|
Israeli-sponsored population transfer forced Palestinians to leave their
homeland in the period leading to, during and following 1948. The
largest proportion of fleeing Palestinians took refugee in the West Bank,
Gaza, Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon.
Palestinian refugees have been living in Lebanon for over fifty years,
during which, they have experienced civil war, economic, social and
political marginalization, and exclusion from Lebanese society.
The consequences of discrimination against Palestinians in Lebanon
profoundly affect their general living conditions.
Following the 1948 occupation of Palestine, the UN General Assembly
established the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine
Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) in Resolution 302 (IV), of 8 December
1949 to deliver relief and works programmes for Palestine refugees.
The
number of Palestine refugees registered with UNRWA in Lebanon is
currently 382.973, or an estimated 10% of the population of Lebanon.
However, these figures include principally those Palestinian refugees
(and their families) originally registered with UNRWA. Many others
have emigrated, have been killed during the civil war, live unregistered
in camps, or resided in cities at the time of UNRWA’s initial
registration.
The
services of UNRWA have declined dramatically since its establishment.
In 1951, UNRWA issued 200 USD worth of services to each refugee per
month. Today it provides the equivalent of only 7 USD per month,
whereas the number of refugees has considerably mounted and is
continually on the rise.
Today, all twelve official refugee camps in Lebanon suffer from wholly
inadequate infrastructure, overcrowding, poverty and unemployment.
After more than 50 years living as refugees, the Palestinians in Lebanon
are economically marginalized and the majority live in squalid
conditions. According to UNRWA, Lebanon has the highest percentage
of Palestinian refugees who live in “abject poverty.”
|
