Al-Burj Al-Shamali camp: Water is under threat, and the people are in danger
No one would have thought five years ago and up to today that we would reach this stage and this deterioration in living, economic and social conditions. The present in this country is nothing but a past that is repeated with all its tragedies.
Who would have expected, with the advent of 2022, that the residents of this country would struggle to obtain the most basic necessities of life.. The problem lies in the exacerbation and increasing difficulties in finding solutions to these crises with the progression of time.
In a country like Lebanon, these conditions are a hell for its citizens... As for the refugees in this country "Lebanon", these conditions are a double hell for them.
With all these difficulties imposed by life inside Lebanon, UNRWA’s cutbacks come to make matters worse and exacerbate the conditions of the refugees who face many problems that make the option of obtaining a healthy life a far-fetched option.. The refugee has become convinced of the concept that living in dignity may bring a fantasy closer to reality. , which would herald a real crisis related to the conditions of the Palestinian refugees inside Lebanon, who, since the history of their asylum, have been fighting for a decent life.. Despite that, they have not been liberated from the title of "second class citizens."
Last year, UNRWA announced cuts in services provided to Palestinian refugees in Lebanon. These cuts came at a time when Lebanon was suffering from the worst economic crisis in the country, which produced new conditions that the refugee had to face on a daily basis.
In Burj Al-Shamali camp, more than 900,000 refugees are living at the heart of this crisis. This camp, which is located east of the city of Tyre in southern Lebanon, has suffered in the past three years from many crises, the most prominent of which was the water crisis, which began to worsen dramatically last year. An agreement was approved to divide the camp into two parts, provided that water is provided to each section every two days.. This means that if water is available today in the first section, it will not be available in the second section, and vice versa.
The effective implementation of this decision was enough to bring about drastic changes in the lives of the refugees inside the camp.. Water has become difficult to obtain, and after it was available at all times, it has become today a scarce resource that camp residents have to use economically. What made these conditions even more difficult was the electricity crisis and the continuous power cuts, which made the situation even more difficult, and put the refugees in front of an intolerable life situation.
And because water is the lifeline of man, the most affected by the crisis of its interruption are housewives who use water in all their daily household chores.
In this context, we spoke with Ms. A.N., a housewife residing in Burj Al-Shamali camp, who explained to us the difficulty of daily life in light of the water shortage crisis that the camp is currently experiencing. She said: "The suffering begins with the beginning of the early hours of the morning. We We have to get up early to fill our tanks because it is the only time when water reaches our homes. This is very difficult for us, especially in the winter. Then we go about the rest of our day very carefully so as not to use up the amount in our tanks to suffice us for two days."
When we asked her about the changes in her diary after this crisis worsened, she said: "Everything has changed. The day we shower, we can't use water for anything else. Bathing in our homes is on schedule. Two of my sons can't shower in one day. Otherwise, this exposes us to losing water from our tanks, and this will also expose us to disability and our inability to do other work.. The suffering continues, and has reached the point where we are calculating how long the water tap remains open for fear of wasting the quantity we have, which is supposed to That it suffices us for two days, not one. We regret that things have reached the state they have today.
Then she added: “May God reward the cause.”
Not only were housewives affected by this crisis, but this crisis extended to a large extent affecting water stores, which are shops whose owners depend on water refining and selling it as potable water.
In our conversation with Mr. (N.H), one of the owners of water stores inside the camp, he told us: "The situation was catastrophic at first. Overnight we found ourselves living a fait accompli imposed on us. We had to find quick solutions to the crisis, otherwise our interests would be threatened with closure.
When we asked him about these solutions, he replied: “In the beginning, we used to consume all our water to meet what we could from customers, and postpone the rest for the second day. This created great and tremendous pressure on us, forcing us to work for long hours much more than we used to. Over time, we got used to the new system, and we are still trying as much as possible to satisfy all customers. Despite that, this issue is still very difficult."
And when we asked him to send a message to the officials, he said: "We have reached a point where we are tired of sending messages. But despite that, we are asking the officials to look at our conditions seriously.. Problems are chasing us from all sides. They are sitting in their places, not caring about everything." What is happening to the people of the camp. They have a duty to pressure UNRWA to improve the situation. It is as if we are missing a further reduction in services, especially with regard to the issue of water, which, if it continues, will lead to more and more suffering for the people of the camp."
The water crisis currently afflicting Burj Al-Shamali camp is considered one of the most difficult crises that the people have experienced in the last ten years. What made this crisis difficult is that it was not expected, especially since water is the main lifeline and one of its most important elements.
Perhaps our talk about the water crisis brings us back to the memory of the child Muhammad Khaled Abdel Razek and Mrs. Aisha Muhammad Dahwish, who passed away while inspecting the water tanks.. The families of the two victims express their condolences to the judiciary
