Ein El-Hilweh Camp Residents in Lebanon Fighting to Regain Normality Aided by International Organisations
(AWP) - Aided by the resumption of the work of humanitarian organisations such as UNRWA and Doctors Without Borders, Ein el-Hilweh refugee camp residents in southern Lebanon are struggling to retain a sense of normality amidst the ongoing ceasefire that came after a week of violent clashes between feuding factions.
As Jamal Dahabri stands in disbelief in front of his destroyed electrical appliances shop, he assesses his losses and bemoans what he, his brothers and neighbours lost.
“Houses were destroyed, and people are sleeping in the open air. There is no worse situation than that. Look at the garbage and the chaos in the camp. How it was 15 days ago compared to how it is now. Look at my shop. What was my wrongdoing for them to destroy it? And the homes of my brothers, their children, and my neighbours and their houses? They left us with nothing. Why? What was the fault of the people?" he said.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) announced on Wednesday that it was resuming its work in the camp.
In a statement published on its website, UNRWA said that the work comes after a week of halting its services in the camp due to "armed clashes", as the second medical centre was reopened thereby reinstating medical services to Palestinian refugees.
UNRWA vehicles are working on the removal of debris and garbage that has accumulated in the alleys and streets of the camp, while many flocked into the reopened medical centres.
With the ceasefire upheld, Doctors Without Borders, in cooperation with the local al-Shifaa Association for Medical and Humanitarian Services, is holding medical days where services and medicine are provided free of charge for residents at the Khalid Bin al-Waleed Medical Centre inside the camp.
According to Jalal al-Ahmed, Director of the Khalid Bin al-Waleed Centre, the resumption of the work of UNRWA-affiliated medical centres in the camp facilitates the process of returning displaced people "and gives a kind of relief to the camp residents that the situation has returned to normal through the restablishment of these centres".
Clashes that broke out inside the camp that is close to the city of Saida in southern Lebanon left 13 persons killed and more than 60 wounded. Save the Children International said that many children were separated from their families or from those caregivers while fleeing the clashes.