebanon.

"Despite our best efforts, the situation in Lebanon remains precarious," said Resident Representative Ninette Kelley.