Published : 07-09-2020
Residents of Khan Dannun camp for Palestinian refugees, located some 23 kilometers south of Damascus, continue to denounce the absence of much-needed services, particularly healthcare, in the poverty-stricken area.
The situation is exacerbated by the chronic power blackouts and the acute dearth in potable water supplies.
The residents slammed the concerned authorities and municipality over their indifference regarding their appeals for the urgent reconstruction of infrastructure and rehabilitation of vital facilities.
Living conditions in Khan Dannun camp have sharply deteriorated due to the lack of financial resources and high unemployment rates wrought by the raging warfare. A transportation crisis has made life difficult in the camp.
Upon more than once occasion, civilians have railed against the mounds of trash and debris piled up in civilian neighborhoods and around the main access roads to the camp, resulting in bed smells and the spread of life-threatening diseases and rodents.
UN data indicates that Khan Dunoun camp lies near the ruins of Khan Dunoun, which 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 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 kilometres. The camp was home to 10,000 Palestine refugees by 2011, almost all of whom were live in irregular housing, constructed without any formal approval from the municipality.
Before the conflict in Syria, Khan Dunoun was already one of the poorest camps in Syria. Most refugees worked as farm workers on Syrian-owned lands, others are wage labourers, while a few commuted to industrial plants.
The conflict exerted additional pressures. The camp was surrounded by armed opposition groups (AOGs) 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. Two UNRWA schools premises were converted into collective shelters to give accommodation to more than 130 families between 2012 and 2018. Currently, the camp is home to 12,650 Palestine refugees.
Residents of Khan Dannun camp for Palestinian refugees, located some 23 kilometers south of Damascus, continue to denounce the absence of much-needed services, particularly healthcare, in the poverty-stricken area.
The situation is exacerbated by the chronic power blackouts and the acute dearth in potable water supplies.
The residents slammed the concerned authorities and municipality over their indifference regarding their appeals for the urgent reconstruction of infrastructure and rehabilitation of vital facilities.
Living conditions in Khan Dannun camp have sharply deteriorated due to the lack of financial resources and high unemployment rates wrought by the raging warfare. A transportation crisis has made life difficult in the camp.
Upon more than once occasion, civilians have railed against the mounds of trash and debris piled up in civilian neighborhoods and around the main access roads to the camp, resulting in bed smells and the spread of life-threatening diseases and rodents.
UN data indicates that Khan Dunoun camp lies near the ruins of Khan Dunoun, which 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 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 kilometres. The camp was home to 10,000 Palestine refugees by 2011, almost all of whom were live in irregular housing, constructed without any formal approval from the municipality.
Before the conflict in Syria, Khan Dunoun was already one of the poorest camps in Syria. Most refugees worked as farm workers on Syrian-owned lands, others are wage labourers, while a few commuted to industrial plants.
The conflict exerted additional pressures. The camp was surrounded by armed opposition groups (AOGs) 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. Two UNRWA schools premises were converted into collective shelters to give accommodation to more than 130 families between 2012 and 2018. Currently, the camp is home to 12,650 Palestine refugees.
