Burj al-Shemali

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Coordinates: 33 ° 16 ′ 0 ″  N , 35 ° 12 ′ 0 ″  O Burj al-Shemali , Arabic البرج الشمالي, DMG al-Burǧ aš-Šamālī , German: the northern tower , is a refugee camp for Palestinians in Lebanon . It is 3 km east of Tire .

Burj al-Shemali was founded in 1948 as a tent camp for refugees from the Chula Plain and Tiberias in northern Palestine. The UNRWA started its work there in 1955. The camp also houses Palestinian refugees from the rest of Lebanon. Shiite refugees from a disputed border strip between Lebanon and Palestine live in their own neighborhood on the edge of the camp.

The camp was badly damaged during the Lebanese civil war . In addition to cement buildings, there are still many barracks with zinc roofs . The camp is supplied with drinking water from four nearby sources, the UNRWA also operates three wells for service water. The sewage and storm drainage as well as the drinking water supply were financed by the EU . There are four schools run by UNRWA, a health center and a women's center.

Most of the residents sympathize with Fatah . The PFLP , DFLP and Islamic Jihad are also represented in the “People's Committee” that administers the camp . Compared to other camps, the security situation is considered good.

More than 22,789 registered refugees live in the camp (as of July 1, 2014). Their age structure is:

  • 0-12 years: 23%
  • 13-25 years: 26%
  • 26–40 years: 26%
  • 41–60 years: 18%
  • over 60 years: 8%

The unemployment rate is very high. Most men only find work as day laborers in agriculture, handicrafts and construction, while women find work in agriculture and as cleaning staff in households. Palestinian refugees in Lebanon are completely prohibited from working in a total of 73 professions; the Lebanese authorities are reluctant to issue work permits for other professions because applicants from other countries are preferred.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Ralph Ghadban, The Lebanon Refugees in Berlin. Berlin 2000. ISBN 3-86093-293-4 , reprint 2008, pp. 105-107
  2. ↑ Rosa Luxemburg Foundation, Study: Flight and Displacement in the Syrian Conflict , July 2014, p. 28
  3. ↑ UNRWA, Where we work, Lebanon
  4. ↑ Gerrit Hoekmann, Between Olive Branch and Kalashnikov, History and Politics of the Palestinian Left , Münster 1999, ISBN 3-928300-88-1 , p. 141

swell