Published : 11-10-2022
A report issued by AGPS on the World Mental Health Day has sounded alarm bells over the deteriorating humanitarian condition of Palestinian refugees in/from war-torn Syria.
The warfare in Syria, which has now entered its eleventh year, has had traumatic fallouts on Palestinian refugee children in and outside the Syrian territories. Post-traumatic stress disorders, mental psychosis, sleeplessness and nightmares, eating disorders, and intense fear have all been among the symptoms with which Palestinian children have been diagnosed.
Reports of drug consumption and trafficking have increasingly emerged in displacement camps for Palestinian refugees across war-torn Syria.
Over recent years, members of pro-regime militias have been accused of running networks for drug trafficking and prostitution in Palestinian refugee camps.
Drug distribution is often carried out by children aged below 18 and members of cash-strapped and vulnerable families who are exploited by illicit drug trafficking networks which are subject to drug prohibition laws.
Daily scenes of destruction and bloodshed in Syria forced dozens of helpless civilians, among them children, to consume drugs and sniff glue, among other life-threatening substances, as a means to get over the trauma inflicted by the unabated warfare. Drug use, which starts as a way to escape, quickly makes their life worse.
Tens of thousands of Palestinians in/from Syria have been dispersed by the conflict and remain away from their homes and families.
Available figures indicate that over 120,000 Palestinian refugees fled Syria in the hunt for a safe shelter.
The situation has gone downhill as most of the world’s governments have opted for a closed-door immigration policy vis-à-vis the Palestinian refugee community from Syria.
Hundreds have embarked on life-threatening journeys onboard the death-boats to Europe, having no place to take cover in.
Recently, several refugee families have made their way from the area to Turkey, in an attempt to reach Greek seashores, before getting to safety to a European country.
In the absence of a durable political settlement, intense hostilities and violence resulting in deaths and injuries, internal displacement, loss of livelihoods, decreases in the provision of public services, and extensive damage to civilian infrastructure have disrupted the lives of civilians and forced thousands to become internally displaced.
Nearly 200,000 Palestinian refugees left Syria since the outburst of the deadly warfare in 2011. Prior to the war in Syria, 550,000 Palestinian refugees used to take shelter in the country.
According to AGPS data, nearly 200,000 Palestinian refugees fled war-stricken Syria, among them 30,000 who have sought refuge in Lebanon, 19,000 in Jordan, 12,000 in Turkey, and 4,350 in the besieged Gaza Strip, Egypt, and Sudan.
At the same time, 1,488 Palestinian families have been sheltered in northern Syria displacement camps, where they have been struggling for survival after they were forced out of Yarmouk and southern Damascus towns.
Most of the Gulf countries and a number of Arab governments have also outlawed granting visas to Palestinians with Syrian travel documents. Palestinian refugees from Syria are treated as foreigners and often denied access into embassies to obtain visas.
A report issued by AGPS on the World Mental Health Day has sounded alarm bells over the deteriorating humanitarian condition of Palestinian refugees in/from war-torn Syria.
The warfare in Syria, which has now entered its eleventh year, has had traumatic fallouts on Palestinian refugee children in and outside the Syrian territories. Post-traumatic stress disorders, mental psychosis, sleeplessness and nightmares, eating disorders, and intense fear have all been among the symptoms with which Palestinian children have been diagnosed.
Reports of drug consumption and trafficking have increasingly emerged in displacement camps for Palestinian refugees across war-torn Syria.
Over recent years, members of pro-regime militias have been accused of running networks for drug trafficking and prostitution in Palestinian refugee camps.
Drug distribution is often carried out by children aged below 18 and members of cash-strapped and vulnerable families who are exploited by illicit drug trafficking networks which are subject to drug prohibition laws.
Daily scenes of destruction and bloodshed in Syria forced dozens of helpless civilians, among them children, to consume drugs and sniff glue, among other life-threatening substances, as a means to get over the trauma inflicted by the unabated warfare. Drug use, which starts as a way to escape, quickly makes their life worse.
Tens of thousands of Palestinians in/from Syria have been dispersed by the conflict and remain away from their homes and families.
Available figures indicate that over 120,000 Palestinian refugees fled Syria in the hunt for a safe shelter.
The situation has gone downhill as most of the world’s governments have opted for a closed-door immigration policy vis-à-vis the Palestinian refugee community from Syria.
Hundreds have embarked on life-threatening journeys onboard the death-boats to Europe, having no place to take cover in.
Recently, several refugee families have made their way from the area to Turkey, in an attempt to reach Greek seashores, before getting to safety to a European country.
In the absence of a durable political settlement, intense hostilities and violence resulting in deaths and injuries, internal displacement, loss of livelihoods, decreases in the provision of public services, and extensive damage to civilian infrastructure have disrupted the lives of civilians and forced thousands to become internally displaced.
Nearly 200,000 Palestinian refugees left Syria since the outburst of the deadly warfare in 2011. Prior to the war in Syria, 550,000 Palestinian refugees used to take shelter in the country.
According to AGPS data, nearly 200,000 Palestinian refugees fled war-stricken Syria, among them 30,000 who have sought refuge in Lebanon, 19,000 in Jordan, 12,000 in Turkey, and 4,350 in the besieged Gaza Strip, Egypt, and Sudan.
At the same time, 1,488 Palestinian families have been sheltered in northern Syria displacement camps, where they have been struggling for survival after they were forced out of Yarmouk and southern Damascus towns.
Most of the Gulf countries and a number of Arab governments have also outlawed granting visas to Palestinians with Syrian travel documents. Palestinian refugees from Syria are treated as foreigners and often denied access into embassies to obtain visas.
