Wednesday, May 23, 2007

No food

There is, on the outskirts of the Nahr el Bared refugee camp, a neighbourhood called "Al Muhajjarine" (the displaced). It is a small area, some 40 by 40 meters, which houses a few thousands people who live in shared, derelict houses with no privacy, running water or electricity. They are refugees from the Tall el Zaatar refugee camp, where in September 1976 the Phalangists of the Gemayyel clan perpetrated one of the worst massacres of the Lebanese wars, with the help of the Syrian army (small world, innit?).

The Muhajjarin refugee-camp-within-a-refugee-camp is now almost empty: too close to the fighting, its inhabitants are...refugees again, this time in the Palestinian camp of Beddawi. Like the other 12,000 displaced from Nahr el Bared, they lack food and other basic necessities.

Somehow, I don't feel like blogging about food, farming and rural society today.
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2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Dr Zurayk,
with all due to respect to your justified concern for plight of the Palestinian cause and to the fact that your wife is half Palestinian, there are certain facts you are ignoring here.
Basically, that while Fatah Al Islam is mainly composed of non-Palestinians, they are using the territory of a Pal. camp and, more importantly, the name Fatah, to destablize Lebanon.
They are using the civilian refugees of the camp as human shields. They must be subdued at all costs.
Beyond that, while the Palestinian camps in Lebanon are belts of misery, they have also become ghettoes of lawlessness.
That is unacceptable. It must made clear that while they live in Lebanon (under whatever circumstances) they must live by our rules.

May 27, 2007 at 11:14 PM
Anonymous said...

While I do agree with what you said: "It must be made clear that while they live in Lebanon (under whatever circumstances) they must live by our rules", I cannot but state a very important fact that you did not take into consideration. The principle of duty and responsibility. You see, had the Lebanese authorities done their duties towards the Palestinian refugees, who have been living in this country for over 50 years without any worth mentionable rights, they would then have had the right to make them live under "our rules". I am sure the various camps residents would welcome living under your rules if in return they are treated like decent human beings!

November 21, 2007 at 2:01 AM

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