Published : 05-07-2018
UNRWA Commissioner-General Pierre Krähenbühl who visited Yarmouk Camp on Tuesday said: “The scale of the destruction in Yarmouk compares to very little else that I have seen in many years of humanitarian work in conflict zones”.
Once a proud neighborhood home to some 160,000 Palestine refugees, the camp now lies in utter ruin. Wherever one looks, the horror experienced by inhabitants of Yarmouk is all too evident. Yet again, Palestine refugees were exposed to the trauma of displacement, loss of relatives, homes and livelihoods, a statement by UNRWA read.
“In every visit to Syria over the past years - and again during this visit - Palestine refugees have spoken of the pride of what Yarmouk represents in the history of the community”, the Commissioner-General underlined, adding: “Today, they express deep anxieties about what the immediate and longer-term future holds and about the prospect of return and reconstruction”.
Carrying out a three-day mission to Syria from 1 to 3 July 2018, the Commissioner-General also met with Palestine Refugees, UNRWA students and staff, as well as with senior government officials and diplomats.
Mr. Krähenbühl visited Yalda, to meet Palestine refugees displaced from Yarmouk, including during the most recent round of fighting in the neighborhood, when Government forces re-established control of the area.
Speaking to refugees during distributions of aid in Yalda, the Commissioner-General heard stories of unimaginable despair, from people who faced extreme conditions, suffering and pain inside Yarmouk over the years: “Being able to access Palestine refugees again in Yalda, was very important for UNRWA. Providing essential assistance to people who have been exposed to such dramatic circumstances, lies at the heart of our mission”.
UNRWA Commissioner-General Pierre Krähenbühl who visited Yarmouk Camp on Tuesday said: “The scale of the destruction in Yarmouk compares to very little else that I have seen in many years of humanitarian work in conflict zones”.
Once a proud neighborhood home to some 160,000 Palestine refugees, the camp now lies in utter ruin. Wherever one looks, the horror experienced by inhabitants of Yarmouk is all too evident. Yet again, Palestine refugees were exposed to the trauma of displacement, loss of relatives, homes and livelihoods, a statement by UNRWA read.
“In every visit to Syria over the past years - and again during this visit - Palestine refugees have spoken of the pride of what Yarmouk represents in the history of the community”, the Commissioner-General underlined, adding: “Today, they express deep anxieties about what the immediate and longer-term future holds and about the prospect of return and reconstruction”.
Carrying out a three-day mission to Syria from 1 to 3 July 2018, the Commissioner-General also met with Palestine Refugees, UNRWA students and staff, as well as with senior government officials and diplomats.
Mr. Krähenbühl visited Yalda, to meet Palestine refugees displaced from Yarmouk, including during the most recent round of fighting in the neighborhood, when Government forces re-established control of the area.
Speaking to refugees during distributions of aid in Yalda, the Commissioner-General heard stories of unimaginable despair, from people who faced extreme conditions, suffering and pain inside Yarmouk over the years: “Being able to access Palestine refugees again in Yalda, was very important for UNRWA. Providing essential assistance to people who have been exposed to such dramatic circumstances, lies at the heart of our mission”.
