We learned recently that many Palestinians fleeing Syria died attempting to reach Europe via the Mediterranean. So this first article from last week was interesting as Palestinians blamed their own factional leadership for their seeming lack of concern for the average Palestinian. One has to read through 16 paragraphs before the word ‘Israel’ (the usual scapegoat) even appears.
Palestinians face misery in Arab countries as refugees!
From Al-Monitor (emphasis mine):
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — The sinking of a boat carrying Palestinian refugees from Syria off the Malta coast on Oct. 11 resulted in the death of dozens. It also sparked angry reactions from Palestinians who considered the incident yet another chapter in the continuing suffering that Palestinians endure in and outside the occupied territories.
They directed their ire toward the Palestinian leadership for its failure to take action and assist those fleeing from Syria, or assuage the misery they face in Arab countries as refugees — a situation that has these refugees attempt maritime crossings toward Europe and risk their lives to flee the harsh conditions that they endure in host countries.
Interviews conducted by Al-Monitor with a number of Palestinians in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and abroad have revealed the extent of frustration with the Palestinian leaders’ inability — regardless of political affiliation — to protect, defend and provide them with a dignified life.
Ramallah resident Mohamed al-Arkoub affirmed his conviction that Palestinian factions were unable to provide their people with a minimum level of services, both locally and abroad.
“I don’t think that anyone is interested in protecting us; neither the Palestinian Authority (PA) nor any organization or faction. Their primary concern revolves around their own partisan interests, and they pay no attention to the concerns of Palestinians,” he said in a phone interview with Al-Monitor.
Read it all!
But, consider the possibility that the ‘leadership’ wants to see them continue to suffer for media consumption in the West!
Syrian Palestinians protest UNRWA!
UNRWA stands for United Nations Relief and Works Agency and is the UN body specifically designated to take care of one “refugee” group—Palestinians. The controversial agency, created in 1949, now receives millions of dollars annually from you—US taxpayers—to take care of Palestinians. All other refugees in the world come under the purview of the UN High Commissioner of Refugees (UNHCR). If you go to our ‘Israel and refugees’ category, Judy has written a lot about UNRWA and its critics and the fact that all other refugees from the period have long been resettled, but not the Palestinians.
Now this: Palestinian refugees from Syria protest UNRWA in Gaza!
From Ma’an News Agency:
GAZA CITY (Ma’an) — Palestinian refugees from Syria demonstrated Monday in front of UNRWA headquarters in the Gaza Strip, protesting against the agency’s “delay” in fulfilling its responsibilities towards Palestinian refugees from the conflict.
Protesters called upon UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees displaced by the creation of the State of Israel in 1948, to provide a “good and dignified life” through the provision of housing and employment for Palestinians fleeing the 31-month-old conflict in Syria.
Head of the Committee of Refugees affairs in Gaza, Mahmoud al-Shawish, said that around 1000 Palestinians who fled the conflict in Syria now endure a “difficult situation” in Gaza, where they sought refuge.
Every time I see a story like this one, I get annoyed all over again about the UNHCR telling us that Islamic tradition (of kindness to strangers) has had the greatest positive impact on international refugee law. See my 2009 post here. Then tell us why (again!) Saudi Arabia takes no refugees!