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From: UNNews <UNNews@un.org>
Date: 4 Jun 2013 14:00:01 -0400
Subject: FEATURE: DESPITE CONSTRAINTS, UN AGENCY DELIVERS FOR
PALESTINIAN REFUGEES IN WAR-TORN SYRIA
To: news11@ny-mail-p-lb-028.ptc.un.org
FEATURE: DESPITE CONSTRAINTS, UN AGENCY DELIVERS FOR PALESTINIAN
REFUGEES IN WAR-TORN SYRIANew York, Jun 4 2013 2:00PMShould we keep
a school open, or not; should the health centre shut its doors, or
not. These are just some of the questions the dedicated staff members
of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees
in the Near East (UNRWA) have to answer on a daily basis as they carry
out their work in embattled Syria.
The Middle Eastern country is host to some half a million Palestinian
refugees, who have lived there for decades after fleeing their homes
in the aftermath of the 1948 war. It is estimated that all of them are
now directly caught up in the conflict that has raged in the country
for more than two years.
Prior to March 2011, when the uprising against President Bashar
Al-Assad began, Palestinian refugees were already among the poorest
communities in Syria, with 27 per cent of the population estimated to
be living below the poverty line – $2 per day – and over 12 per cent
unable to meet their basic food needs.
"Before the crisis, we were providing social protection to
Palestinian refugees classified as poor," said an UNRWA staffer who
works on relief and social services issues in Syria. "We were
providing subsidies and relief assistance to poor refugees and we
were leading development initiatives aiming at reducing poverty and
addressing the problems of vulnerable groups," she said in a recent
interview with the UN News Centre.
The conflict has affected humanitarian access and disrupted education
and health services, exacerbating stress and uncertainty in refugee
communities, according to UNRWA, which has provided basic services,
and at times emergency assistance, to Palestinian refugees in Syria,
Jordan, Lebanon, the West Bank and Gaza for over 63 years.
In Syria, the Agency has reported that increasing numbers of
Palestinian refugees are being killed, injured or displaced amid the
intensifying violence in the country, where more than 70,000
civilians have already lost their lives since the conflict began.
In early March, five Palestinian children were among the casualties
when they were caught by incoming gunfire and shelling. The previous
month, 12 Palestinian refugees were killed by heavy weaponry in the
Damascus suburb of Yarmouk; five of them were members of the same
family.
UNRWA has cautioned that the Palestinian refugees are unable to move
around safely and face severe restrictions owing to escalating threats
from shelling and armed clashes, exacerbating vulnerabilities that
existed prior to the Syrian conflict.
<strong>From development assistance to emergency aid</strong>
The conflict has changed the way UNRWA staff work, particularly as
the Agency's tasks have evolved from providing regular services –
ranging from education to health needs – to delivering emergency
assistance such as distributing cash, food and medical supplies.
Amid the escalating conflict and numerous operational challenges,
UNRWA has been working to keep schools, clinics and food distribution
centres open. Its 3,600 staff inside Syria, who live and work among
refugee communities, are equally affected by the conflict. Struggling
to meet the critical needs of those they serve, they do so often
under circumstances of significant personal risk, including
kidnappings, disappearances and car-jackings.
The way UNRWA staff work has "completely changed," said a staffer
from Homs. "We shifted immediately to emergency response." She
recalled that before the conflict, staff would begin the day by
carrying out the Agency's regular services.
Currently, however, one of the most important tasks is to ensure the
safety of staff, which means starting the day by reviewing the
security situation, advising staff on their movements and on whether
to stay indoors or to come to their offices.
"The biggest challenge is that we don't have communications in Homs –
mobiles, Internet, landlines – so this is an example of how our life
has changed," she stated.
The conflict has led the Agency to explore new and more creative ways
to distribute its assistance. For example, UNRWA provides some
refugees with ATM cards to enable them to go and withdraw their
assistance from private banks in safer areas, when it becomes too
dangerous to go to one of the Agency's offices.
Staff members also send refugees text messages informing them of the
timing and locations of ATM card and food distributions, and
cooperate with other partners such as the World Food Programme (WFP)
to deliver food assistance in areas experiencing armed violence.</p>
The Agency operates in an increasingly challenging environment, in
which staff face threats on a daily basis. Communications are
regularly constrained by Internet and phone outages, further adding to
the operational challenges. Inter-city mobile phone connections as
well as international landlines are also down sometimes.
Education in particular has been disrupted since most UNRWA schools
have been deemed unsafe because they are in areas that are too
dangerous, have been damaged in the fighting or are accommodating
internally displaced persons (IDPs).
There are some 8,400 IDPs sheltering in 21 UNRWA-managed facilities
in Syria, as of 29 May, of which 87 per cent are Palestinian
refugees. The Agency reported that increasing numbers of refugees are
seeking shelter at UNRWA facilities and refugee camps in Hama, Homs,
Aleppo city and Latakia.
Meanwhile, 10 out of 23 health centres were closed last week,
including eight in Damascus. Several health centres are compelled to
reduce their hours of operation due to inaccessibility for staff and
patients alike.
<strong>Constrained by funding shortage</strong>
The efforts of UNRWA staff have also been constrained by a shortage
of funds, which have not kept pace with the needs of the refugees
which have grown exponentially over the course of the conflict.
"They need more and we are not able to meet their minimum needs,"
said another staffer from Damascus. "We are working all the time, and
I'm sure that the concerned are working seriously on fundraising and
meeting refugees' needs, but there are half a million refugees in
need for help and our resources are very limited."
Addressing a humanitarian forum in February, UNRWA
Commissioner-General Filippo Grandi highlighted the vulnerability of
the Palestinian community in Syria and called on all donors to
honour the pledges they made to assist the Agency.
<div id="EmbedPhotoRight"
style="width:410px;"><"http://www.un.org/News/dh/photos/large/2013/June/06-04-unrwa-syria-2.gif"
class="lightbox" title="Total budget for January to June 2013"
rel="gallery-default"><img class="Embed"
src="http://www.un.org/News/dh/photos/large/2013/June/06-04-unrwa-syria-2.gif"
style="width:400px; height:295px;">
<p class="phtocaption2">Total budget for January to June 2013</p>
</div>Of the $1.5 billion UN-wide humanitarian appeal for Syria issued
in January, $90 million was for UNRWA's relief efforts over the first
six months of the year. To date, the Agency – which is funded almost
entirely by voluntary contributions from UN Member States – has
received some $78 million.
Another key problem is that, unlike Syrian nationals, the Palestinian
refugees are limited in their options to flee the country owing to
their status. The UN estimates that over 1.5 million people have fled
the escalating violence in Syria and taken refuge in neighbouring
countries. According to UNRWA, this includes some 63,200 Palestinian
refugees who have fled to Lebanon and Jordan. Thousands more have
fled to Turkey and Iraq.
"It's
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