The International Organization for Migration is appealing for $10.3 million to help more than 43,000 migrants and refugees affected by the explosions.

The U.N. migration agency estimates 8 percent of the 300,000 people affected in Beirut are migrant workers from Ethiopia, Bangladesh and the Philippines. IOM spokeswoman Angela Wells told VOA her agency hopes to use some of the appeal money to start returning migrants to their home countries through its voluntary return program. 

She said the IOM, in coordination with the U.N. refugee agency, also will continue to resettle refugees from Lebanon. 

“Many of them are Syrian, but they come from other places as well,” Wells said. “And we are resettling them to third countries. So, we will not be returning any Syrians to Syria. We will be resettling them to places like Canada, Australia, Europe. These are operations that have been happening from Lebanon for years now. More than 100,000 people have been resettled from Lebanon as of last year. And, of course, that number has now risen.”