The Palestinian Refugees of Nahr El Bared

There are 360,000 Palestinian refugees living in twelve refugee camps scattered around Lebanon. The camps are not integrated in Lebanese social or economic life and rely heavily on the UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency) and local and international NGOs for schooling, education, and health care. The Lebanese government has no jurisdiction over the camps that end up being separate entities within the country. The living conditions are very dire, with construction materials often not even allowed into the camps, and people living in very crammed quarters.

Nahr El Bared refugee camp, established in 1949 is situated in the North of the country, next to the city of Tripoli. It is home to 32,000 registered refugees (with more unregistered).

In the summer of 2007, fighting erupted between the Lebanese Army and Fatah al-Islam, an Islamist militant organization that infiltrated the camp. In the most severe internal fighting since the Lebanese civil war, the conflict ended with the siege of Nahr El Bared, and the total destruction of the camp. Most of the Palestinian refugees from Nahr El Bared fled the camp and became refugees once again in the nearby Beddawi Camp. They fled thinking they would be back in a couple of days, and left with only the clothes on their backs.

The neighboring Beddawi camp is home to 16,000 refugees and found itself having to accommodate another 30,000 for whom it had no capacity. The newly arrived refugees were housed in schools and in garages. The conditions are disastrous and no solution for their relocation is being considered. Some families have been allocated small garages as living quarters, while many families are sharing classrooms with allocated spaces separated by blue tarp. Each divided space is living quarters for 8-12 people, sleeping on rugs and futons. They have to cook, eat and sleep in their allocated space, and share the school bathrooms and outdoor sinks for all their needs, including dishes and laundry. Schools have not been able to open this year as a result of the crisis.

The conditions are disastrous, and no one seems to know about these new refugees. When I visited the Beddawi camp in September, I spoke with many of the refugees. They were desperate but happy to be alive, and they were also very welcoming and did not lose their sense of hospitality. I found their dignity, resiliency and humanity humbling and inspiring. Their only wish is to go home… to their refugee camp.