Published : 02-12-2020
Palestinian families taking refuge in Khan Eshieh camp, in Rif Dimashq, have been struggling with squalid humanitarian conditions inflicted by the ten-year warfare.
As in other refugee camps across Syria, the cost of living index in Khan Eshieh is several times higher than the pre-war period. Prices have seen a 1000% leap, overburdening even further the cash-stripped families.
Unemployment rates have also seen an unprecedented increase among Khan Eshieh residents, resulting in growing poverty rates.
Over recent years, most of the displaced Palestinian families have depended on aid items sporadically given by UNRWA and other charities to pay rental fees and purchase much-needed items.
The displaced Palestinian families continue to denounce the apathy maintained by local authorities as regards their calls for clearing the mounds of trash piled up across residential alleyways.
Frequent outages in power/water and telecommunications networks have made the situation more alarming.
Civilians have also been living in a perpetual fear of arrest and prosecution as several residents have been summoned to questioned, others were sent to jail, and several others blackmailed or threatened.
The families have appealed to UNRWA and the relief institutions to take urgent action regarding the alarming humanitarian condition in the camp.
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.
Palestinian families taking refuge in Khan Eshieh camp, in Rif Dimashq, have been struggling with squalid humanitarian conditions inflicted by the ten-year warfare.
As in other refugee camps across Syria, the cost of living index in Khan Eshieh is several times higher than the pre-war period. Prices have seen a 1000% leap, overburdening even further the cash-stripped families.
Unemployment rates have also seen an unprecedented increase among Khan Eshieh residents, resulting in growing poverty rates.
Over recent years, most of the displaced Palestinian families have depended on aid items sporadically given by UNRWA and other charities to pay rental fees and purchase much-needed items.
The displaced Palestinian families continue to denounce the apathy maintained by local authorities as regards their calls for clearing the mounds of trash piled up across residential alleyways.
Frequent outages in power/water and telecommunications networks have made the situation more alarming.
Civilians have also been living in a perpetual fear of arrest and prosecution as several residents have been summoned to questioned, others were sent to jail, and several others blackmailed or threatened.
The families have appealed to UNRWA and the relief institutions to take urgent action regarding the alarming humanitarian condition in the camp.
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.
