Study sheds light on 'tragic reality' at Ain al-Hilweh
25 March 2010
The Daily Star. The headquarters of Sidon's municipality will host on Wednesday a seminar aimed at depicting a different image of the Ain al-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp.
The seminar will represent a research study entitled "The Other Facet of Ain al-Hilweh" conducted by the Shahed Foundation for human rights, an association concerned with the conditions of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon. The study reflects the dire economic and social situation the Palestinian camp is witnessing.
Shahed director Mahmoud Hanafi told The Daily Star that the work aims at shedding light "through an executive and statistical study on a tragic reality that is being ignored where the camp is being branded as a safe haven for terrorism."
"The study seeks to change this view about the camp that caused additional sufferings to its inhabitants and drew attention away from the humanitarian catastrophe the camp is witnessing," Hanafi added.
Ain al-Hilweh, the largest of 12 Palestinian refugee camps scattered throughout Lebanon, is the residence of 45,337 registered Palestinians, although an actual number of closer to 90,000 resides there, according to figures by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA).
The camp is situated on the outskirts of the southern coastal town of Sidon, 45 kilometers south of Beirut.
Palestinians are excluded from the Lebanese public health and education systems and only a very small percentage can pay for private doctors and schools. They are also prohibited from working in 70 professions.
The Shahed study is composed of 110 pages and touches upon the demographic, economic, social and political situation of refugees inside the camp. It also includes results of surveys conducted with a random sample of 182 individuals, in addition to a detailed analysis on components such as demographics, residence, fertility, family organization, health, immigration and education.
The study, a copy of which was obtained by The Daily Star, indicated that the Ain al-Hilweh camp suffers from bad humanitarian conditions and is neither a safe haven for terrorism nor a source of tensions. The current political, security and humanitarian situation at the camp doesn't meet humanitarian standards, it said.
The report noted that the camp was relatively calm in spite of the fact that residential, economic, social and political situation in the camp is extremely complicated. It added that there is a unanimous view rejecting that the camp becomes a source of concern. The report acknowledged that there are international and local factors affecting the situation in the camp without naming them.
The study indicated that the Ain al-Hilweh camp has a young society with 38.4 percent of the population below the age of 15. Some 49.1 percent of the inhabitants are females, while males make up 48.2 percent of the camp's population. The report added that the population density in the camp is very high and conditions are crowded, creating "enormous health, psychological and social problems."
Concerning health conditions, the study revealed that 61.1 percent of illnesses include hypertension and respiratory diseases, which occur due to the absence of a healthy environment, and the proliferation of poverty and unemployment.
According to the report, UNRWA provides for the bulk of medical services to refugees in the camp. The report added that 300,000 is the most accurate number of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon.
According to the report, 6.7 percent of the camp's population are illiterate and 4.5 percent read and write. The bulk of work performed by the camp's inhabitants is classifieds as seasonal work.
The study indicated that 71.9 percent of Ain al-Hilweh refugees wanted the government to launch infrastructure projects, build schools, and create public gardens.
