"I’ve met so many who have lost so much. But they never lose their dreams for their children or their desire to better our world. They ask for little in return – only our support in their time of greatest need" — UN Secretary-General, António Guterres
Today marks World Refugee Day, when we commemorate the courage and resilience of refugees across the world.
This year, Palestinian refugees are marking the 70th year of their displacement and dispossession following the ‘Nakba’ – or catastrophe’ – of 1948, when 750,000 people fled or were forced from their homes in Palestine during the creation of the State of Israel.
The war in Syria has marked another catastrophe for Palestinian refugees. More than 3,500 are estimated to have died as a result of the conflict, many as a direct result of the conflict, torture, lack of access to medical care or even starvation in besieged areas such as Yarmouk camp in Damascus.
Two thirds of the 450,000 Palestinians still inside Syria are internally displaced, and 120,000 have been forced to flee the country. In neighbouring Lebanon, these double-displaced refugees have encountered the same severe lack of work opportunities, limited healthcare and high rates of poverty facing the existing inhabitants of the already-crowded Palestinian refugee camps and gatherings.
The Action Group for Palestinians of Syria estimates that 85,000 Palestinian refugees from Syria have now attempted to reach Europe, many attempting perilous routes across the Mediterranean. Palestinian refugees from Syria are routinely excluded from safe, government-sponsored resettlement schemes for vulnerable refugees from Syria, including the scheme established by the UK Government in 2014. Despite fleeing the same war and destruction, and having experienced multiple generations of dispossession, Palestinians are refused access to safety because of their nationality. In the first four months of 2017, more than 1,000 refugees and migrants from different countries are estimated to have died trying to cross the Mediterranean.
Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) was formed in response to the 1982 massacre of Palestinian refugees and others in the Sabra and Shatila refugee camp in Lebanon. A question posed by MAP founder Dr Swee Ang about the victims of that massacre applies equally to the victims of Syria’s war: “One painful question needs to be answered. Not why they die, but why did they die as refugees?”
Palestinian refugees are victims of the world’s largest and longest-running refugee situation: a humanitarian crisis which the international community appears to have given up all hope of solving.
This World Refugee Day, MAP is reiterating its call for the protection of Palestinian refugees. Ultimately, their right to return home – as enshrined in UN General Assembly Resolution 194 – is inalienable, and realisation of this right would provide safe refuge. A just, long-term solution to the multi-generational Palestinian refugee crisis must be found by the international community.
Until a just solution is found, governments must do more to ensure Palestinian refugees have access to adequate healthcare, education and work opportunities in countries like Lebanon. The most vulnerable Palestinian refugees fleeing the war in Syria, particularly those with extreme medical needs which cannot be met locally, must be allowed to come to the UK and other countries to receive treatment and protection.
You can help us call for action from the UK government by signing our petition today.
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