JARAMANA REFUGEE CAMP

Jaramana camp is situated 8 kilometres from Damascus on the road to Damascus International Airport. The camp was established in 1948 on an area of 30,000 square metres for Palestine refugees from 1948. After 1967, other refugees, who were displaced for the second time in their lives as a result of the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, moved into the camp.

Major new roads have been constructed in recent years. These cut through the camp and the oncoming traffic is a hazard for camp residents.

Many of the refugees are street sellers, while others work in nearby industrial plants. Some inhabitants find work in the informal sector through collecting garbage for recycling. The majority of women are domestic workers in Damascus to supplement family income.

In 1992, UNRWA was able to construct a women's programme centre with a contribution from the Government of Finland. The centre is actively involved in providing community outreach activities, including pre-school education and the rehabilitation of children with disabilities.

Due to road construction, the installation of a new sewerage network, and urban development projects in 1985 and 1986, 311 refugee families were moved by the Syrian Government from Jaramana camp and relocated to the nearby al-Husseinieh. An additional 411 refugee families have been relocated from the camp to a new Government housing project at al-Husseineh. Initially, many of the refugees had no choice but to move into unfinished apartment buildings. The refugees were expected to make a down-payment on their apartments, with payment spread over 15 years, and were threatened with eviction if they refused to pay. Few of the refugees could afford such payments, which in many cases exceeded their monthly income. UNRWA used to deliver potable water by tanker several times a day until the new housing project acquired its own municipal water supply in mid-June 1996. The Government is gradually moving people out of Jaramana to al-Husseinieh, to make way for city development. The housing project in al-Husseinieh has also attracted a population overflow from Khan Dannoun and other poor areas, both Palestinians and Syrians. The expanding population has created further demands on UNRWA services, which the Agency due to budget constraints, is ill-equipped to meet.

UNRWA is providing support for these families as best as possible and their situation is still under discussion with the Syrian Authorities.

UNRWA’s main priority in al-Husseinieh is to establish additional health facilities and to build a new school to accommodate the growing school-age population.

FACTS AND FIGURES

• On 30 June 2002, there were 4,917 registered refugees in Jaramana (official camp) and 16,848 registered refugees in Jaramana (un-official camp).
• UNRWA runs seven schools: five elementary (ages 6-12) - two for boys (1212 pupils) and three for girls (1160 pupils); and two preparatory (ages 13-15) - one for boys (481 pupils) and one for girls (414 pupils).
• Between January-June 2002, there were 31322 patient consultations at the UNRWA health centre.
• 79 families (or 282 refugees) are registered as special hardship cases (SHCs) and 534 families (1,847 regugees) un official camp.
• Over the past four years, UNRWA has assisted ten of the poorest refugee families with the rehabilitation of their shelters.

Figures as of 30 June 2002