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Palestinians of Lebanon May 9, 2005
In Lebanon, perhaps to greater extremes than any other host country, the situation for Palestinians has fluctuated with the power of the Palestinian resistance and the rollercoaster ride of international politics. During the reign of the Palestinian resistance, refugees were almost citizens of a state within a state, and at other times, they bore the brunt of the anger of national factions with the most bloody consequences (refer to bibliography below). History Following the 1948 Nakba, the majority of Palestinians who sought refuge in Lebanon came from the northern Galilee, just to the south of the Lebanese border. Their initial situation and treatment depended largely on religious and class status. In the early days, the urban middle class had relatively free movement, with many wealthier Christians obtaining citizenship. For middle class Muslims with family or business contacts, this was also potentially possible. Both Muslim and Christian Galileans had intermarried for generations across the hills of the Galilee to the Mount Lebanon area. But the majority of rural dispossessed peasants were unable to gain citizenship, and found themselves living in poverty in the new refugee camps. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) established 17 official campsites and many more low-income neighborhoods, such as Sabra and Qarantina, served as quasi-camps. UNRWA provided rent-free space, basic rations, water and sewage facilities, and social services such as clinics and schools. Free schooling between 6 and 16 provided many with educational opportunities that they had not had before, particularly girls, but education provided no promise of employment. PLO
Before the rise of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO), refugees were forbidden to move between camps without permission. It was not possible to extend the boundaries of the camp, even to meet natural population growth, or to expand homes and add new floors. The presence of the PLO in Lebanon from 1969 to 1982 improved the situation and the level of protection for Palestinians. Social and health institutions were established, and restrictions on movement were relaxed. After the departure of the PLO in 1982, the employment, social benefits, and the certain level of security that it had provided left the Palestinians in a devastating situation, from housing to health to education. Refugees are denied the right to own homes or to enlarge their homes in refugee areas. Those who want to travel to Arab countries (apart from Syria) must obtain a travel document. Those registered at UNRWA can receive one valid for a year and renewable three times. However, others who leave risk not being able to return. Overcrowding Despite the natural growth in population, no new refugee camps were built after the early 1950s. During the civil war (1975–1990) four camps were destroyed in Lebanese Christian East Beirut, but no new camps were built. The Lebanese government did all that was possible to discourage a permanent Palestinian presence in the country. UNRWA statistics from 2001 suggest that there are 383,000 registered refugees in Lebanon, of whom 215,000 live in the camps and 168,000 outside. However, the actual number of refugees is higher, as many are not registered with UNRWA. By Lebanese law, only those Palestinians who fled there during the 1948 Nakba are considered legal residents. Those who came later, including those displaced in 1967, are considered illegal residents. Between 1969 and 1987, Palestinian residency status was regulated by the Cairo Agreement between the Lebanese government and the PLO. Yet, in 1982, the situation for Palestinians dramatically changed as the PLO was expelled from Lebanon and the Lebanese government took steps to reduce the number of Palestinians in the country. It is estimated that around 12,000 Palestinian refugees were taken off the registry, and in 1987, the Cairo Agreement was unilaterally abrogated by the Lebanese parliament. Employment Discrimination
Originally, Palestinians were treated in the same way as other foreigners. A work visa was needed to gain employment; it was not an automatic right, but was considerably easier with a Lebanese spouse or as part of an employment quota for a foreign company. Under the 1969 Cairo Agreement between the PLO and the Lebanese government, Palestinian refugees were given the right to work, but this right was taken away in 1987. In violation of international human rights conventions, including many signed by the Lebanese, Palestinian refugees today have a lower status than other foreigners. Palestinians are barred from employment in nearly 70 different professions, syndicates, and medical associations. Only a few hundred Palestinians have a work permit. Although there is no permit necessary for work in agriculture, construction, and day labor, work in these fields is erratic and not well paid. This forces Palestinians into working illegally, and they are thus vulnerable to employment abuse without recourse. Even those Palestinians in legal work have no right to organize in unions to protest on issues such as equal pay with Lebanese workers and greater access to the economic sphere. Internal Displacement Around 30,000 Palestinians from 87 different locations were displaced inside Lebanon during the war. Homes were destroyed or people driven into exile for a second, third, or fourth time through fear of their lives; 75 percent were displaced more than once. The Lebanese government maintained that UNRWA was responsible for dealing with housing needs, yet would not give the agency permission to build new camps. Resources: To find out about how justice has still not been done for the dead of Shatila, read, Laurie King-Irani, “Unburied” The Electronic Intifada, September 17, 2004. International Campaign for Justice for the Victims of Sabra and Shatila Ang, Swee Chai, From Beirut to Jerusalem (London: Grafton, 1989). Badil Resource Center for Palestinian Residency and Refugee Rights, Survey of Palestinian Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons 2002 (Bethlehem: Badil Resource Center, 2003). Badr, Liana, The Eye of the Mirror, Translated by Samira Kawar (Reading: Garnet Publishing, 1994). Cutting, Pauline, Children of the Siege (London: Pan, 1998). Darwish, Mahmoud, Memory for Forgetfulness: August, Beirut, 1982, Translated by Ibrahim Muhawi (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1995). Fisk, Robert, Pity the Nation: Lebanon at War (Oxford, OUP, 2001). Giannou, Chris, Besieged: A Doctor’s Story of Life and Death in Beirut (London: Bloomsbury, 1991) Gilmour, David, Lebanon: The Fractured Country (London: Sphere Books, 1984) Nazzal, Nafez, The Palestinian Exodus From Galilee, 1948 (Washington DC: The Institute for Palestine Studies, 1978) Peteet, Julie, Gender in Crisis: Women and the Palestinian Resistance Movement (New York: Columbia University Press, 1991) Sayigh, Rosemary, Too Many Enemies: The Palestinian Experience in Lebanon (London, Zed Books, 1994) Sayigh, Rosemary, Palestinians: From Peasants to Revolutionaries (London: Zed Books, 1979) External links last accessed January 18, 2005.
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