In Israel, little Jewish children attend school every day and have hope for the future. For that we're thankful. In Iraq, children are beginning to receive the supplies they need to be healthy. For that we're also thankful.
But Palestinian children. Those for whom war and deprivation never go away. Since 1948 they've been born into a world occupied by an enemy determined to eradicate them from the land of their forefathers.
Those ancestors lived in this territory since pre-Biblical times and are descendants of Abraham as well as the Jews. They were there before Moses crossed the Red Sea. They were the Philistines. They may have owned the manger where Jesus was born. They battled the Crusaders when Europe decided to annex Jerusalem. They lived through the conquest of the Ottoman Empire. Some tilled the land through it all.
A major difference between them and the Israelis is the Palestinians-Muslims, Christians and Jews alike-lived on the land the whole time most other Jews were made refugees. That doesn't make the indigenous population more worthy, it just means they have more of a historical claim to the land than the current government, whether Israel likes it or not and whether Jews had a nation there until the second century A.D. This is harsh but honest.
So how did the current situation develop and what are the refugee camps really like?
The Coastal Post talked with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) and its representative William F. Lee, Chief, UNRWA Liaison Office, New York.
This agency was formed in 1949 by the General Assembly as a temporary means of relocating people fleeing the Israeli takeover of Palestine. It was meant to last a couple of years until resettlement was achieved. That was 49 years ago. It's still there with 59 camps.
What the agency did was set up camps wherever the refugees landed, similar to Rwanda. Originally, there were 750,000 displaced Palestinians scattered in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and Gaza. The majority went to Jordan as the West Bank had been part of Jordan at the time of the '67 war.
Due to increases in population, there are now 3.5 million registered refugees receiving aid, 1.5 million in Jordan, 545,000 in West Bank and 800,000 in Gaza. The rest are scattered in Lebanon (360,000) and Syria (355,000).
This is not the total number of Palestinians. Only one-third live in the camps. For example, in the West Bank 143,000 live in camps while 400,000 don't. In Gaza, however, where conditions are terrible, there are 400,000 living in the camps and 335,000 outside.
The other two-thirds live independently throughout the areas and Jerusalem with communities around the Middle East and North Africa and emigrants going to the United States and Europe.
The camps have evolved over the years. Unlike the concentration camps they tend to resemble, there are no fences. People are free to move. However, as most lost land and livelihood, they have nowhere else to go. This is especially true of widows with children, the elderly, disabled and orphans. Some camps are as large as small cities.
Relief services were sent in, at first to provide food and shelter, eventually providing aid for hardship cases. With a vision towards stabilizing the communities and getting them self-supporting, UNRWA set up educational and health care services.
Every camp has a health clinic run by the agency. They provide 10 years of free preventative and monitored care to mothers and children. They also provide five years free services for diabetes, diagnostic and dental care. Two hospitals have been established, a small one in the West Bank and a 232-bed general hospital under construction in Gaza.
"There's quite a network throughout the camps," Mr. Lee states proudly. "We had 7,000,000 visits last year. The staff includes 3,000 doctors and nurses."
There is also 10 years of free schooling. "Education is especially important to Palestinians. They realize it's all they have. Therefore, a great number of them are well-educated," Lee continues. "For the most part, teachers are local Palestinians highly committed to their work. The kids are enthusiastic. Everyone realizes education is their passport to a better life. Their educational achievements are substantial."
Scattered among the camps are eight vocational training centers with post-educational courses geared to developing marketable skills. These are similar to Junior Colleges in the U.S. Finally, there is a university which grants degrees in education, nursing and engineering.
Some 450,000 children attend school with a support staff of 13,000 teachers. Teaching standards have recently been upgraded. Half the students are girls. Their numbers and advanced training have set the standard for female education in the Middle East with 44 percent female trainees. The agency also provides 1,000 scholarships.
The cost of the program is $300 million a year which amounts to about $100 per refugee. Funding comes from individual countries including the U.S., Japan, Sweden, Norway, Denmark and the European Union.
Lee waxes poetic about the contributions of the Scandinavian countries, especially Norway, which contributes 600 percent of its pledge. The U.S. pays approximately $74 million, the largest contribution.
Host countries such as Jordan and Lebanon don't pay because of their unique contribution of land; Israel because it considers the Palestinians their enemies. Most countries tend to see the problem as one created by the West and feel it should be responsible for the situation.
Until the Gulf War, living conditions had gotten better for many Palestinians. Beginning in the early '60s and because of excellent education, Palestinians were able to find their niche in gulf oil operations. Their labor and know-how became the backbone of the gulf economy, filling positions in every level from management on down. They made big money and sent much of it back to families in the West Bank and the camps. As a result, many Palestinians became middle class and set up homes independently.
With the Gulf War and Palestinian support of Saddam Hussein, all that came to an end. Palestinians were forced to leave Saudi Arabia and Kuwait and return to Gaza and the West Bank. Many had never lived there. With their lands and businesses confiscated, there was nothing to come home to, including jobs. The tremendous distribution of money from the oil states dried up and with it, the economy.
In the meantime, due to the intafad and suicide bombings, severe restrictions have been imposed on workers entering Israel proper and jobs have dwindled.
In 1991, 100,000 Palestinians worked as mechanics, in factory jobs, the food industry, engineering and the like. Most of these jobs are now gone. Also, because of the stalled peace talks, foreign investment has been slow in coming.
It is especially difficult for refugees in Gaza and southern Lebanon. Gaza has become one large refugee camp. In fact, it is the only country in the world where the majority of residents are refugees. We tend to forget Gaza was joined to the Sinai Peninsula and administered by the Egyptians until they gave up their claim with the Camp David Accords.
Palestinians lay the blame on the fact that nothing has been resolved in 50 years. They can't return home. Their houses have been destroyed and their lands confiscated. They haven't been compensated for their loss and they are not allowed common rights granted people worldwide. They are locked in limbo.
If the Jews feel they are owed compensation for the theft of their property and possessions by the Nazis and Swiss, consider how Palestinians feel about Israel confiscating property that had been in some families since the days of Christ.
The main problem is the lack of economic opportunity. They study hard to gain skills. When they have them they can't find employment. This leads to despair and frustration that boils to the surface with violence like suicide bombings. Palestinians see themselves as cut off from the world. The future is uncertain. Extermination looms as a reality.
They are especially disappointed the United States hasn't been more forceful in insisting Israel live up the Oslo Accords. Perhaps not so coincidentally, when all the Middle East waited with bated breath to see if President Clinton would lay down the law during the Arafat-Netanyahu visit to Washington, the Monica Lewinsky bomb was lobbed into the middle of negotiations. Neanyahu ran home declaring victory at out-maneuvering the U.S.
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