Palestinians
are the largest and longest suffering group of refugees in the world. One in
three refugees world wide is Palestinian. There are about 6.5 million
Palestinian refugees worldwide. More than 3.8 million Palestinian refugees and
their descendents displaced in 1948 are registered for humanitarian assistance
with the United Nations. Another 1.5 million Palestinian refugees and their
descendents, also displaced in 1948, are not registered with the UN. About
263,000 Palestinians and their descendents are internally displaced i.e. inside
present-day "Israel".
Descendents
of refugees are included in the total population because they are still unable
to realize their basic rights. About 20,000 Palestinians were internally
displaced in the West Bank and Gaza Strip by 2001, some 3,000 of whom were
newly displaced during that year. At least 26,000 Palestinians left the West
Bank and Gaza Strip for Jordan and did not return between June 2000 and July
2001. Such transfer of the Palestinian population driven by hard econmic and
discriminatory conditions continues today.
The refugee camps began as tent cities in 1948. The inhabitants expected to be returning home in a matter of days or weeks.
It has now been a matter of generations. In many places they are refused permission to work. In others, access to available work is restricted by checkpoints.
Political conditions and restrictions as well as frequent outbreaks of violence conspire to keep the inhabitants from gathering the resources needed to move out of the camps.
(See http://www.unrwa.org for this and other photos of refugee camps and refugee life.)
One such checkpoint is Kalandia (often spelled Qalandia). Checkpoints Project on Youtube has a series of 6 videos focusing on the checkpoints. The first is Kalandia: A Checkpoint Story that shows the evolution of the checkpoint.
My novel, Checkpoint Kalandia, shows the impact such a checkpoint can have on the everyday life of a refugee family.
Many of these families still rely on the generosity of others
to survive. In honor of World Refugee Day, please consider making a donation to help them.
My novel, Checkpoint Kalandia, shows the impact such a checkpoint can have on the everyday life of a refugee family.
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| http://www.unrwa.org/donate |
Many of these families still rely on the generosity of others
to survive. In honor of World Refugee Day, please consider making a donation to help them.
