13 May 2016
Jaipreet Kaur, MAP Development Officer
Last month I was fortunate enough to visit Lebanon to visit and assess the projects implemented by MAP within six Palestinian refugee camps across the country.
I had never been to Lebanon before and landed in Beirut, a city that was so vibrant and full of life, with little idea what to expect. What I discovered was the reality of some of the most challenging living and social conditions for Palestinians anywhere in the Middle East.
Visiting the refugee camps is not something someone can truly prepare themselves for. The simple reality is that the conditions in the Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon are terrible. This has been a 68-year-long struggle for many Palestinian families who were forced to flee to Lebanon, and neighbouring countries, in 1948, and many more thereafter in 1967. Sadly, since the conflict in Syria began in 2011, more than 45,000 Palestinian refugees from Syria have fled to refugee camps in Lebanon; a lot of them have been in the country for two or three years. This is a group of ordinary people who have been doubly displaced, they have had their rights and freedom denied and they continue to live lives of great uncertainty.
I spoke to the father of 5-year-old Aila who’d recently undergone surgery, as part of MAP’s Tertiary Care programme in Shatila, for a chronic ear infection called mastoiditis (infection behind the ear). This condition can be life threatening as it can lead to hearing loss, blood clots, meningitis or a brain abscesses. The procedure was lifesaving. Her father told me that previously “in Yarmouk, everything was good” and he did not have to worry about providing food and shelter for his family. However, soon after the war began, the family were displaced five times and finally made their way to Lebanon. Now, three years later, he is unemployed, and he and his family of seven live packed into a one-bedroom house.
Palestinian refugees in Lebanon have fewer rights compared to in Syria. They are not permitted to purchase property and are banned from many professions ; Palestinian from Syria cannot work legally at all, and many of them, especially the ones who have not been able to renew their residency visas, cannot move freely within the country, causing a deep sense of isolation.
The living conditions in the camps are beyond dismal and the hygiene standards are appalling. Burj el Barajneh, one of the camps located in the southern suburbs of Beirut, has a population of some 17,945 registered refugees. I saw that many families, with an average of five members, were living in a one bedroom flat, with very little space. The rate of unemployment is one of the highest in the world with some 50% of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon out of work, a number of Palestinian children from Syria unable to attend school, and many women experiencing violence, both physical and verbal, within the home. The everyday struggles and insecurities in the camps are genuine, and have replaced any last shred of hope amongst people. But, somehow, they continue to encounter each day with an indestructible spirit. As someone who has been to Palestine, it saddens me to say that daily life in the camps in just as bleak, and there is this vicious cycle of poverty and dependency which will affect generation after generation, if a practical solution is not found before long.
Despite the adversity I witnessed, I saw the impact of the work being carried out by MAP in Lebanon. We work in partnership with a number of inspiring local organisations and professionals who all work towards providing adequate healthcare and community services for Palestinian refugees in the camps, a key component to the right to health within the region. The different services MAP provides in the camps include mental health and psychosocial support, tackling gender based violence, disability and rehabilitation, reproductive health, adolescent health, maternal and child health, and tertiary care. This range means that we are able to provide assistance on a large scale, and tackle a wider variety of issues affecting the residents of the camps.
Visiting MAP’s Early Intervention Centre, and the Sour Community Disability Programme in the El Bass camp, was one of the most emotional moments of the week for me. People with disabilities are amongst the most vulnerable groups within the Palestinian community in Lebanon. They lack basic access to health care, education, employment, livelihood and social services. Often, they are stigmatised. However, these two programmes aim to support children’s early learning and development needs by involving parents and working with teachers to support access to education in Kindergartens and schools, providing physical, occupational and speech and language therapy to children, young people, adults and elderly people affected by a wide range of conditions.
I met with Zulekha, a Palestinian refugee from Syria. Her two-year-old son Aayan and four-year-old son Hamed both have Cerebral Palsy and attend the centre for physical rehabilitation therapy. Zulekha explained that her sons are improving and she does not know what she would do without the centre. For many women like Zulekha, who have left behind their families in Syria, the centre plays an important part in their lives. The staff, including other parents, are like family to these women. One woman said: “we love to come here, the centre also cares for the parents, as well as the children, and it helps to ease my sadness.”
The most important lesson from this trip was recognising that the Palestinian issue is much wider than just Palestine. Thousands of Palestinians have been displaced to neighbouring countries such as Lebanon since 1948, and thousands more have been displaced for a second time as a result of the ongoing conflict in Syria.
I am very privileged and thankful to have met so many inspirational and resilient individuals during my visit. Despite their struggles and insecurities, they welcomed me into their homes, shared their emotive stories with me, and gave me the opportunity to understand and learn about their hardship.
It is extremely important that we do not forget the Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, they need our help now, more than ever.
*All names have been changed to protect identity of those involved.
Featured image: Last month I was fortunate enough to visit Lebanon to visit and assess the projects implemented by MAP within six Palestinian refugee camps across the country. I had never been to Lebanon before and landed in Beirut, a city that was so vibrant and full of life, with little idea what to expect. What I discovered was the reality of some of the most challenging living and social conditions for Palestinians anywhere in the Middle East.