[NYTr] Many Palestinians Do Not Exist, And That Is Official

[All the News That Doesn't Fit]

IPS News - Dec 24, 2007
http://www.ipsnews.net/print.asp?idnews=40588

They Do Not Exist, And That Is Official

by Mona Alami

BEIRUT, Dec 24 (IPS) - In the maze of dirty streets that spreads from
Beirut's revamped Sport City to the shabby Halabi quarters, 20,000
refugees are clustered in what is known as the Bourj al-Barajneh
Palestinian camp. In a town plagued by poverty, many families live in
complete destitution. These forgotten people have fallen through the
cracks of legality and belong nowhere: they are known as non-ID
Palestinians.

With the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948, many
Palestinians fled their homeland to Lebanon. Today, there are
approximately 400,000 refugees living in the 'Land of the Cedars', some
with no documentation, and not registered with either the United
Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) or the Lebanese authorities.

"I fell in love with a Palestinian combatant who came to Lebanon in the
1970s to fight with the PLO during the Lebanese civil war," says a
woman who gave her name as Manal, not her real name. That marriage
eventually brought her to this camp. "I was foolish and very much in
love. My father was opposed to our marriage. The fighter had been
smuggled into the country, and hence had no proper documentation. It
was the first time I heard of non-IDs."

UNRWA considers as Palestinian refugees "any person whose normal place
of residence was Palestine during the period of June 1946 to 15 May
1948 and who lost their home and means of livelihood as a result of the
1948 conflict. UNRWA's services are available to all those living in
its area of operations who meet this definition, who are registered
with the Agency and who need assistance. UNRWA's definition of a
refugee also covers the descendants of persons who became refugees in
1948."

The agency's categorisation of Palestinian refugees does not include
those classified as non-ID holders, leaving them unable to benefit from
refugee services, including healthcare.

Non-ID Palestinian refugees also face restrictions on movement outside
the camps -- and that is not all. "Aside from the daily difficulties
they are confronted with as refugees, second and third generation
undocumented Palestinians are beleaguered by other problems such as
failing to graduate from school because of lack of proper documentation
or the inability to get married and even to partake in ordinary
activities," says Mireille Chiha from the Danish Refugee Council (DRC).

Nawal lives in one of the many tiny concrete houses in Bourj
al-Barajneh. Her handicapped father sits in bed all day. The apartment
is damp and gloomy and its scarce windows look out on an alley flooded
by a sewage pipe.

"I was married to a Jordanian Palestinian refugee who took part in the
1975 Lebanese civil war. We had two daughters, who both inherited his
illegal status. My husband was supposed to regularise his situation,
but one day he disappeared and I never saw him again. Today, my
daughters are aged 20 and 18; I've been to the Jordanian embassy
several times to try to obtain official documentation for them, but it
seems their father is the only person allowed to make such a claim."

Nawal worries about her children's future. "How can they marry? They
are not recognised by any government agency. It is true that the
Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO) may provide non-IDs with
official documentation, which is useful in specific cases such as
marriage, but I would much prefer my daughters not to take such a risk,
as the organisation is sometimes viewed negatively by many Lebanese."

Sobhi Hassan, a young man in his twenties working as a salesman in one
of the camp's shabby stores, has inherited his illegal status as
undocumented refugee from his father, who came to Lebanon in the
seventies. "When he died, it was like he had never been; he never
existed anyway in the eyes of official agencies. I had to drop out of
school when I was 15 -- as did my brothers and sisters -- because I was
not allowed to attend government exams without the proper
identification papers."

The young man was arrested several times at army checkpoints, but says
he managed to free himself from the soldiers every time. "I have come
to terms with the fact that I can only live and work in the camp; if
not, I might be arrested and detained for several months like many
others."

Although undocumented refugees share a socio-economic pattern with
other Palestinians in Lebanon, they are more isolated than ordinary
refugees.

Most non-ID refugees hold some proof of identity that could facilitate
legalisation of their situation, because their Palestinian identity can
be traced back to an authority once responsible for their documentation
such as Jordan or Egypt. But since laws addressing Palestinian refugees
have changed, non-IDs have been unable to claim an identity card from
these countries of origin.

The current Lebanese government headed by Prime Minister Fouad Siniora
has set up a Lebanese-Palestinian dialogue committee to address the
issue of non-ID refugees. But it has a long way to go.

Many of the refugees expect little now. "I have decided to never
marry," says Hassan. "Why should I expose my kids to this life of
hardship and despair?" (END/2007)