Published : 02-11-2020
A transportation crisis has been rocking Khan Eshieh camp for Palestinian refugees, in Rif Dimashq, where workers and students continue to face serious difficulties getting to their workplaces and schools.
The residents said buses do not show up on time, forcing them to board private means of transportation at high prices. Others have found no other way-out than to walk for dozens of kilometers in order to reach their destinations.
A resident said a decision by the local transportation directorate to allocate five buses to Khan Eshieh camp has been rescinded by an anonymous official on claims that minibuses are available in the area.
The residents added that their appeals to the concerned institutions have almost gone unheeded.
Palestinian families taking refuge in Khan Eshieh camp have been struggling with squalid humanitarian conditions inflicted by the nine-year long warfare.
According to UN data, Khan Eshieh camp lies beside the ancient ruins of Khan Eshieh, 27km south-west of Damascus. The Khan historically served as an overnight shelter for trade caravans on the road between Damascus and the southwest, and in 1948, it provided shelter for the first refugees from Palestine. The camp was established in 1949 on an area of 0.69 square kilometers with refugees originally from the northern part of Palestine.
Before the conflict in Syria, the camp was home to more than 20,000 Palestine refugees. In 2012, the farms and fields surrounding the camp became active battlegrounds in which heavy weapons were deployed, often indiscriminately. The population more than halved to 9,000.
Some of the camp's buildings and infrastructure were severely affected including some UNRWA installations; two UNRWA schools and the community centre were almost razed to the ground. In 2016, UNRWA was able to re-access Khan Esheih and the Agency was able to rehabilitate some of its installations. Residents have also slowly started to return, with the camp now accommodating 12,000 people.
A transportation crisis has been rocking Khan Eshieh camp for Palestinian refugees, in Rif Dimashq, where workers and students continue to face serious difficulties getting to their workplaces and schools.
The residents said buses do not show up on time, forcing them to board private means of transportation at high prices. Others have found no other way-out than to walk for dozens of kilometers in order to reach their destinations.
A resident said a decision by the local transportation directorate to allocate five buses to Khan Eshieh camp has been rescinded by an anonymous official on claims that minibuses are available in the area.
The residents added that their appeals to the concerned institutions have almost gone unheeded.
Palestinian families taking refuge in Khan Eshieh camp have been struggling with squalid humanitarian conditions inflicted by the nine-year long warfare.
According to UN data, Khan Eshieh camp lies beside the ancient ruins of Khan Eshieh, 27km south-west of Damascus. The Khan historically served as an overnight shelter for trade caravans on the road between Damascus and the southwest, and in 1948, it provided shelter for the first refugees from Palestine. The camp was established in 1949 on an area of 0.69 square kilometers with refugees originally from the northern part of Palestine.
Before the conflict in Syria, the camp was home to more than 20,000 Palestine refugees. In 2012, the farms and fields surrounding the camp became active battlegrounds in which heavy weapons were deployed, often indiscriminately. The population more than halved to 9,000.
Some of the camp's buildings and infrastructure were severely affected including some UNRWA installations; two UNRWA schools and the community centre were almost razed to the ground. In 2016, UNRWA was able to re-access Khan Esheih and the Agency was able to rehabilitate some of its installations. Residents have also slowly started to return, with the camp now accommodating 12,000 people.
