The Current Situation of Palestinians in Syria: An Eye-witness Testimony[1]
![The Current Situation of Palestinians in Syria: An Eye-witness Testimony[1]](https://www.badil.org/cached_uploads/resize/1200/300/2021/07/07/08b6432f46f5a9950c9b29282b7539c5-xl-1625668209.jpg)
Before it had been affected by the conflict, al-Yarmouk refugee camp received more displaced Syrians than Turkey and Jordan. However, at the moment the living conditions at al-Yarmouk are growing grimmer by the day. Beginning in mid-December 2012, its inhabitants started to leave the camp, marking a new Palestinian displacement. Ever since, the majority of residents of al-Yarmouk have been displaced to Damascus and its surrounding area. Lacking shelter and sustenance, those displaced are experiencing very harsh conditions, as both Palestinians and Syrians lost their livelihoods. Al-Yarmouk used to be a significant commercial and industrial hub, accommodating several major markets within the boundaries of the city of Damascus. Palestinian and Syrian inhabitants of the camp have sustained irreparable damage. In addition to many casualties, al-Fida’iya neighborhood in the camp has been largely destroyed.[2]
The greatest single predicament
that affects displaced inhabitants of al-Yarmouk, as well as all
Palestinian communities in Syria in general, is a deteriorated
economic situation. Palestinians have been left homeless in the
cold winter of Syria in 2013, 2014, and 2015. In light of
increasing prices and declining economic and production input
across the country, the majority of Palestinians are incapable of
renting or affording the exorbitant costs of new homes. The
suffering of those who remain in the camp (approximately 18,000
Palestinians) is compounded by declining standards of living and
untenable daily sustenance, including food, medicine, fuel and
electricity.
Legal Status
As early as 2015, almost 560,000 Palestinian refugees were
registered with UNWRA and the Syrian General Authority of Arab
Palestinian Refugees in the Arab Republic of Syria. According to
Syrian regulations, like Syrian citizens, Palestinian refugees who
arrived in the Syrian territory after 15 May 1948 were subject to
Syrian civil laws. Law No. 260 was passed unanimously by the Syrian
Parliament, and signed by the President Shukri al-Quwatli in 10
July 1956. Regarding rights and obligations, the law emphasizes
full equality between Palestinian refugees who had arrived in Syria
before this law was promulgated and Syrian citizens. The only
differences are in the right to nationality, including Syrian
identity card and passport, as well as participation in
parliamentary and presidential elections.[3]
Another group is composed of Palestinians who settled in Syria
after Law No. 260 had been enacted; i.e. after July 1956. Having
been registered by the General Authority of Arab Palestinian
Refugees (GAPAR) and UNRWA, these Palestinian refugees are subject
to the same rights and obligations of the first Palestinian comers.
However, they can only access the labor market through temporary
contracts, and they are exempt from compulsory military service.
Palestinian refugees who arrived in Syria after 1967, are treated
like this latter group.
Distribution of Palestinian refugees in Syria
Palestinian refugees live in 15 camps in Syria, as well as in
Syrian cities. The majority of Palestinian refugee camps and
communities are located in the Damascus area. Published statistics
show that the refugee camps located in Damascus accommodate almost
59% of Palestinian refugees. 75.9% of the total registered
Palestinian refugee population in Syria used to live in al-Yarmouk
refugee camp (150,000), making it the largest Palestinian community
in the diaspora. 6% of the Palestinian refugees live in the Dera’a
refugee camp and in al-Muzeirib, a Syrian town containing a
residential compound for 8,500 Palestinian refugees; 4.7% in Homs
city and Homs refugee camp; 2% in Hama refugee camp; and 2.2% in
al-Ramel refugee camp of Latakia. Aleppo provides shelter to 7.3%
of the total Palestinian refugee population in Syria. Of these,
73.3% live in the Neirab and Ein Al-Tal refugee
camps.[4]
Qabr Essit camp is located on the road to as-Suweida governorate
southeast of Damascus city; Jaramana refugee camp is on the road to
the International Airport southeast of Damascus; Khan Dynoun
refugee camp is located on the Damascus-Dera’a highway south of
Damascus; Khan Eshieh refugee camp is on the road to Al-Quneitra,
Golan Heights, west of Damascus. Being only 60 kilometers away from
the border, this camp is the nearest to Palestine; al-Huseiniya
refugee camp is located far southeast of Damascus; Sbeineh refugee
camp, south of Damascus; Ramadani refugee camp is located on the
Baghdad road east of Damascus.[5] In northern,
central and coastal areas of Syria, Palestinian refugees are
concentrated in the Neirab and Ein el-Tal refugee camps in Aleppo;
Homs refugee camp in Homs; Hama refugee camp in Hama; and al-Ramel
refugee camp in Latakia. In the south of Syria, Palestinian
refugees live in the Dera’a city, Dera’a and Muzeirib refugee
camps, and Dera’a Emergency camp. Several hundred Palestinian
families scatter around Huran villages in southern
Syria.[6]
Although UNRWA officially recognizes ten camps only, it delivers
healthcare, education and social relief services to all refugee
camps. UNRWA schools are run in all Palestinian communities and
refugee camps, as well as across Damascus city. Unrecognized
refugee camps include al-Yarmouk, Ramadani, and al-Huseiniya in
Damascus; Ein el-Tal in Aleppo, and al-Ramel in Latakia.
Secondary Displacement
During the beginning of the Syrian crisis, Palestinian inhabitants
of al-Yarmouk have been displaced for the second time after the
1948 Nakba to Damascus. These include al-Amin, al-Maydan,
az-Zahira, al-Qa’a, al-Baramika, al-Mazza, Dahiyat Qudsiya, Damar,
Damar Project, Sahnaya, al-Ashrafiya, Jaramana, Damascus Industrial
Zone, and to buildings housing the UNRWA Vocational Training Centre
in al-Mazza. They have also moved to the City of Palestine Martyrs
and Mujahedeen’s Sons in the Adra area in the north-eastern of
Damascus countryside. Others were forced to leave for relatively
stable Palestinian refugee camps and communities, including Khan
Dynoun on the Damascus-Dera’a road and Jaramana refugee camp
southeast of Damascus.[7] According to the UNRWA,
“the war in Syria has caused the displacement of almost three
quarters of Palestinian refugees from their refugee camps across
Syria. Of these, 70-80% are now displaced due to the conflict
around the country.”[8]
The scale of the conflict forced Palestinians to seek refuge
outside of Syria. Thousands fled to Lebanon, where many Palestinian
refugees have family ties. However, in August 2013 Lebanon closed
its borders to Palestinians coming from Syria. The same happened in
Jordan, where the Jordanian authorities closed the border to
Palestinian refugees in April 2012, while leaving it open for
Syrian refugees. Some Palestinian refugees from Syria managed to
find shelter in Egypt. However, the unwelcoming policies of the
neighboring states towards Palestinian refugees, in addition to the
lack of action of the PLO and the majority of Palestinian factions,
have forced thousands to try to reach Europe by using the
so-called death boats to cross the Mediterranean Sea.
The Palestinians of Syria are hanging in the balance at a time of
forced displacement. Whether they are at sea or inside al-Yarmouk
refugee camp, Palestinian refugees are at the mercy of a fate that
haunts down all children, women, youth, and the elderly. Under such
circumstances, the Palestinians of Syria cannot be blamed for
leaving and migrating to other foreign countries. Ultimately,
Syrians can resort to neighborhoods of their own cities, towns or
villages. Options are open to them. Palestinian refugees do not
have many options.
Fear and distress are now visible in the eyes of all inhabitants of
al-Yarmouk refugee camp as well as of the general Palestinian
refugee population across Syria. In their heart lies the panic of
copied painful experiences in the journey of tragedy witnessed by
successive Palestinian generations since the Nakba.
In 1974, Israeli combat aircraft completely destroyed and pulled to
the ground the Nabatiyeh refugee camp in
Lebanon.[9] In 1976, during the Lebanese Civil War,
the Dbayeh and Jisr Al-Bashah refugee camps in East Beirut were
destroyed together with al-Karantina compound in Eastern Beirut. In
summer 1976, the Tel al-Zaatar refugee camp in East Beirut was
destroyed. Recently, similar incidents have affected the Jenin
refugee camp in the West Bank and Nahr el-Bared refugee camp near
Tripoli, in northern Lebanon. Will al-Yarmouk and other refugee
camps in Syria face a similar destiny? With almost double the
population of the previously mentioned communities, the tragedy
that affects al-Yarmouk refugee camp has the potential to become a
calamity in the broadest sense of the word - God forbid.
Fear and distress are now visible in the eyes of all inhabitants of
al-Yarmouk refugee camp as well as of the general Palestinian
refugee population across Syria. In their heart lies the panic of
copied painful experiences in the journey of tragedy witnessed by
successive Palestinian generations since the Nakba.
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* Dr. Ali Badwan, a Palestinian writer and a
political analyst lives in Syria. Dr. Badwan was born in al-Yarmouk
refugee camp in Damascus, after his family was forcibly displaced
from Haifa to Syria during the Nakba in 1948. The author is a local
resident and first-hand witness to the ordeal that befell the
al-Yarmouk refugee camp.
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[1] Editorial Note: this article was submitted before
ISIS invaded the camp.
[2] On 24 July 2014, a few days before he had resigned his
office, Filippo Grandi, former Commissioner General of the United
Nations Works and Relief Agency (UNRWA), visited the destroyed
block near to the entrance to the al-Yarmouk refugee camp.
According to the UNRWA press statement, Grandi felt shocked at the
status of Palestinian refugees he spoke with a well as at the scale
of damage caused to their homes. Grandi followed up on distribution
of urgent humanitarian aid to Palestinian inhabitants, who remained
in the refugee camp. He stated: “I am particularly alarmed by what
I have seen today. Palestinian refugees I talked to have suffered a
great deal. Many clearly needed immediate support, particularly
food and medical treatment. What I have seen and heard today
highlights the need for a timely implementation of the Security
Council Resolution 2139 to ease humanitarian aid delivery and
provide relief. All parties should adhere to implementing this
resolution.”
[3] See Syrian Ministry of Social Affairs, General Authority
of Arab Palestinian Refugees, Brochure of Decrees and Laws on
Palestinian Refugees Residing in the Arab Republic of Syria,
Damascus, 2001.
[4] According to data released by the General Authority of
Arab Palestinian Refugees in Syria and other sources, including
Badwan Ali, Palestinians in Syria: Ascent to the Homeland, Dar
Al-Manarah, Damascus, 2004.
[5] Badwan Ali, Palestinians in Syria: Ascent to the
Homeland, Dar Al-Manarah, Damascus, 2004.
[6] Ibid.
[7] Several sources, including the General Authority of Arab
Palestinian Refugees in Syria, UNRWA, and field research carried
out by the author.
[8] UNRWA, “Statement by the Commissioner-General on
Palestine. Refugees Trapped inside al-Yarmouk.”
[9] UNRWA, “Israeli Air Raids.”