Jabalia Camp
Jabalia Camp 1987: The Jabalia refugee camp in Gaza is the scene of where the Intifida, or Palestinian uprising, began. My father left the key to me and I will leave it for my son, we will never ever forget our house, we are still waiting for the implementation of the UN resolution 194 and to return to our homeland. Jabalia camp is the most populated of the 59 Palestinian camps in the Middle East.


Jabalia camp is located north of Gaza City beside a village of the same name. The camp was established after the 1948 Arab-Israeli conflict for 35,000 refugees who had fled from villages in southern Palestine. The refugees were at first provided with tents, which UNRWA later replaced with cement block shelters with asbestos roofs.

The camp covers an area of 1.4 sq. km. The shelters, which usually consist of two or three small rooms, a small kitchen and bathroom on an area of maximum 40 sq. m, are packed closely together. Narrow alleys and pathways, some less than one meter wide, run between the shelters. The camp lacks basic infrastructure. Solid waste is collected by UNRWA's sanitation labourers. Water is supplied by the local municipality or comes from UNRWA and private water wells.

The first Palestinian Intifadah started in Jabalia Camp in December 1987.

Prior to the closure of the Gaza Strip in September 2000, most of the refugees worked as labourers in Israel or locally in agriculture in nearby farms in Beit Lahia. Some own small shops in the camp and a few work in small businesses.

FACTS AND FIGURES

  • The registered refugee population is 106,691 persons.

  • UNRWA runs 25 schools (18 elementary and 7 preparatory) with 29,231 pupils enrolled in 2004/2005. All of the schools are run in two shifts.

  • The Agency's health centre provides primary health care and is run by 75 health care workers assigned to morning and afternoon shifts. On average, 30,120 consultations are held there each month. In 1992, a new health center was built in the neighboring village of Beit Hanoun and is staffed by 22 staff members with average consultations of 18,860 per month.

  • Work on the new women's programme centre was completed by UNRWA in November 1995, and since then around 8,000 women and children have participated in the activities each year.

  • The Agency provides financial and managerial support to a youth activities centre, which offers athletic, social and cultural programmes.

  • A community rehabilitation centre was established in 1991 in an old UNRWA feeding centre. In 1997 the centre was reconstructed with the assistance of UNRWA and funds from the Government of Japan. It serves 83 refugees with disabilities and has an out-reach programme and an audiology centre.

  • 3,568 families (16,914 refugees) are eligible for relief assistance under the Agency's special hardship programme.

http://www.un.org/unrwa/refugees/gaza/jabalia.html


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Added: May 2006

 
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