Action Group – Damascus
Countryside: Amid the ongoing economic decline and shrinking job opportunities, unemployment rates are worsening among Palestinian refugees in Syria, particularly among young people, posing one of the most significant social and livelihood challenges facing the country’s Palestinian camps.
A number of residents of Sayyida Zeinab camp describe the current situation as a “modern Nakba,” a result of the psychological and societal turmoil caused by unemployment, which has pushed many to risk their lives in search of work in neighboring countries, often through irregular means.
The unemployed is defined as someone who is able and willing to work but cannot find a suitable opportunity despite their diligent search. The causes of this phenomenon in the Palestinian community in Syria are numerous, ranging from weak investments and a lack of vocational training and qualifications to favoritism and administrative corruption in service institutions, including some UNRWA centers, according to local activists.
Observers have also warned that the continuation of unemployment in this manner could lead to serious repercussions, including increased cases of delinquency, drug abuse, and rising crime rates. These phenomena are beginning to leave their negative mark on a number of camps.
Irregular migration has become one of the most prominent negative outcomes of unemployment, as many young Palestinians are forced to leave Syria illegally, heading to Lebanon, Iraq, or Turkey, exposing themselves to multiple risks such as exploitation by smugglers, ill-treatment by employers, and arrest or forced deportation by the authorities of those countries.
While UNRWA is supposed to fulfill its role in supporting employment and relief, refugees face repeated accusations of negligence and rampant favoritism in recruitment processes within its institutions, further eroding confidence in it as a source of support in light of successive crises.
Activists believe that the lack of accountability and rampant corruption within some departments of the agency have exacerbated the unemployment crisis. They call on the current administration, headed by the Commissioner-General in Syria, to seriously investigate these allegations and take reform measures to ensure equal opportunities for all refugees without discrimination.
According to experts, unemployment remains a crisis that transcends statistics, requiring real development plans and partnerships between international organizations and the local community to restore hope to camp youth for a better future that guarantees them a dignified life.