|
This year marks the 60th
anniversary of the Al
Nakba; the Palestinian
catastrophe. In 1948
approximately 750,000
Palestinians were driven
out of their homes by
Zionist forces seeking
to establish a Jewish
state in Palestine.
For sixty years, the
Palestinians have lived
under occupation or as
stateless exiles. For
those living in exile,
their fate has been
mixed.
|
 |
|
In the summer of 1948,
about 70,000
Palestinians fled to
Syria. They came from
the villages and cities
of northern Palestine;
Safed, Acre, Haifa,
Tiberius and Nazareth.
In the following
decades, they have been
joined by others driven
out of Lebanon, Jordan
and more recently, Iraq.
There are now over
420,000 Palestinians
living in Syria,
comprising approximately
3 percent of the total
population. Over half of
the Palestinians live in
12 camps across Syria,
in areas such as Aleppo,
Lattakia, Hama, Homs,
Dera’a and Damascus.
In Syria, Palestinians
have full access to
governmental services,
including employment and
social services. They
have freedom of
movement, entitlement to
travel documents and do
not need work permits.
However, they are not
granted Syrian
citizenship in order to
preserve their original
identity and their Right
of Return to Palestine.
Despite all these
rights, many
Palestinians in Syria
live in poverty.
According to UNWRA
statistics, 25 percent
of those who live in
camps, live with less
than US$2 per day and
25-30 percent are
unemployed. In most of
the camps, the shelters
are very basic and
require structural
rehabilitation. Many
water and sewage systems
need upgrading, while
some camps lack these
networks altogether.
While the Syrian
government together with
the UN, are working on
programmes to improve
conditions in the camps,
the voice of the now
Third Generation of
Palestinians born in
exile.
|
