All refugees in the world, except one group of people, are assisted by a single organization, the office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHRC), set up to protect and support refugees by UN General Assembly Resolution 319 (IV) in December 1949. Only the Palestinian refugees have their own body, UNRWA, created by UN General Assembly Resolution 302 (IV) in December 1949, to ensure relief and development for the Palestinian refugees ousted from what formed the State of Israel in 1948. The agency provides health care, education, social services, and other forms of aid to nearly 5 million Palestinian refugees. Over 5,000 Palestinians in 19 camps are employed by the agency, providing services to the almost 800,000 refugees in the West Bank.
Its definition of "refugees," is broader than that of UNHCR: it embraces those who were physically displaced between June 1946 – well before Israel was established – and May 1948, and who lost home and livelihood as a result of the 1948 Arab-Israeli conflict. The definition now also includes descendants of the original refugees, thus establishing a designation seemingly in perpetuity. UNRWA role has failed to morph the economic development, but has conversely, embedded a culture of unending dependency.
Funding for its budget comes from voluntary outside sources; the United States, as the largest donor, provided $250 million of the total $675 million raised for last year. The U.S. has since 1949 given $4.4 billion to fund UNRWA operations. The supposed friends of the Palestinians, the members of the Arab League, have contributed little, usually less than 2 percent. In 2012 they pledged 7.8 percent of the total budget but in fact did not honour the pledge.
The workers' strike comes at a time when unemployment in the camps is about 23 percent in the West Bank and 32 percent in the Gaza Strip. Even the Palestinian public sector has been reeling from the effects of an economic crisis brought about by soaring prices and the PA's inability to pay its employees regularly. Mubarak, head of the Jalazun camp popular committee, says the unemployment rate among the refugees is actually higher, reaching 44%.
Palestinian UNRWA staff has been on strike for almost two months in protest of low wages and UNRWA policies related to employees held captive by the Israeli military. Absence of resources, apparently due to the UNRAW’s redirecting of funds to the displaced Syrian refugees during the country’s three-year-long conflict. In addition a group of former UNRWA employees have been on hunger strike for over 28 days, after 55 employees had been laid off on 3 December 2013, demanding their reinstatement and an increase in salaries for Palestinian UNRWA workers.
One factor stoking the strike was the surplus payment of a 100 dinars ($141) to the salary of some 7,000 UNRWA workers in Jordan, “the darling of some donor states” as the UNRWA source describes it. The West Bank union is demanding the same raise for its staff, as well as a further increase due to the cost of living.
Myriad of Palestinians held protests and demonstrations, manifested by stones and burning tires, following a ongoing seven week strike, obstructing main roads near the al-Jalazun and al-Amari refugee camps as well as roads linking other camps inside the city, clashing with police close to Ramallah, the West Bank in the Gaza Strip in January 2014. Ensuing a severe absence of public services across Palestinian refugee camps, keeping schools closed and severely limiting provisions of basic services to Palestinian refugee camps. The protest against nonexistence of public services routinely provided by the UNRWA transpired as the Palestinian economy weakens and while aid agencies struggling to manage with deepening refugee crises related to the civil war in Syria.
UN “Employee strike disrupts 151,000 students who have not been able to attend school in the camps, Some 132,000 people have also been adversely affected by the closure of 42 health clinics in the West Bank, with an average of more than 5,000 patients a day unable to receive medical care, uncollected garbage has also been piling up in the camps.” Camp resident Mahdi Ahmed, 20 "The trash here is piled up so high we can't even sleep at night for the smell".
Psychologically “You were and are a victim and nobody takes any notice of you” is a core belief of the refugees. Loss of rudimentary services such as studies, basic medical treatment and aid further fuels the essence of being betrayed irrevocably bring about turmoil and desperation. Poverty causes radicalism and anyone can exploit the youngsters, who suffer poverty, overcrowding, unemployment and deteriorating education, which exacerbates the predicament. The avoidance of the buildup of problems is vital, to prevent a catastrophe similar to the one in Syria,”
UNRWA, PNA are struggling to meet the daily needs of the refugees, unable to pay the salaries of their employees, how can they fully support the refuges humanitarian needs. There is no food, no water, or medicine, the camps have become a precarious place to live with various diseases and infections spread amongst the residents since of the garbage in the camps has been uncollected since the strike began. This means accelerated starvation
Most families unable to purchase a sack of rice, little money is left for ingredients of a nutritious meal, for example vegetables, cooking oil and meat or chicken. Consuming mostly carbohydrates leads to malnutrition for an extended length of time, especially among children, who need all kinds of nutrients to grow and develop healthily. A family who has a sack of rice will be able to spend the cash on other food items and will thus eat sufficiently and have a more balanced diet.
A sack of rice will enable family providers to adequately feed their families for a month or more. Assuming an average family size of seven, which is a conservative estimate in Palestine, 8750 persons will benefit from this project, at least two thirds of them children.
When you sit down for your daily meals, please give a thought to those who look at an empty table and have to sleep hungry. Contributing a small part of what you spend on food every month, you can help them survive.
Project Details:
• Donor: The Lady Fatemah (A.S.) Charitable Trust-London.
• Organization: HRS - Humanitarian Relief Society.
• Authority: Registered Non-Government Organization in Palestine.
• Address: Bethlehem, West Bank, Palestine.
• Contact person: Prof. Bassam Banat, president, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
, 00972 599 678 306.
• Beneficiaries: 500 starving families in ten Palestinian Refugee Camps in West Bank: Hardship cases, Needy families, Handicapped, Widows and Orphans.
• Number of Beneficiaries: 500 starving families (About 8750 persons).
• Beneficiaries locations: ten Palestinian refugee camps in north, middle and south the West Bank: Fawwar, Arroub, Ayda, Duhaisha, Amaari, Jalazun, Balata, Askar, Nur Shams, and Jenin.
• Date of the project: February 10-20, 2014.
• Food package details: 25kg sack of rice for each family.
• Project process:
The society has announced about the project in the mosques of the ten refugee camps in north, middle and south the West Bank: Fawwar, Arroub, Ayda, Duhaisha, Amaari, Jalazun, Balata, Askar, Nur Shams, and Jenin.
1. Each family filled an application for the food which last for ten days.
2. All of the applications went under the evaluation process in order to get the 500 needy families.
3. Each family received a capon to get the sack of rice.
4. The delivery of the food took place in the above locations in the period February 10-20, 2014.
5. The delivery process of the food to the needy people took place professionally, with vey good documentations.
Upon the completion of this charity project and on behalf of Palestinian refugees in the West Bank and the HRS board members I would like to extend my deepest thanks and appreciation to The Lady Fatemah (A.S.) Charitable Trust for their generous support for our needy brothers and sisters in Palestine.
We have done this charity project not by our efforts alone, but also through your generous support and kindness, may Allah bless you and reward you the Jana, Ameen. “inna lanudeeAAu ajra man ahsana AAamala” (We will not allow to be lost the reward of any who did well in deeds). Sadaga Allah Al Atheem.
With my deepest salaamas and duas,
Professor Bassam Banat.
President
