Published : 26-02-2021
Residents of Khan Dannun Camp, in Rif Dimashq, have denounced the ongoing electricity blackout across residential alleyways and buildings.
The residents said electricity has been operative for no more than a couple of hours daily, urging UNRWA and the concerned authorities to take the necessary measures in order to rehabilitate the power network and carry out the required maintenance works.
The situation has been made worse by the frequent thefts of power cables from residential alleyways and access roads.
Living conditions in Khan Dannun have sharply deteriorated due to the lack of financial resources and high unemployment rates wrought by the unbridled warfare.
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 of the camp population has had a negative impact on the camp’s infrastructure.
Residents of Khan Dannun Camp, in Rif Dimashq, have denounced the ongoing electricity blackout across residential alleyways and buildings.
The residents said electricity has been operative for no more than a couple of hours daily, urging UNRWA and the concerned authorities to take the necessary measures in order to rehabilitate the power network and carry out the required maintenance works.
The situation has been made worse by the frequent thefts of power cables from residential alleyways and access roads.
Living conditions in Khan Dannun have sharply deteriorated due to the lack of financial resources and high unemployment rates wrought by the unbridled warfare.
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 of the camp population has had a negative impact on the camp’s infrastructure.
