Lebanon: Palestinian Camps Support Campaign

The Australian Palestinian Camps Support Campaign is solely funded by individual donations from the Australian community to support the elderly and disabled in Burj al-Barajneh refugee camp, Beirut, Lebanon.

Jamal being treated by a nurse with WHO

Palestinian refugees in Lebanon
The situation for Palestinian refugees in Lebanon has been one of extreme hardship and suffering since their displacement from historic Palestine in the first Arab-Israeli war of 1948. These refugees now number over 420,000, more than half of whom remain in one of the dozen official United Nations refugee camps scattered throughout Lebanon.

Lebanon has the highest incidence of Palestinian refugees living in 'abject poverty'. The camps have no proper infrastructure and are severely overcrowded, with high levels of poverty and unemployment. Palestinians in Lebanon do not have social, civil and political rights, are restricted from accessing government health or education facilities, and have no access to public social services. Palestinian refugees are also considered foreigners in Lebanon, and are forbidden to work in over 70 trades and professions. Consequently, poverty, ill health and depression are widespread throughout the Palestinian refugee community in Lebanon.

To this day, the international community has failed to find an adequate, durable and sustainable solution to their problem and that of the millions of Palestinian refugees scattered around the world. For over 60 years, they remain excluded from the international system for the protection of refugees, and excluded from their right to return to their homeland in Palestine.

The Palestinian Camps Support Campaign
Union Aid Abroad-APHEDA's generous community donors have raised over A$88,000 (average A$6,000/year) for this ongoing program since 1997. The program ensures the most disadvantaged groups - such as the elderly and disabled in the camp - get access to medical provisions. This assistance may include supply of medical and therapeutic products, financial support for urgent medical tests and access to medical services when patients are immobile. Other activities include the supply of Iftar meals during Ramadan and special outings. The program is implemented by Union Aid Abroad-APHEDA's long-term Palestinian partner organisation, the Women's Humanitarian Organisation (PWHO), in Burj al-Barajneh camp, Beirut.

To learn about the program's activities in the past year, please download the report below.

You can support this work in the Middle East by becoming a donor today.

Download full report:
2010-11 Report to Donors: Palestinian Camps Support Campaign [ pdf ]

© Union Aid Abroad - APHEDA 2003.

Last Modified: Thursday, 18-Aug-2011 17:55:42 EST
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