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.
موږ د غلیني په اړه لږ څه پوهیږو، پرته لدې چې هغه داسې بریښي چې د لبناني چارواکو یا د فلسطین د آزادۍ سازمان (PLO) له قانوني عکس العملونو پرته ، چې په لبنان کې د فلسطیني مهاجرینو سرپرست دی ، په زړورتیا سره کار کوي.
یو څه عجیبه خبره روانه ده.
Immediately after the US 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 نازل, early indications suggest it drives to sideline Jerusalem entirely from any future agreement between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. Moving the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, and Trump’s own ادعا 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 د راستنیدو حق for Palestinian refugees and their descendants, who were driven out 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 د کډوالو نفوس 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.
بیا هم، په ښکاره ډول، پرته له دې چې کډوال په ټولیز ډول د داسې حق غوښتنه وکړي، دا مسله کولی شي د بیړنۍ، د پام وړ غوښتنې څخه احساساتي غوښتنې ته لاړ شي چې ترلاسه کول یې ناممکن دي.
همدا لامل دی چې د لبنان د مهاجرینو د کمپونو کثافات، چې په خطرناک سرعت سره پیښیږي، باید فلسطینیان تر بل هر وخت ډیر اندیښمن کړي.
I spoke to Samaa Abu Sharar, a Palestinian activist in Lebanon and the director of the ماجد ابو شرار میډیا فاونډیشن. 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 څنډې ته شوی 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.
خو کډوال او د هغوی د راستنیدو حق نور د فلسطین د مشرتابه لپاره لومړیتوب نه دی. په حقیقت کې، دا د نږدې دوو لسیزو راهیسې قضیه ده.
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 US pressure, was forced to cancel or downgrade many of its essential services.
د مشکوک وخت سرشمیرنه، د خپل ډول لومړنۍ سرشمیرنه، د لبنان د احصایې مرکزي ادارې لخوا، د تیر دسمبر په میاشت کې د فلسطین مرکزي احصایې ادارې سره په ګډه ترسره شوه، پریکړه وکړه چې په لبنان کې د فلسطیني کډوالو شمیر یوازې 175,000 دی.
The timing is interesting because the survey was conducted at a time that the US Administration has been keen to lower the number of Palestinian refugees, in anticipation of any future agreement between the PA and Israel.
په وینا د UNRWA statistics, there are more than 450,000 Palestinian refugees who are registered with the UN.
There is no denial about an جریان 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.
په ښکاره ډول داسې کسان شته چې لیواله دي چې لبنان له خپل فلسطیني نفوس څخه وباسي، په دې توګه د غلیني او داسې نورو انساني قاچاقي شبکو له پامه غورځول کیږي.
ابو شرر ماته وویل: "له یوې څخه ډیرې منظمې شبکې شتون لري چې د فلسطینیانو کډوالۍ ته په نرخونو کې اسانتیاوې برابروي چې پدې وروستیو کې د ډیرو خلکو لپاره د لاسرسي وړ ګرځیدلي دي." پایله چې ډیری دا ځوانان او میرمنې اوس راوتلي دا دي چې "په لبنان کې د دوی لپاره هیڅ راتلونکی نشته."
دا د خوښۍ او بریا پای نه دی چې په لبنان کې د فلسطیني کډوالو نسلونو تمه درلوده او له کلونو راهیسې یې مبارزه کړې.
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.’
– Ramzy Baroud is a journalist, author and editor of Palestine Chronicle. His latest book is The Last Earth: A Palestinian Story (Pluto Press, London, 2018). He earned a Ph.D. in Palestine Studies from the University of Exeter and is a Non-Resident Scholar at Orfalea Center for Global and International Studies.
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