A Palestinian refugee was pronounced dead on Monday, October 8, as she attempted to reach a European destination through Belarus and Poland.

Raja Hasan risked her life in a life-threatening trip as she sought to illegally enter a European country, fleeing war and persecution

A Palestinian refugee who accompanied Raja on the migration route told AGPS that the woman, aged 40, suffered a health setback after she reached Belarus due to cold weather and fatigue.

Raja had been taking shelter in AlNeirab Camp for Palestinian refugees, in the northern Syrian province of Aleppo.

Belarus has become a transit point for millions of migrants and asylum seekers fleeing conflict zones, political persecution, and financial deprivation.

Recently, scores of Palestinian refugee families have made their way from their camps and shelters to Turkey, Iraq, and Egypt. Dozens of Palestinian refugee families fled Syria to Lebanon while scores of others crossed to Turkey from Idlib in a trip costing up to 1,500 USD per a single person.

Many of those who headed to Erbil fled to Turkey through the Iraqi or Iranian borderlands. Several youths have fled conscription in the war-torn country.

Poverty rates have reached a zenith in Palestinian refugee camps in Syria. In its “Syria Regional Crisis Emergency Appeal 2021”, UNRWA said that protracted displacement, deteriorating socio-economic conditions aggravated by the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, dire humanitarian needs and protection concerns continue to affect the lives of Palestine refugees in Syria.

As the coronavirus pandemic has rebounded around the MENA region and the globe, many PRS lost their sources of income; refugee camps have seen unprecedented levels of destruction; rental prices have dramatically gone up; undernourishment and poverty have been a daily nightmare.