Published : 13-09-2021
UNRWA said that it will transfer cash grants to Palestinian refugees from Syria as of September 28.
The refugees have denounced delays in aid transfer, saying they have been struggling with increasing poverty and hardship.
Earlier this year, UNRWA raised alarm bells over the dire situation of Palestine refugees in Lebanon and the precariousness in which they live, particularly in the last year of acute financial crisis and pandemic. Many Palestine refugees live in 12 overcrowded camps across the country.
“Palestine refugees are suffering immensely. The misery that I witnessed in the last two days in Ein el-Hilweh and Nahr el-Bared camps is unfathomable,” said UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini during his visit to the country earlier this year.
Palestine refugees in Lebanon, including those who fled from Syria, need financial assistance to buy food and other basic necessities. But with the current financial crisis, most Palestine refugees have found themselves slipping further into destitution. The “dollar crisis” in Lebanon, where the official exchange rate of the US dollar against the Lebanese pound is nearly ten times lower than the black-market rate, has seen the purchasing power of the refugees slashed tenfold.
According to information collected by UNRWA, more than 80 per cent of PRS indicate that the Agency’s cash assistance is their main source of income. 95 per cent of PRS are food insecure, while about 89 per cent of PRS live in poverty. 36 to 57 per cent of PRS youth face unemployment.
The lack of a valid legal status, often coupled with outdated civil registration documents, results in severely restricted freedom of movement for some PRS in Lebanon due to fear of arrest, detention and being issued a departure order.
UNRWA said that it will transfer cash grants to Palestinian refugees from Syria as of September 28.
The refugees have denounced delays in aid transfer, saying they have been struggling with increasing poverty and hardship.
Earlier this year, UNRWA raised alarm bells over the dire situation of Palestine refugees in Lebanon and the precariousness in which they live, particularly in the last year of acute financial crisis and pandemic. Many Palestine refugees live in 12 overcrowded camps across the country.
“Palestine refugees are suffering immensely. The misery that I witnessed in the last two days in Ein el-Hilweh and Nahr el-Bared camps is unfathomable,” said UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini during his visit to the country earlier this year.
Palestine refugees in Lebanon, including those who fled from Syria, need financial assistance to buy food and other basic necessities. But with the current financial crisis, most Palestine refugees have found themselves slipping further into destitution. The “dollar crisis” in Lebanon, where the official exchange rate of the US dollar against the Lebanese pound is nearly ten times lower than the black-market rate, has seen the purchasing power of the refugees slashed tenfold.
According to information collected by UNRWA, more than 80 per cent of PRS indicate that the Agency’s cash assistance is their main source of income. 95 per cent of PRS are food insecure, while about 89 per cent of PRS live in poverty. 36 to 57 per cent of PRS youth face unemployment.
The lack of a valid legal status, often coupled with outdated civil registration documents, results in severely restricted freedom of movement for some PRS in Lebanon due to fear of arrest, detention and being issued a departure order.
