From May to September of 2007, high-intensity fighting between the Lebanese Army and the Fatah al-Islam group caused the displacement of the entire population of the Nahr el Bared Palestinian Refugee Camp, located north of Tripoli. The camp, which was established to shelter refugees in the aftermath of the 1948 war in Palestine, had held a population of 30,000. The 2007 conflict caused the destruction of 85% of the camp's infrastructure, including the electricity grid, sewerage and water mains, all roads and thoroughfares, and the vast majority of commercial and residential buildings. Economic activity was halted, and household earners were left without a source of income. Limited relief to displaced residents, has been provided through local and international NGOs and UNRWA.
Before the 2007 conflict, the social and economic situation of the Nahr el Bared population was already considered to be highly vulnerable. Palestinians in Lebanon do not benefit from any state social services, and UNRWA services are limited to the most basic health and education services, and for registered refugees only. Moreover, Palestinians are restricted to only the lowest paid, unskilled job categories.
Of the still displaced families, the vast majority remain in the nearby Beddawi Palestinian refugee camp, whose population has more than doubled since summer 2007. These displaced refugees live in extremely crowded and underserved conditions. Although UNRWA distributed a limited amount of rent vouchers, a large percentage of families cannot locate and/or afford to rent apartments, and are forced to live in shelters (like garages, see picture) not designed for human inhabitancy. Health and education services in Beddawi are under severe pressure, and there are virtually no employment opportunities. Some of the families that have managed to return to Nahr el Bared have been resettled into poor quality, pre-fabricated shelters or partially completed structures.
The clean-up of the vast destruction in the camp and its reconstruction is expected to take between three to four years. Therefore, the returnee households can be expected to face severe emotional, physical and economic hardship for years to come.
Welfare Association are pleased to announce that the Big Lottery Fund have awarded a four year grant to carry out this project, aimed to address immediate and medium-term mental and physical needs of the most vulnerable population among refugee families displaced from the destroyed Nahr el Bared Palestinian refugee camp, as well as medium-term support for renewed livelihoods. Employing a community-based approach to well-being, community health groups will be provided with training in order to engage their community in identifying, counselling and suitable referral to meet psychosocial and mental health needs. A rights-based approach to women's health will entail the formation and capacity building of women's community support groups to build awareness of women's health rights, and increase access and availability of women's health services. Training and advocacy materials responsive to the challenges of relocation to temporary shelter under adverse conditions will be produced. Additionally, to break the cycle of relief dependence, targeted micro-credit programmes will be established, in parallel to vocational training refresher courses linked to job placement services.
5,543 of the most disadvantaged individuals from the Nahr el Bared Refugee Camp with little or no income, living in sub-standard interim shelters will benefit from this project.
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