Published : 09-08-2020
Palestinian refugee families taking shelter in Khan Dannun camp, in Rif Dimashq, continue to rail against the poor infrastructure and absence of vital facilities in the area.
Water supplies have been repeatedly cut off across residential neighborhoods in Khan Dannun, forcing civilians to buy drinking water from privately-owned tanks at steep prices. Ther residents have also denounced the ongoing electricity blackout.
At the same time, the families have spoken out against the mistreatment they have been subjected to by staff members at a UNRWA-run clinic in the camp.
According to UN data, Khan Dannun camp was built several centuries ago to give overnight accommodation to trading caravans on the ancient route between Jerusalem and Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul). In 1948, the ruins of the city provided shelter for refugees from villages in northern Palestine.
The camp, which lies 23 km south of Damascus, was officially established in 1950-1951 on an area of 0.03 square kilometers. The camp was home to 10,000 Palestine refugees by 2011, almost all of whom were living in irregular housing, constructed without any formal approval from the municipality.
Before the conflict in Syria, the camp was already one of the poorest camps in Syria. The conflict exerted additional pressures. The camp was surrounded by armed opposition groups and many refugee families displaced from other areas of Damascus took refuge in the camp, tripling the number of residents to some 30,000 during the crisis. Currently, the camp is home to 12,650 Palestine refugees. The increase in the camp population has had a negative impact on the camp’s infrastructure.
Palestinian refugee families taking shelter in Khan Dannun camp, in Rif Dimashq, continue to rail against the poor infrastructure and absence of vital facilities in the area.
Water supplies have been repeatedly cut off across residential neighborhoods in Khan Dannun, forcing civilians to buy drinking water from privately-owned tanks at steep prices. Ther residents have also denounced the ongoing electricity blackout.
At the same time, the families have spoken out against the mistreatment they have been subjected to by staff members at a UNRWA-run clinic in the camp.
According to UN data, Khan Dannun camp was built several centuries ago to give overnight accommodation to trading caravans on the ancient route between Jerusalem and Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul). In 1948, the ruins of the city provided shelter for refugees from villages in northern Palestine.
The camp, which lies 23 km south of Damascus, was officially established in 1950-1951 on an area of 0.03 square kilometers. The camp was home to 10,000 Palestine refugees by 2011, almost all of whom were living in irregular housing, constructed without any formal approval from the municipality.
Before the conflict in Syria, the camp was already one of the poorest camps in Syria. The conflict exerted additional pressures. The camp was surrounded by armed opposition groups and many refugee families displaced from other areas of Damascus took refuge in the camp, tripling the number of residents to some 30,000 during the crisis. Currently, the camp is home to 12,650 Palestine refugees. The increase in the camp population has had a negative impact on the camp’s infrastructure.
