Humanitarian Assistance to Palestinian Refugees in Lebanon, and the Role of Ngos
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“Keeping them alive” - Humanitarian Assistance to Palestinian Refugees in Lebanon, and the Role of NGOs. By Gunhild Raunsgard Master’s thesis in History University of Bergen Spring 2009 Preface During the work on this thesis I have received valuable assistance and support from several people. Firstly, I would like to thank my supervisor, Anders Bjørkelo. I also wish to thank my fellow students at the University of Bergen for their comments on early drafts as well as interesting discussions over coffee. Thank you especially to Maria, Simon, Elisabeth, Jostein, Marit Elisabeth and not least Jonathan and Lisa for their much appreciated assistance. Warm thoughts are also sent to my family for always being supportive and to Bassel and Jakob for being my life. Secondly, I would like to thank the staff of Norwegian People’s Aid in Oslo and in Beirut, for their willingness and interest in providing input to this thesis. Special thanks to David Bergan, Siri Kvenild and Haifa Jammal. Thirdly, I wish to thank all my informants in Lebanon and elsewhere who provided me with insight into their thoughts and ideas. Finally, I wish to thank all my friends in Rashidieh who have taught me so much. Special thanks to sitti Sria and mormor Amira who have opened their homes and hearts for me. 1 Summary in Norwegian I over 60 år har palestinske flyktningar budd i Libanon, og dei utgjer i dag omlag 10 prosent av folketalet i landet. Dei har ikkje vore mogeleg for dei å vende heim. Av ulike grunnar som vil bli diskutert i denne oppgåva, har dei heller ikkje fått sivile rettar i vertslandet Libanon. Dette har ført til at det har vore svært vanskeleg for flyktningane å verta sjølvhjelpne, noko som har betydd at i heile perioden har dei vore avhengige av internasjonal bistand. Denne oppgåva gir ei historisk analyse av denne bistanden med fokus på den rolla som frivillige organisasjonar har spelt. Det palestinske flyktninge- samfunnet i Libanon representerer eit utypisk eksempel når det gjeld bistand fordi det har vore avhengig av bistand så lenge og situasjonen ser ikkje ut til å endre seg med det fyrste. Det er difor eit noko spesielt samfunn dei frivillige organisasjonane og andre bistandsaktørar arbeider i. Største delen av bistanden har blitt kanalisert gjennom FN og det organet dei oppretta i 1949 for å ha ansvar for humanitær hjelp til dei palestinske flyktningane, nemleg United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). Det er samstundes over 150 frivillige organisasjonar, såkalla NGOar, som har vore involvert i ulikt arbeid i det palestinske flyktningesamfunnet i denne perioden. Oppgåva vil sjå på utviklinga av NGO sektoren og analysere dei sterke og svake sidene til dei frivillige organisasjonane i dette samfunnet. Oppgåva tar nærare for seg som ein case study, ein internasjonal organisasjon som har vore aktiv i det palestinske flyktningesamfunnet i Libanon i nær 28 år, nemleg Norsk Folkehjelp. 2 Table of Contents Preface........................................................................................................................................................... 1 Summary in Norwegian ............................................................................................................................... 2 Table of Contents.......................................................................................................................................... 3 List of Abbreviations.................................................................................................................................... 6 Map................................................................................................................................................................ 8 Chapter 1....................................................................................................................................................... 9 Introduction .................................................................................................................................................. 9 On NGOs and doing research on NGOs.................................................................................................. 10 Research question and case study............................................................................................................ 11 Historical development and time period.................................................................................................. 13 Some remarks about the term “Palestinian refugees”.............................................................................. 14 State of the research................................................................................................................................. 15 Presentation and discussion of my sources.............................................................................................. 17 Oral sources ........................................................................................................................................ 17 Written sources and field visits........................................................................................................... 19 Language ................................................................................................................................................. 21 Outline of the thesis................................................................................................................................. 21 Chapter 2..................................................................................................................................................... 22 Historical background - Palestinian Refugees in Lebanon..................................................................... 22 Becoming refugees and starting over (1948-1969).................................................................................. 22 Civil War and PLO dominance (1969-1990)........................................................................................... 24 Marginalisation (1990-2005) ................................................................................................................... 26 Hope and destruction (2005-present)....................................................................................................... 27 Chapter 3..................................................................................................................................................... 31 Actors who are involved with the welfare of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon..................................... 31 The United Nations (UN) ........................................................................................................................ 31 The United Nations Conciliation Commission for Palestine (UNCCP), The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the Refugee Convention..................................................... 32 The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA)...... 33 UNRWA’s work ................................................................................................................................. 34 UNRWA’s relationship with the Palestinian refugees........................................................................ 35 UNRWA’s view on assistance versus protection................................................................................ 36 Funding............................................................................................................................................... 37 UNRWA in Lebanon .......................................................................................................................... 38 Criticism of UNRWA ......................................................................................................................... 38 Continuing need for UNRWA ............................................................................................................ 39 Palestinian actors ..................................................................................................................................... 39 Palestinian Authority (PA).................................................................................................................. 39 PLO and other political parties ........................................................................................................... 39 The Popular Committees..................................................................................................................... 42 Lebanon as the host country .................................................................................................................... 42 Tawtin and “right of return”................................................................................................................ 44 Chapter 4..................................................................................................................................................... 46 3 The consequences of the prevailing welfare system for the Palestinian refugees in Lebanon ............. 46 Categories of refugees ............................................................................................................................. 46 Lebanese legislation: “A special kind of foreigners”............................................................................... 47 Economic standing..................................................................................................................................