Palestinian Refugees From Syria in Lebanon

7/28/2019 Palestinian Refugees From Syria in Lebanon

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Palestinian Reugeesrom Syriain Lebano

ANERA Reporon the ground in the Middle

Volume 4 | Apri


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A VULNERABLE COMMUNITY

Following their expulsion rom Palestine in 1948, many Palestinian intellectuals, businessmen,and cratspeople ed to Syria and established themselves as an integral part o Syrian society.Today that lie has been broken and many Palestinian reugees rom Syria have joined the ranks oLebanons Palestinian reugees, who some call the orgotten people.

Living in dark, cramped rooms without heat, these reugees have no respite rom the resh

memories o the Syrian war and the gnawing pain o hunger and cold. Having built a vibrantsociety in Syria, they have been orc ed to ee to unknown places w here their uture is uncertain.Their plight echoes the orced exile rom Palestine that they, their parents or grandparentsendured decades beore.

85% o Palestinian reugees living in Yarmouk

camp have ed the ghting in Damascus.1Seeking shelter and aid in Turkey and Iraq

meant tackling bureaucratic red tape. Jordan hasbeen reluctant to let more than a ew thousandPalestinian reugees gather in a camp along theborder.2Approximately 37,0003 reugees areseeking whatever shelter and protection they

can get in Lebanons camps, where conditionsare dire.

Living in the crowded and impoverishedPalestinian camps in Lebanon, Palestinianreugees rom Syria are nding very ew legalprotections and employment possibilities. Therehas been much less international attention

ocused on this vulnerable sub-population

than on the general Syrian reugee population.The United Nations Relie Works Agency(UNRWA) is struggling to meet their needs butremains under-unded and ill-prepared to dealwith the large inux o reugees into the camps.

Living sometimes 20 or more people to a room, the

newly arrived reugees worry most about paying rent

and providing meals or their amilies. Nearly all othem have experienced trauma in the orm o death inthe amily, physical violence, kidnapping, and homedestruction. They wonder how much longer they mustbear the indignity o exile and statelessness.

JORDAN

LEBANON

WESTBANK

GOLAN

HEIGHTS

SYRIA

ISRAEL

Beirut

Damascus

Yarmouk Camp

The ow o Palestinian reugees rom Syria into Lebano

increased greatly ater December 2012 when the coniintensifed in and around Yarmouk, the most populate

Palestinian reugee camp.

A typical alleyway in Lebanons Palestinian

camps. This one is in Shatila.

For $10 in Syria, I couleed my amily o eigh

or the whole day. InLebanon it is barely

enough or one meal.A reugee in Nahr El Bared camp


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LIFE IN SYRIA BEFORE THE FIGHTING

Beore the outbreak o ghting, Syria was generally seen as providing the best conditions orPalestinian reugees among the countries in the Middle East.4

Nearly 500,000 Palestinians were living within the states borders. A 1957 law allows Palestiniansliving in Syria the same duties and responsibilities as Syrian c itizens apart rom nationality andvoting rights.Palestinians have the right to work and own businesses, and are granted universalaccess to education and health care. Access to these sectors contributed to the stability andprosperity o Palestinians in Syria, as evidenced by the act that a high percentage o them had thenancial means to move out o reugee camps and reside elsewhere in the country.5

With the onset o Syrias civil war, work opportunities decreased. Many reugees eeing to Lebanohad already depleted much o their savings while still in Syria.

Many are startled by the sharp contrast in living standards rom what they had enjoyed in Syria.

They also have been surprised to discover that their Palestinian identity has become the mo stinuential actor in determining access to proper saety, shelter and work.

Meet the Kheir familyWe spent eight years building our house in Syria. We lived well there, but in the last two years everything changed,laments. The scariest moment, he says, was hearing mortars raining on t heir area and not knowing where they wou

ed or their lives to a nearby neighborhood. He went by their house to salvage some o their belongings, but everydestroyed. When mortars started landing in t heir new neighborhood, they had to run again.

We let with the clothes on our backs, Ahmed says, repeating the most common rerain heard among the Syrian reamily let Syria on January 14, only days ater his wie Dima gave birth through a C-section. I went to the hospital t

beore that and I di dnt have the baby. I was so anxious rom the shelling, Dima says.

Baby Moataz is their only son, but Ahmed eels no opti mism or him. On the contrary, my girls brought us luck. Whwas born we bought our frst car. And when Rosol was born we had enough money to fnish building our house. Thepeaceul childhood, Ahmed says.

Moataz was born during war. He has no uture.

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

Jail

Destruction

ofHome

Other

Death

Kidnapping

BodilyHarm

Intimidation

Nothing

Traumatic Experiences Palestinian Refugees Experienced During Syrias Civil War

53.4%

31.6%

20.6%

13.9% 13.9%

7.9% 6.5%3%


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CONDITIONS IN LEBANON

ANERA and the National Institute o Social Care and Vocational Training (NISCVT) conductedresearch and published a report in March 2013 that reveals a host o unmet basic needs amongPalestinian reugees rom Syria. They dont have enough ood. Diapers are too expensive. Theirmeager shelters are alling apart. In winter, they suer rom the cold.

The huge inux o reugees is also having a devastating eect on the housing, nancial, and

psychological capacities o the camps, wh ere resources were already strained.

Livelihood

Palestinian reugees rom Syria are nding that their money is not worth as much, sincethe exchange rate or Syrian pounds has plummeted and the cost o living in Lebanon is muchhigher than Syria. This problem is made worse by the lack o work opportunities open to them inLebanon.

Palestinians rom Syria do not have the right to employment in Lebanon as Syrian citizensdo, nor do they have the decades-old experience o being migrant laborers in Lebanon like many

Syrian citizens do. The result is they lack any economic lieline in this c risis.

Unemployment is widespread among Palestinian amilies rom Syria,regardless o age, gender, educational level, or previous employment status.More than 90% o the reugee amilies rom Syria lack an income. Theyhave to rely on the generosity o other poor reugees to sustain them.

Although not widely reported, child labor exists and amilies may resort to it as a means o survivalin light o prolonged displacement and exhaustion o their nancial sources.

Food

Hunger is a major issue or these amilies. Food is simply too expensive or most. Two-thirds oall amilies are not able to provide three meals a day.

Almost all amilies receive ood aid rom various sources, including host amilies and local andinternational organizations.

90% o

amilies la

an income

Yesterday I sold one o ourblankets to buy diapers or

the baby.

Meet the Oneissi family

Mohammad and Alaa are living with their three young childrenin the Burj El Shemali camp in southern Lebanon. They edrom the Yarmouk camp in Syria in February. Mohammadsmother was sick when they arrived and died in Lebanon. Her

hospital bills came to $4,700, They still owe $1,700, but theyhave no more money and have no electricity, running water orgas or cooking.

Mohammad spends his days searching or work, patching up

holes and worrying that the snakes and insects inesting theirshelter will bite his baby girl.

Unemployed

Laborer

Skilled Laborer

Sales

Ofce Administrator

Driver

Proessional

Other

100%20% 80%60%40%

.5%

.1%

0%

.3%

.0%

2%

5.7%

90.4%

Employment in Lebanon Among Palestinian Men from Syria


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Housing

ANERAs January 2013 survey shows that 74% ohouseholds interviewed are crowded with more than10 people. To make things worse, almost 60% o all

households are crammed into one room. Manyamilies live without electricity, running water orproper heating. Large numbers o people share to iletsand many have to leave their shelters to use acilities,raising the likelihood o illness.

Despite the terrible conditions, rents average between$150-$300/month. Families live in constant ear olosing their shelter because they cannot aord to

keep paying.

Health Care

UNRWA is the main health care provider in Lebanon or Palestinians.The Palestinian Red Crescent Society, local organizations and privateclinics are also extending their services to the reugees rom Syria.These health care providers are overwh elmed by the dramatic increasein the number o patients without a proportionate increase in theirorganizational and nancial capacities. This means that amilies areorced to pay out o their own pockets (when they can aord it) or, insome cases, rerain altogether rom seeking c are or their acute andchronic conditions.

Education

Many Palestinian children rom Syria have witnessed horrible violence. Going back to schoolmeans a return to normal lie or these children, but many resist enrollment eor ts in Lebanon.

Curriculum dierences and limited school capacity are themain reasons or non-enrollment. Integration into theLebanese curriculum is difcult or most reugee childrenrom Syria. Math and science courses are taught in Arabic inSyria, but in Lebanon the c ourses are taught in English orFrench at UNRWA schools.

of Palestinian families from Syria live in unsafe an

dilapidated shelters garages, buildings with no doo

or windows, schools, shacks, shops, etc.

59%o sheltersonly have1 room

14%have 3rooms

27%have 2 rooms

External doors made of cloth

Living in a garage

Shared toilets

Kitchen area

Living in a shack

74% o amilies

have at least one

child who is not

attending school

Illnesses Among Pales

Children from Syria in Le

Flu 39%

Diarrhea 18%

Fever 9%

Cough 8%

Asthma 5%

* January-February 2013


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MEETING THE CHALLENGES

UNRWA bears m ost o the burden o caring or Palestinian reugee amilies in Lebanons camps,but budget cuts and other constraints make it impossible or them to meet all o their needs.International oundations, institutions, non-prots and local community-based organizations arejoining together to help bridge the gap during this crisis, providing:

small-scale renovations o host amily homes and distributions o ood and non-ood items

to host amilies so they can continue sheltering Palestinian reugees rom Syria.

basic items like ood, blankets, and clothing, with a special priority or newly-arr ivedPalestinian reugees rom Syria.

cash-or-rent support and income generation initiatives that are critical to reducing theseamilies nancial insecurity.

additional support to UNRWA as the main health provider or Palestinians in Lebanon so it

can expand its capacity and coverage.

additional emphasis on remedial and inormal education, so that reugee children rom S yrican continue their schooling while in Lebanon.

Palestinian reugees rom Syria are an especially vulnerable sub-population o the Syrian c onict.The eects o statelessness multiply the ho rrors or Palestinians with each new w ar and subsequentdisplacement. With so much destruction at home, they ear their displacement could becomepermanent. The international response to the Syrian conict must also prioritize a politicalsolution or Palestinian reugees so there is a sustainable and more prosperous uture or all.

ENDNOTES

1 Anne Iran, Palestinians Fleeing Syria Face Grim Future in Lebanon, The Electronic Intiada, 15 March 2013, http://electronicintiada.net/content/palestinians-eeing-syria-ace-grim-uture-lebanon/12279 (accessed 20 March 2013).

2 Ibid.

3 UNRWAs Response and Services to Palestine Reugees rom Syria; Bi-weekly Briefng: 2 April 2013 | issue 13

4 Anne Iran, Palestinians Fleeing Syria Face Grim Future in Lebanon, The Electronic Intiada, 15 March 2013, http://electronicintiada.net/content/palestinians-eeing-syria-ace-grim-uture-lebanon/12279 (accessed 20 March 2013).

5 Sheria Shafe, FMO Research Guide: Palestinian Reugees in Syria, Forced Migration Online, http://www.orcedmigration.org/guides/mo017/mo017.pd (accessed 20 March 2013).

SPECIAL ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Text: Michelle Munjanattu and ANERAs Beirut ofce sta

Photos: Ibrahim Dirani

Reugee stories: Alison Tahmizian Meuse

Unless otherwise indicated, the statistics in this on-the-ground

report come rom ANERAs survey o reugees rom Syria in

Lebanon, published by the Beirut ofce in March 2013.

anera.org/needsassessment

For years ANERA has been deliveringdonated medicines and other supplies toall o Lebanon's reugee camps. Throughour well-established network o localpartners, ANERA is getting the ollowing

items into the hands o Palestinianreugees rom Syria:

25,000 quilts and 1,200 babyblankets

28,000 hygiene kits

12,000 school kits

2,800 baby care kits

4,000 vouchers, valued at $23

each, or clothes and ood

We also are delivering medicines andhealth care supplies, worth tens othousands o dollars, to charitablehospitals and clinics so amilies dont

have to choose between buying ood orthe medicines they need and health caresta have supplies available to treattheir inux o new patients.


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ANERA Headquarters1111 14th Street NW, #400

Washington, DC 20005

[email protected]

www.anera.org

ABOUT ANERAs ON-THE-GROUND SERIES

The ANERA on-the-ground series is designed to add a humanitarian

voice to the story o lie in the Middle East. With data rom ANERA's

proessional sta, people who live and work in the communities

they serve, and with over 40 years o experience in the region, ANERAhas a unique opportunity to build a uller understanding o what

lie is like or amilies struggling to survive within an atmosphere o

severe political strie and daily turmoil.

Palestinian Refugees From Syria in Lebanon

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