Syria’s Palestinian Refugees: An Account of Violence, Precarious Existence and Uncertain Futures

Syria’s Palestinian Refugees: An Account of Violence, Precarious Existence and Uncertain Futures

This report’s main contribution is the extended quotes from a married couple of Palestinian refugees from Syria interviewed by the Palestinian Return Centre in November 2017.

The excerpts from the interviews provide a firsthand account of events from early 2011 to the end of 2017.

The family recalled the initial displacement that took place due to Syrian government airstrikes destroying their home. Mohammad Alaidy and his wife Um Rawand used to live together in Yarmouk until 2012 when they split seeking refuge from the ongoing Syrian conflict.

The account of violence and precarious living conditions experienced by the couple is accompanied by contextual information that helps explicate the trajectory of their current situation and their (uncertain) expectations for the future.

This short report is based on two extended interviews conducted with members of the same Palestinian family (husband and wife), who fled Syria for Germany and Jordan.

The Palestinian Return Centre (PRC) conducted one face-to-face interview with Um Rawand in Jordan. Meanwhile Mohammad was interviewed (through Skype) from his current residence in Germany. There have been follow up telephone interviews with the participants to clarify the information they provided and for updates.

This report has benefited from discussions held with Human Rights Watch (HRW), Danish Refugee Council and staff at the United Nations Refugee Works Agency (UNRWA) headquarters (HQ) in Amman, Jordan. We also consulted with Asylum Aid UK and the Cologne Refugee Clinic, in order to gain a better understanding of Palestinians’ legal rights in Europe.

The report is also the product of research conducted by accessing publically available information online. The secondary sources included consist of academic articles and books, newspaper articles, and a range of literature published by local/international NGOs and UN agencies.

 

Research: Pietro Stefanini and Maya Hammad

Editors: Tarek Hamoud and Sameh Habeeb

 

  • Paperback: 20 pages
  • Publisher: The Palestinian Return Centre (2018)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN: 978 1 901924 12 1
  • Price: £ 10.00 (+p&p outside UK)
  • Dimensions: 18 x 26 cm
  • Short Link : http://bit.ly/2C984sV