An eerie video composed of a recorded audio prayer and a photo of one “Hajj Jamal Ghalaini” occasionally pops up on Facebook. The voice is that of an alleged religious sheikh, praying for the well-being of the man in the photo for saving the Palestinian refugee youth of Lebanon, by facilitating their departure to Europe.
The video would have been just another odd social media post, were it not for the fact that Ghalaini is a real person, with his name recurring in the ongoing tragedy of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon. Many have credited their successful “escape” from Lebanon by citing this person, who, kindly, they say, has made the journey to Europe far cheaper than all other human smugglers.
Kely ny zavatra fantatsika momba an'i Ghalaini, afa-tsy hoe toa miasa sahisahy izy, tsy misy fiatraikany ara-dalàna avy amin'ny manampahefana Libaney na ny Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), izay heverina fa mpiahy ireo Palestiniana mpitsoa-ponenana ao Libanona.
Misy zavatra hafahafa mitranga.
Immediately after the U.S. Administration of Donald Trump began to promote its “Deal of the Century,” Palestinian refugees—a fundamental issue in the Palestinian national struggle which has been relegated years ago—have, once more, taken center stage.
Although Trump’s plan is yet to be fully revealed, early indications suggest it is attempting to sideline Jerusalem entirely from any future agreement between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. Moving the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, and Trump’s own assertion that “Jerusalem is off the table” is enough to confirm this assumption.
Another component of Trump’s “deal” is to resolve the issue of refugees without their repatriation and without respecting international law, especially United Nations Resolution 194, which calls for the Right of Return for Palestinian refugees and their descendants, who were driven from their homes in historic Palestine in 1948.
Many news reports have been pointing to an elaborate American plot to downgrade the status of refugees, to argue against UN figures indicating their actual numbers and to choke off UNRWA—the UN organization responsible for refugees’ welfare—from badly needed funds.
Lebanon has been a major platform for the ongoing campaign targeting Palestinian refugees, particularly because the refugee population in that country is significant in terms of numbers and their plight most urgent in terms of its need for remedy.
There appears to be an active plan, involving several parties, to deprive Lebanon’s Palestinian population from their refugee status and to circumvent the Right of Return.
To some, this may seem like wishful thinking, since the Right of Return is “inalienable,” thus non-negotiable.
Na izany aza, mazava ho azy, raha tsy misy mpitsoa-ponenana miaraka mitaky zo toy izany, ny olana dia mety hifindra avy amin'ny fitakiana maika sy azo tsapain-tanana ho amin'ny fihetseham-po tsy azo tanterahina.
Izany no mahatonga ny fanafoanana ny tobin'ny mpitsoa-ponenana ao Libanona, izay mitranga amin'ny hafainganam-pandeha mampiahiahy, tokony hampiahiahy ny Palestiniana mihoatra noho ny olana hafa rehetra amin'izao fotoana izao.
I spoke to Samaa Abu Sharar, a Palestinian activist in Lebanon and the director of the Majed Abu Sharar Media Foundation. She narrated that the nature of the conversation among refugees has changed in recent years. In the past, “almost everybody from young to old spoke about their wish of returning to Palestine one day; at present the majority, particularly the youth, only express one wish: to leave for any other country that would receive them.”
It is common knowledge that Palestinian refugees in Lebanon are marginalized and mistreated most, when compared to other refugee populations in the Middle East. They are denied most basic human rights enjoyed by Lebanese or foreign groups in Lebanon, or even rights granted to refugees under international conventions. This includes the right to work, as they are denied access to 72 different professions.
Left hopeless, with a life of neglect and utter misery in 12 refugee camps and other “gatherings” across Lebanon, Palestinian refugees have persisted for many years, driven by the hope of going back to their Palestinian homeland one day.
Saingy tsy laharam-pahamehana ho an'ny mpitarika Palestiniana intsony ireo mpitsoa-ponenana sy ny zon'izy ireo hiverina. Raha ny marina, efa ho roapolo taona izao no nitrangan’izany.
The situation has worsened. With the Syrian war, tens of thousands more refugees flooded the camps, which lacked most basic services. This misery was further accentuated when UNRWA, under intense U.S. pressure, was forced to cancel or downgrade many of its essential services.
Ny fanisam-bahoaka mampiahiahy, voalohany amin'ny karazany, nataon'ny Fitantanana ny antontan'isa Libaney, niarahana tamin'ny Birao Foiben'ny Statistika Palestiniana tamin'ny Desambra lasa teo, dia nanapa-kevitra fa 175,000 monja ny isan'ny Palestiniana mpitsoa-ponenana ao Libanona.
The timing is interesting because the survey was conducted at a time that the U.S. Administration has been keen to lower the number of Palestinian refugees, in anticipation of any future agreement between the PA and Israel.
According to UNRWA statistics, there are more than 450,000 Palestinian refugees who are registered with the UN.
There is no denial about an influx of Palestinian refugees wanting to leave Lebanon. Some have done so successfully, only to find themselves contending with the misery of yet a new refugee status in Europe. Expectedly, some have returned.
Mazava ho azy fa misy ireo maniry ny hanaisotra an'i Libanona amin'ny mponina Palestiniana ao aminy, noho izany ny tsy firaharahana an'i Ghalaini sy ireo tambajotra fanondranana olona hafa toy izany.
“Misy tambajotra voarindra mihoatra ny iray izay manamora ny fifindra-monina Palestiniana amin'ny vidiny izay nidina vao haingana mba hahatonga azy ho mora kokoa amin'ny olona marobe kokoa,” hoy i Abu Sharar tamiko. Ny fanatsoahan-kevitry ny maro amin’ireo tovolahy sy tovovavy ireo izao dia hoe “tsy misy ho avy ho azy ireo any Libanona”.
Tsy izany no fiafarana mahafaly sy feno fandresena izay nandrasan'ny taranaka Palestiniana mpitsoa-ponenana tany Libanona nandritra ny taona maro.
Ignoring the misery of Palestinian refugees of Lebanon is now coming at a heavy price. Relegating their plight till “the final status negotiations,” a pipe dream that never actualized, is now leading to a two-fold crisis: the worsening suffering of hundreds of thousands of people and the systematic destruction of one of the main pillars of the Palestinian refugees Right of Return.
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Ramzy Baroud dia mpanao gazety, mpanoratra ary tonian-dahatsoratra ao amin'ny Palestine Chronicle. Ny bokiny farany dia The Last Earth: A Palestinian Story (Pluto Press, London, 2018). Nahazo Ph.D. in Palestine Studies avy amin'ny Oniversiten'i Exeter ary manam-pahaizana tsy mipetraka ao amin'ny Orfalea Center for Global and International Studies.