Palestinian Refugee Camp of Khan Eshieh Grappling with Water Crisis

Palestinian Refugee Camp of Khan Eshieh Grappling with Water Crisis

Khan Eshieh camp lies beside the ancient ruins of Khan Eshieh, 27km south-west of Damascus. (File photo via social media)

Palestinian families taking refuge in Khan Eshieh camp, in Syria’s Rif Dimashq province, said water has been cut off across residential neighborhoods for several over a couple of weeks.

The residents have warned of the repercussions of the water crisis on their children’s health condition in light of the global propagation of the COVID-19 pandemic.

An AGPS reporter said most of the families sheltered in the camp are cash-stripped and cannot afford to by drinking water from privately-owned tanks.

Palestinian families continue to appeal to UNRWA and the concerned authorities to take urgent action regarding the alarming humanitarian condition in the camp.

Palestinian families taking refuge in Khan Eshieh camp have been struggling with squalid humanitarian conditions inflicted by the nine-year long warfare.

According to UN data, Khan Eshieh camp lies beside the ancient ruins of Khan Eshieh, 27km south-west of Damascus. The Khan historically served as an overnight shelter for trade caravans on the road between Damascus and the southwest, and in 1948, it provided shelter for the first refugees from Palestine. The camp was established in 1949 on an area of 0.69 square kilometers with refugees originally from the northern part of Palestine.

Before the conflict in Syria, the camp was home to more than 20,000 Palestine refugees. In 2012, the farms and fields surrounding the camp became active battlegrounds in which heavy weapons were deployed, often indiscriminately. The population more than halved to 9,000.

Some of the camp's buildings and infrastructure were severely affected including some UNRWA installations; two UNRWA schools and the community centre were almost razed to the ground. In 2016, UNRWA was able to re-access Khan Esheih and the Agency was able to rehabilitate some of its installations. Residents have also slowly started to return, with the camp now accommodating 12,000 people.

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