Action Group | Lebanon
An expanded meeting was held at the headquarters of the Palestinian Popular Committees in Mar Elias Camp in the Lebanese capital, Beirut, between the Director-General of UNRWA in Lebanon, Ms. Dorothee Klaus, and the Central Follow-up Committee of the Popular Committees. A large portion of the meeting was devoted to discussing the conditions of Palestinian refugees arriving from Syria in Lebanon, most notably the issue of residency permits, which continues to burden the displaced and threaten their children’s educational future.
The meeting was attended by the Secretary of the Popular Committees, Dr. Sarhan Sarhan, and the Director of the Department of Refugee Affairs in Lebanon, Jamal Fayyad, along with members of the Follow-up Committee and representatives of the Palestinian camps.
The attendees highlighted the escalating challenges facing Palestinian refugees from Syria, particularly those related to legal residency permits, which hinder many students from taking official exams or moving freely. There are hopes that this crisis will soon be resolved in coordination with the relevant authorities.
The meeting also discussed the need to expand support programs, most notably the “extreme hardship” program, to include Palestinian-Syrian families affected by the deteriorating economic conditions, in light of declining job opportunities and the lack of stability.
The popular committees called for intensifying UNRWA’s efforts to respond to the needs of Palestinian refugees from Syria, including housing, education, and healthcare, and securing the necessary financial support to ensure the continuity of these services.
At the conclusion of the meeting, Dr. Sarhan proposed forming a joint team comprising UNRWA and the popular committees, including specialized experts, to explore new funding sources to ensure the continuity of the agency’s work, particularly with regard to the services provided to Palestinians from Syria in Lebanon.