When one sees the suffering and images of Deir Balout refugee camp the displacement and Nakba that befell the Palestinians in 1948 come to mind but when one goes deeper into the details the realization that comes to mind is that the Nakba continues to this day but in its worst form amid Arab and international silence.
Deir Balout
More than 850 families including more than 350 Palestinian families live in the Jandairis district of the northern rural area of Afrin in Syria with a total of 1500 Palestinians most of them used to live in the Yarmouk refugee camp south of Damascus.
According to director of the Center for Media Ammar Al-Baylouni “since its establishment the camp has suffered from a severe shortage of basic services such as food water clothing and housing.”
He explained that people live in tents provided by the Turkish AFAD organization in cooperation with the Turkish Red Crescent pointing out that humanitarian bodies do not offer anything to the people except for little.
“The camp is suffering from a severe lack of services where people suffer from a great shortage of water especially drinking water in addition to public toilets which is a major problem for the people” noted Al-Baylouni.
Poverty and unemployment
Al-Baylouni reveals that the camp does not have any clinics except for a single health center that cannot cover the medical needs of the camp pointing out that people have to transfer their patients to hospitals in the surrounding areas on motorcycles most of the time.
He explains that people live in “extremely poor conditions in the camp where unemployment is very high because the camp is far from industrial areas that can provide jobs for people there. This means that people can’t afford their basic needs.”
Children are affected the most
“Children are affected the most” he said. “The biggest tragedy is the dropout of children from school losing their education which has been the biggest asset for Palestinian refugees in Syria over the past years.”
The school of the camp is located in a simple tent attended by some volunteers where some lessons are given which do not meet the minimum requirement for the children. There are no seats no boards and no study materials to achieve the desired goal which pushed some families to stop sending their children to the school.
Winter is a tragedy
With the onset of winter a new disaster takes place against the people of the Deir Balout camp. The camp’s ground is of white soil that does not withstand rains and turns into large clay pools that increase the suffering of the people.
“The lack of heating in the camp foreshadows a major disaster looming if the concerned parties do not intervene to save the people from a tragic fate that threatens their lives and that of their children in an area known for its harsh winter and hot summer” he added.
Absence of the PA and UNRWA
People in the camp wonder about the absence of UNRWA which is supposed to be concerned with the situation of Palestine refugees in the diaspora.
The residents of the Syrian north including the Deir Balout camp complain of the total absence of UNRWA and the failure to provide any of its services provided in areas controlled by the Syrian regime pointing out that the number of Palestinian families in the northern regions of Syria amount to more than 1500 from all camps for Palestine refugees in Syria.
The residents also complain about the complete absence of the institutions of the Palestinian Authority and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). None of their institutions have worked to help the residents of the camp during this terrible situation.
Al-Baylouni added that all relief and charitable organizations and institutions operating in northern Syrian have been absent from the camp except for the Palestinians of Syria for Relief and Development which is trying to provide the necessary assistance to the people in light of the decline in support provided to them.
He pointed out that the Palestinians of Syria for Relief and Development provides from time to time small quantities of food baskets that do not meet the need of the people in the camp who are in need of joint efforts of institutions to send relief material to the camp and its inhabitants.
Urgent appeal
The 302 Body for Defending the Rights of Refugees called on UNRWA to immediately intervene to provide all humanitarian needs of some 1500 Palestinian refugees women children elderly and people with special needs who were forced to flee the Yarmouk refugee camp and camps in southern Damascus six months ago to the Deir Balout camp in northern Syria.
The 302 Body said in a press release that the camp is located in an area called Wadi al-Afai’i which is known for the large number of snakes. It threatens the lives of refugees who live in tents that do not protect them from heat in summer or cold in winter. People have night guards to make sure that snakes or predators don’t enter their tents.
The press released described the humanitarian situation of the refugees in the camp as catastrophic stressing that the demands of refugees who have been protesting for three weeks are legitimate and that UNRWA should provide all education needs hospitalization relief accommodation clothing psychological support and all other services to the Palestinian refugees there.
The 302 Body expressed its disappointment at not visiting the camp by any UNRWA staff member to date and stressed that the responsibility for providing protection and humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian refugees in the Deir Balout camp which is located inside Syrian territory one of UNRWA’s five areas of operation lies primarily on UNRWA.
It warned against the danger threatening refugees living in the camp and the fear of people of sending their children alone to the public toilets which are away from the tents and the need to accompany them and that the camp lacks a hospital a school a kindergarten and a clinic.
“The nearest hospital is about half an hour away. People are forced to take their patients to the hospitals using motorcycles. When a woman wants to give birth there is no ambulance or any other means of transport” it concluded.
