Between February and June 2009, two international non-governmental organizations, Première Urgence (PU) and the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), conducted a comprehensive survey to understand better the housing and infrastructure situation faced by Palestinian Refugees living outside of the main camps in so called 'gatherings'.
The survey, the first of its kind to use a house to house methodology, focused on the problems of housing, water and sanitation and was funded by the European Commission's Humanitarian Aid department (DG ECHO)
'The findings revealed that approximately 40,000 Palestinian Refugees currently live in gaterings outside of the 12 official UNRWA camps. Despite being registered refugees, residents of these gatherings are unable to access support from the agency to maintain their homes and ensure safe and adequate access to water and sanitation' said Julien Mulliez, the head of mission for PU Lebanon.
In 39 out of the 42 gatherings located throughout Lebanon, 897 houses were identified as in need of urgent rehabilitation in order to provide safe and hygienic homes for their residents.
'Many of these houses face chronic structural or weatherproofing problems as well as basic hygiene issues. This means that many families face leakages in winter and intense heat in summer. Many buildings are at risk of collapsing and families are forced to live without running water or a kitchen' said Graziella Ito-Pellegri, the shelter technical advisor for NRC.
In 2009 both PU and NRC have begun to address some of these needs in the Saida and Tyre areas with funding from DG ECHO and the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
'This year we will only be able to reach 165 houses, a fraction of the needs identified in this assessment' said Mrs Ito-Pellegri. In addition, the situation in the gatherings with regards to water and sanitation is no better. The majority of the water supply and sewage networks are outdated. Hygiene conditions are deplorable. Overall the situation could result in the bacteriological contamination of drinking water and the spread of disease.
In at least eight of the gatherings surveyed the water and sanitation situation is also in urgent need of assistance. In addition the situation in almost all of the gatherings could be significantly improved through awareness and capacity building activities, such as information sessions on water related hygiene and training for technicians in charge of the water treatment.
Overall, this survey provides the first comprehensive picture of the housing and infrastructure situation in the gatherings. Although we are beginning to take action on this, additional funding is crucial to ensure that basic human rights are upheld in terms of shelter, water and sanitation for those Palestinians living inside the gatherings', Julien Mulliez concluded.
Speakers
Julien Mulliez is PU's Head of Mission. He is a trained engineer and has been working within the housing and water and sanitation field in Lebanon since 2007.
Graziella Ito-Pellegri is a Shelter Advisor for NRC. She has been working on shelter projects in Lebanon since January 2007 and led the technical responses on behalf of NRC.
Key Contacts
Première Urgence: Frédéric Murat, Saida Head of Base (E-mail : lib.hob.sai@premiere-urgence.org, Phone : 03 328 782)
Norwegian Refugee Council: Raja Rami Khoury, Housing Land and Property Officer, (E-Mail: HLP-OFFICER@lebanon.nrc.no, Phone: 71 146 026)
Key Facts
A "gathering" is defined as any cluster of 15 or more Palestinian houses.
In total there are 42 gatherings in Lebanon, the largest is known as Wadi al Zeini (Saida region) with 2380 Palestinian refugees while the smallest identified in this study is Goro (Bekaa) with a population of 92.
The official number of refugees inside the camps is 222,776(1) while the study has recorded another 40,000 living inside the gatherings which equates to 18% of the camp population.
Première Urgence (PU) has conducted emergency relief operations in response to all the main crises that have affected Lebanon since 1996. More recently, PU has been rehabilitating shelters and water-sanitation networks for Palestinian refugees, and supporting the economic recovery of vulnerable Lebanese and Palestinian micro-entrepreneurs through the provision of professional tool kits.
The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) has been present in Lebanon since 2006. During this time it has repaired over 3000 houses in the South following the 2006 war, and more than 1000 houses in Palestinian gatherings, throughout the country. In addition, NRC works in the field of education and provides information, counselling and legal assistance specifically for the housing, land and property issues facing Palestinians in Lebanon.
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