Published : 03-04-2022
This year's Holy Ramadan month has been tougher for Palestinian refugees from Syria (PRS) in Lebanon as the economic breakdown means that many PRS have not been able to reunite with or provide for their families.
Several displacement camps for Palestinian refugees in Lebanon are missing the decorations that used to fill the streets for this occasion.
Lebanon is struggling for the third year in a row with a crippling financial crisis, which has pushed many Palestinian refugees below the poverty line, resulting in an increasing number of beggars on the streets. The crisis has also greatly affected the middle class, whose incomes have declined with the depreciation of the local currency against the dollar, while others have been laid off as hundreds of institutions, factories and shops shut down.
With the rise in unemployment on one hand, and the dollarization of the most basic needs — including the monthly subscription to the electricity generator and fuel — on the other, most Lebanese nationals and Palestinian refugees are barely surviving.
Neighborhoods with more than an hour of electricity supply a day from the government are considered lucky. Fuel prices have risen significantly.
“Holy Ramadan month had been an occasion of unparalleled joy in Yarmouk Camp. All families used to exchange greetings, meals, and gifts. Those memories are just unforgettable”, 70-year-old Abu Yousef, sheltered in Lebanon’s Ein AlHilweh refugee camp told AGPS with a deep sigh.
“This year Ramadan is very different. We can’t even make a living. Poverty and unemployment are everywhere. The situation is made worse by UNRWA’s decision to cut shelter grants and decrease food allowances for Palestinian refugees from Syria”, another elderly man—Haj abu Mustafa—said.
“This year, Ramadan only reminds me of the Ja’ouna massacre which claimed the lives of dozens of people”, said Yousef, a Palestinian refugee displaced from Yarmouk Camp, as he referred to the onslaughts launched some 10 years ago by the Syrian fighter jets on Abdul Kader AlHusaini Mosque, in Yarmouk camp. At the time of the attack, the mosque served as a shelter for hundreds of families who fled the deadly strikes on the camp. Dozens of civilians, including children and women, were killed in the massacre. The event marked the largest mass exodus from Palestinian refugee camps in Syria.
Palestinian refugees from Syria (PRS) in Lebanon are grappling with increased hardship and vulnerability, due to long-term displacement and difficult socio-economic conditions, coupled with the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to UNRWA, 87% of PRS live in poverty in the Lebanese territories.
This year's Holy Ramadan month has been tougher for Palestinian refugees from Syria (PRS) in Lebanon as the economic breakdown means that many PRS have not been able to reunite with or provide for their families.
Several displacement camps for Palestinian refugees in Lebanon are missing the decorations that used to fill the streets for this occasion.
Lebanon is struggling for the third year in a row with a crippling financial crisis, which has pushed many Palestinian refugees below the poverty line, resulting in an increasing number of beggars on the streets. The crisis has also greatly affected the middle class, whose incomes have declined with the depreciation of the local currency against the dollar, while others have been laid off as hundreds of institutions, factories and shops shut down.
With the rise in unemployment on one hand, and the dollarization of the most basic needs — including the monthly subscription to the electricity generator and fuel — on the other, most Lebanese nationals and Palestinian refugees are barely surviving.
Neighborhoods with more than an hour of electricity supply a day from the government are considered lucky. Fuel prices have risen significantly.
“Holy Ramadan month had been an occasion of unparalleled joy in Yarmouk Camp. All families used to exchange greetings, meals, and gifts. Those memories are just unforgettable”, 70-year-old Abu Yousef, sheltered in Lebanon’s Ein AlHilweh refugee camp told AGPS with a deep sigh.
“This year Ramadan is very different. We can’t even make a living. Poverty and unemployment are everywhere. The situation is made worse by UNRWA’s decision to cut shelter grants and decrease food allowances for Palestinian refugees from Syria”, another elderly man—Haj abu Mustafa—said.
“This year, Ramadan only reminds me of the Ja’ouna massacre which claimed the lives of dozens of people”, said Yousef, a Palestinian refugee displaced from Yarmouk Camp, as he referred to the onslaughts launched some 10 years ago by the Syrian fighter jets on Abdul Kader AlHusaini Mosque, in Yarmouk camp. At the time of the attack, the mosque served as a shelter for hundreds of families who fled the deadly strikes on the camp. Dozens of civilians, including children and women, were killed in the massacre. The event marked the largest mass exodus from Palestinian refugee camps in Syria.
Palestinian refugees from Syria (PRS) in Lebanon are grappling with increased hardship and vulnerability, due to long-term displacement and difficult socio-economic conditions, coupled with the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to UNRWA, 87% of PRS live in poverty in the Lebanese territories.
