Writing by Faris al-Rifai; Translation by Rana Abdul
(Zaman Al Wasl)- Besieged people of Gaza share Syrian refugees the suffering of siege that they have lived for years. Despite their small numbers those refugees experience a tragic situation during the holy month of Ramadan amidst humanitarian organizations abandoning them including the United Nations High Commission for Refugees.
Warif Hamido, an activist who sought refuge in Gaza in 2012 by entering through the tunnels, indicated to Zaman al-Wasl, “many of the people of Gaza are homeless since the 51 Day War on Gaza, and until now their economic situation is difficult in light of the economic siege their city is living.”
He said that over 200 thousand structures have been destroyed and over 180 thousand persons are unemployed which makes the situation catastrophic. For this reason, “Syrian refugees do not hold Gaza’s people to blame if they do not care for them as refugees, but they blame the international institutions, and the United Nations High Commission for Refugees.”
Twenty Syrian refugee families are living in different parts of the city of Gaza, most of whom entered through the tunnels and a small number through border crossing point. According to Hamido, they are distributed between Rafah, Bureij, Deir al-Balah, and Beit Lahia.
He drew attention to the lack of a commission to sponsor their issues in Palestine as the UNRWA services are limited to refugees of Palestinian origin. According to Hamido, “Gaza’s situation is different to the situation in Turkey, Jordan or Lebanon for refugees because of the presence of Palestinian wounded, the families of martyrs, detainees, and displaced persons since the Gaza war, and the aid organizations focus on them to the exclusion of all others.”
He confirmed, “Syrian Palestinians who declare themselves a Syrian encroachment contributed to marginalizing the Syrian refugees because of the war, and they benefited at their expense.” As those, as Hamido said, “have the right to protest or demonstrate before the government in protest of their humanitarian situation whereas Syrian refugees try to remain as distant as possible from political debates and do not interfere in the internal situation so that they will not be counted as supporting any sides.”
Hamido explained aspects of the suffering that Syrian refugees coming to Gaza are living where they are living in a cycle of difficulties the first of which, as he clarified, is the closure of the tunnels that they came through which makes the possibility of their return to Egypt impossible. In the event, they managed to return then they will be arrested as he confirmed. Otherwise most of the Syrian refugees’ passports have expired and they cannot benefit from them even if they are still valid because of the closure of the Rafah crossing point, and in the event it is opened they cannot pass because they entered Gaza through the tunnel.
(Zaman Al Wasl)- Besieged people of Gaza share Syrian refugees the suffering of siege that they have lived for years. Despite their small numbers those refugees experience a tragic situation during the holy month of Ramadan amidst humanitarian organizations abandoning them including the United Nations High Commission for Refugees.
Warif Hamido, an activist who sought refuge in Gaza in 2012 by entering through the tunnels, indicated to Zaman al-Wasl, “many of the people of Gaza are homeless since the 51 Day War on Gaza, and until now their economic situation is difficult in light of the economic siege their city is living.”
He said that over 200 thousand structures have been destroyed and over 180 thousand persons are unemployed which makes the situation catastrophic. For this reason, “Syrian refugees do not hold Gaza’s people to blame if they do not care for them as refugees, but they blame the international institutions, and the United Nations High Commission for Refugees.”
Twenty Syrian refugee families are living in different parts of the city of Gaza, most of whom entered through the tunnels and a small number through border crossing point. According to Hamido, they are distributed between Rafah, Bureij, Deir al-Balah, and Beit Lahia.
He drew attention to the lack of a commission to sponsor their issues in Palestine as the UNRWA services are limited to refugees of Palestinian origin. According to Hamido, “Gaza’s situation is different to the situation in Turkey, Jordan or Lebanon for refugees because of the presence of Palestinian wounded, the families of martyrs, detainees, and displaced persons since the Gaza war, and the aid organizations focus on them to the exclusion of all others.”
He confirmed, “Syrian Palestinians who declare themselves a Syrian encroachment contributed to marginalizing the Syrian refugees because of the war, and they benefited at their expense.” As those, as Hamido said, “have the right to protest or demonstrate before the government in protest of their humanitarian situation whereas Syrian refugees try to remain as distant as possible from political debates and do not interfere in the internal situation so that they will not be counted as supporting any sides.”
Hamido explained aspects of the suffering that Syrian refugees coming to Gaza are living where they are living in a cycle of difficulties the first of which, as he clarified, is the closure of the tunnels that they came through which makes the possibility of their return to Egypt impossible. In the event, they managed to return then they will be arrested as he confirmed. Otherwise most of the Syrian refugees’ passports have expired and they cannot benefit from them even if they are still valid because of the closure of the Rafah crossing point, and in the event it is opened they cannot pass because they entered Gaza through the tunnel.
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