Published : 03-01-2018
The return of the residents of Sabinah camp for Palestinian refugees in the suburbs of Damascus on 28-08-2017, was one of the major stops that the residents of the camp went through last year. The return of the residents was organized by the Minister of the National Reconciliation, who agreed about the return of the Palestinian and Syrian residents of Sabinah, after several recent visits to the region.
The reconciliation committees in the area welcomed the residents wishing to return to their homes, in their offices. Lists of their names were organized after checking the ownership papers of the houses, and requesting the accumulated payment of bills of water and electricity. The lists were submitted to the security agencies that oversaw the study of the lists and the organization of the return of the residents after checking and verifying. Military and government officials were allowed to return first, followed by the civilians, who were required to provide certified letter from the Immigration Department confirming that proves that if any members of their family are outside the country, they had left legally and through official crossings.
The families of the missing, detained or absentees were subjected to tight procedures by the security services, which received the list of names from the reconciliation committees, as well as the families who have a family member in the opposition groups. Most of these families were banned from returning. At the same time, the regime prevented the families of the “martyrs,” and those loyal to it, from returning without extracting a paper that proves the location and reason of his "martyrdom," according to local sources.
Many families counted on the "opposition", are reluctant to apply for permission to return to their homes for fearing security prosecution, especially after learning the procedures followed and which many times led the arrest of the head of the family or some of its members. A majority of those returning to the towns are from families which had previously been displaced to areas under the control of the regime.
In its report published in November 2017, UNRWA confirmed that a number of Palestinian refugee families which returned to Sabinah camp for Palestinian refugees, in the suburbs of Damascus, is estimated at 2500 families.
UNRWA added that 1000 more families are expected to return to the camp in the approaching months of 2018. The city was entered in batches such as Al-Sharqattli, the Masaken district and Al-Jaathin district.
At the northern area of the river, residents are not allowed to enter the village because of the security situation there and its proximity to hot areas such as Al-Hajar Al-Aswad and Hejeira.
The people of the region were confused about whether to return to their homes or not, especially since the Syrian regime was talking about the rehabilitation of the town’s infrastructure. This was accompanied by cleaning and maintenance workshops of the villages of the Damascus suburbs and Quneitra, in Sabinah, by cleaning the rubble, opening the roads and maintaining the electricity, schools, the comprehensive clinics and the dispensaries. Their return, however, remains a dream for them.
On their part, Palestinian activists accused the Syrian security and its affiliated groups of equipping rooms at the entrance of the Sabinah refugee camp for Palestinians in the Damascus suburbs, to arrest the required at the return of the camp’s residents. The Syrian security forces erected a barrier at the main entrance to the camp, which will supervise the entry of the residents into their camp.
The “reconciliation committee” in Sabinah said that the necessary rooms at the entrance to Sabinah camp are for the organization of citizens' entry cards. The Committee also denied that there was no return tent at the entrance to Sabinah, however a metal umbrella is being installed at the main entrance.
The return of the residents of Sabinah camp for Palestinian refugees in the suburbs of Damascus on 28-08-2017, was one of the major stops that the residents of the camp went through last year. The return of the residents was organized by the Minister of the National Reconciliation, who agreed about the return of the Palestinian and Syrian residents of Sabinah, after several recent visits to the region.
The reconciliation committees in the area welcomed the residents wishing to return to their homes, in their offices. Lists of their names were organized after checking the ownership papers of the houses, and requesting the accumulated payment of bills of water and electricity. The lists were submitted to the security agencies that oversaw the study of the lists and the organization of the return of the residents after checking and verifying. Military and government officials were allowed to return first, followed by the civilians, who were required to provide certified letter from the Immigration Department confirming that proves that if any members of their family are outside the country, they had left legally and through official crossings.
The families of the missing, detained or absentees were subjected to tight procedures by the security services, which received the list of names from the reconciliation committees, as well as the families who have a family member in the opposition groups. Most of these families were banned from returning. At the same time, the regime prevented the families of the “martyrs,” and those loyal to it, from returning without extracting a paper that proves the location and reason of his "martyrdom," according to local sources.
Many families counted on the "opposition", are reluctant to apply for permission to return to their homes for fearing security prosecution, especially after learning the procedures followed and which many times led the arrest of the head of the family or some of its members. A majority of those returning to the towns are from families which had previously been displaced to areas under the control of the regime.
In its report published in November 2017, UNRWA confirmed that a number of Palestinian refugee families which returned to Sabinah camp for Palestinian refugees, in the suburbs of Damascus, is estimated at 2500 families.
UNRWA added that 1000 more families are expected to return to the camp in the approaching months of 2018. The city was entered in batches such as Al-Sharqattli, the Masaken district and Al-Jaathin district.
At the northern area of the river, residents are not allowed to enter the village because of the security situation there and its proximity to hot areas such as Al-Hajar Al-Aswad and Hejeira.
The people of the region were confused about whether to return to their homes or not, especially since the Syrian regime was talking about the rehabilitation of the town’s infrastructure. This was accompanied by cleaning and maintenance workshops of the villages of the Damascus suburbs and Quneitra, in Sabinah, by cleaning the rubble, opening the roads and maintaining the electricity, schools, the comprehensive clinics and the dispensaries. Their return, however, remains a dream for them.
On their part, Palestinian activists accused the Syrian security and its affiliated groups of equipping rooms at the entrance of the Sabinah refugee camp for Palestinians in the Damascus suburbs, to arrest the required at the return of the camp’s residents. The Syrian security forces erected a barrier at the main entrance to the camp, which will supervise the entry of the residents into their camp.
The “reconciliation committee” in Sabinah said that the necessary rooms at the entrance to Sabinah camp are for the organization of citizens' entry cards. The Committee also denied that there was no return tent at the entrance to Sabinah, however a metal umbrella is being installed at the main entrance.
