Lebanon Clashes Spark Palestinian Exodus

For many of the fleeing refugees, this brought back heartbreaking memories of Palestinian exodus in 1948. (Reuters)

"Thousands of refugees -- men, women and children -- started fleeing on foot or by car from Nahr al-Bared camp," Hajj Rifaat, an official of the mainstream Fatah, told Agence France Presse (AFP) Wednesday, May 23,

"Nahr al-Bared residents have taken advantage of the truce in the fighting to escape the besieged and heavily bombarded camp," he said.

Refugees fled Nahr al-Bared, a sprawl of ramshackle buildings on the coast, on foot or in cars and pickup trucks.

"I walked about a kilometer with my crutches from the camp to the main road, along with many families, some carrying their children in their arms," said Mohammed Nadweh, who is paralyzed in one leg.

Terrified Amina, 24, said more people are expected to flee.

"All the civilians are going to leave the camp because the army shells are falling on residential areas and not reaching Fatah al-Islam militiamen who are hiding in shelters and fortifications."

At least 20 militants, 32 soldiers and 27 civilians have been killed since fighting erupted on Sunday, May 20.

More than 150 people have been wounded and dozens of homes destroyed, with the narrow alleyways of the coastal camp becoming a horror show of bullets, blasts and bodies.

The fighting is Lebanon's worst internal violence since the 1975-1990 civil war.

Exodus

For many of the fleeing refugees, this brought back heartbreaking memories of Palestinian exodus in 1948.

"This is the fate of Palestinians: exodus after exodus," said Faiza Rashrash, sitting on a thin mattress on the floor of a school in the neighboring Beddawi camp.

"Just like the exodus from Palestine in 1948, we fled on foot, with a bundle of clothes on our heads," she said.

"Back then, we were welcomed by the Lebanese, today we are seeking refuge with other Palestinian refugees."

Her 82-year-old aunt, Amina Audi Hussein, said the exodus from Nahr al-Bared camp reminded her of the 1948 exodus.

"This journey is a painful reminder of when we were forced to flee Palestine, when I was 23 years old," she recalled bitterly.

"Just like back then, I left my house with just the dress I was wearing."

Thousands of Palestinians had fled their homes in 1948 after the creation of Israel on the rubble of their homeland.

Looming Crisis

Most of those who fled Nahr al-Bard took shelter in the Beddawi camp, some 12 kilometers away, where volunteers have been organizing and providing relief aid at various centers.

Dozens of young Palestinian men and women are offering food, mattresses and blankets to their fleeing compatriots.

Schools, culture centers and residents' homes in Beddawi camp were opened for the incoming visitors.

Refugees in one of the schools took turns to heat water on a small stove to make tea.

"The genuine solidarity among the people is admirable," said Yussef al-Assad, head of the Palestinian Red Crescent in northern Lebanon.

"Dozens of families have sought refuge at the homes of camp residents."

Al-Assad warned of a looming humanitarian crisis in the Beddawi camp, home to more than 16,000 refugees.

More than 10 people are crowded in two-room apartments," he said.

"But if refugees keep flocking in such numbers, Beddawi camp will not be able to take them all."

Nadweh, who is paralyzed in one leg, leaned on a cane with one hand and on a desk with the other.

"What is going to happen to us?" he kept asking himself, his wife and children, aged between eight and 12, seated on a single mattress on the floor.

At least 400,000 of them are living in cheap concrete structures, squeezed into narrow alleyways, or piled on top of each other in twelve cramped, crowded camps across Lebanon, fenced off from the rest of the country.

Although they have grown in number, these Palestinians have as few rights as the day they arrived back in 1948 and are still regarded as foreigners under the law.

Unemployment is at 70 percent and those who do work are limited to jobs as laborers and farm hands.