The Action Group for Palestinians said Thursday that COVID-19 pandemic has increased the suffering of Palestinians living in Syria.
The Britain-based monitoring group shed the light on the deteriorating living conditions in the Palestinian camps which already in dire need of treatment and health care.
UN Relief Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) said at least 465 Palestinian refugees in Syria have died from COVID-19 and about 9,000 confirmed cases.
The AGPS said most of the medical facilities in the Palestinian camps were exposed for bombing or looting and that affected hospitals, clinics and medical equipment stores, and private clinics and pharmacies were subjected to theft by armed groups.
The Palestinian monitoring has also revealed that the Syrian ordeal has led some Palestinian youths to end their lives in one way or another since the uprising erupted tens years ago.
The reasons that drive Palestinian youth in Syria towards suicide are varied like psychological disorders, which may lead to depression or Schizophrenia or mood disorder towards the tendency towards self-harm and attempting to end life, weak religious faith among young people, and social problems, represented by the inability of young people to secure a decent living for themselves and their families and their despair in securing a safe future or traveling outside the country to obtain a better life and depriving them of their most basic rights as human beings, according to AGPS report.
Some cases were recorded of Palestinians who intentionally killed themselves or attempted to do so, including nearly three cases of recruits within the ranks of the pro-Assad Palestinian Liberation Army, who shot themselves.
A suicide case was recorded in Yarmouk refugee camp on December 19, 2013, due to the severe siege imposed by the Syrian army on the camp. Mazen Al-Asali, 18, committed suicide after he was unable to provide food for his mother and sisters, according to AGPS.
The UK-based monitoring has documented many cases and attempts of suicide in Syria, Lebanon and Turkey, due to the poor economic and psychological conditions of the refugees, stressing that suicide remains one of the most important reactions that some people practice in an attempt to escape poverty.
Many suicides have also been recorded among the Syrian-Palestinian population in Lebanon, as a result of the catastrophic living conditions and lack of security and safety. Mohamed Malasi, 35, who fled from Yarmouk camp to Lebanon, had committed suicide after he found himself unable to feed his family. He wrapped his neck with a wire and hanged himself on December 16, 2013 while his wife and four daughters were waiting for a dinner meal he promised them to buy.
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