Physician Seema Jilani writes from Chatila refugee camp in Beirut in The Daily Beast. 

Overcrowded Palestinian refugee camp

Here she describes the squalid conditions wrought by years of civil war between Lebanese factions, the 1982 Israeli incursion - which slaughtered 1,200 in the Sabra and Chatila massacres - and severe neglect from the Lebanese government.  In her clinic, Jilani discusses the lack of resources as well as the depression and stress that plague her patients more than traditional ailments.

The legacy of a brutal 16-year civil war and the delicate sectarian balance in Lebanon leaves Palestinian refugees in a precarious situation. They are often marginalized and relegated to work as unskilled laborers, unable to progress outside the camp infrastructure. In 2007, the Lebanese Internal Security Forces attacked Nahr al-Bared, a Palestinian refugee camp in northern Lebanon, in order to rid the camp of an extremist faction, Fatah al-Islam. After sustaining intense shelling, the refugees found themselves refugees once again—this time at the hands of the Lebanese government. Nahr al-Bared was home to the largest market in northern Lebanon, so the strife dealt the refugee economy a disastrous blow. Despite promises of renovation by the Lebanese government, no major progress has been made in restoration. At a price tag of $330 million for the reconstruction effort, to date, UNRWA has only received one-third of the necessary funding.

In Lebanon, Jilani explains, the Palestinian issue is always pushed to the bottom of the agenda.  Not allowed to work in 70 professions, not provided health care, and called a scourge on the delicate Lebanese societal balance, Palestinian refugees in Lebanon have little going for them.  And according to Jilani, expanding Israeli settlements will force refugees deeper into the West Bank and outside the territories.  Says Jilani : "It is abundantly clear that Lebanon cannot, or is not willing to, absorb any more."


Click here to read Jilani's article.

NB: Jilani notes "if Lebanon did indeed grant Palestinian refugees ample civil rights, it would lay the foundation for their permanent residency in Lebanon. Political analysts say that would absolve the Israeli government of its responsibility to adhere to the Palestinian right to return to their homeland or to offer refugees compensation, as stipulated by U.N. resolution 194."

UN resolution 194 (read text here) does not stipulate any caveat concerning right of return.  Regardless of a refugee's empowered place in a host society, he or she is always afforded the right of return under section 11 of 194.  It may be the opinion of political analysts, but it is not a legally admissible argument.

Photo:  JSam - Flickr

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