Trying to Eradicate All Palestinians from the Region
TEHRAN (FNA)- The suffering of Palestinian nation under the Israeli occupation continues to be one of the main concerns of human rights activists and conscientious citizens worldwide.
An American citizen who has traveled to the Palestinian refugee camps in the Middle East tells Fars News Agency that the humanitarian aid being allocated to the Palestinian refugees, especially in Lebanon and Jordan, is insignificant and they’re living under dire, excruciating conditions.
Lousia Lamb has studied the situation of Palestinian refugees who have been displaced from their homeland since 1948 and living as refugees across the Middle East. Figures indicate that there are currently more than 5 million Palestinians living outside their communities as refugees.
“66 years is too long for a group of people to be living as refugees, and Palestinians need a home to call their own where they can have basic human rights and live with dignity.” she said, “I believe one action the United Nations, and the global community, should take to hold the Israeli government accountable would be to enact boycott, divestment, and sanctions.”
“Despite the brutal ethnic cleansing that started on May 15, 1948, including seizing historic Palestinian towns and renaming them, continuous bulldozing of homes, destruction of schools and hospitals and airstrike attacks in Palestinian territories since 2008 until last summer in Gaza, the Israelis are relentless in their efforts to eradicate all Palestinians from the region, so Israel will no longer feel threatened by the right to return,” Lamb told Fars News Agency.
Lamb, who holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology from the Salisbury University in Maryland, writes articles on online journals about the conflicts of the Middle East including in Syria, Lebanon and Palestine.
Of her feeling towards the US support for Israel in its continued occupation of Palestine, she says, “I am ashamed as an American to think of my government’s motives and priorities, but I hope my generation will persist and prevail in the future to reshape our foreign policies and ensure our involvement with other nations is for the overall good of humankind.”
Ms. Lousia Lamb shared her experiences in the Palestinian refugee camps and her viewpoints about the prospects of the life of Palestinians, including the people of beleaguered Gaza Strip, in an interview with FNA.
Q: It’s been on the reports that the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) has significantly cut its financial aid to the Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and elsewhere. This is while UNRWA’s contributions have been the major source of funding for the helpless Palestinian refugees living outside their homeland for decades. Why do you think there have been such big reductions? Is it that the United Nations is becoming indifferent towards the problems of the Palestinians?
A: According to UNRWA, aid to Palestinian refugees is contingent on support from international sources. Based on data from 2014, listing the top 20 government donors, the United States contributed the most, with $408,751,396. The European Commission followed the US with a donation of $139,402,221. Many other European countries were on the list, as well as Saudi Arabia, Australia, Japan, Kuwait, Turkey, and Palestine. There are many reasons for the reductions in funding, but I speculate that the increase of refugees in UNRWA camps fleeing from Syria is a factor. There is still no long-term solution, and UNRWA was created as a temporary relief for Palestinians after the Nakba. 66 years later, Palestinians are still living in terrible conditions, and no improvements for stability have been made for these refugees who are reliant on UNRWA. I don’t think the UN has become indifferent, but I don’t doubt they have been pressured to place less concern on the Palestinians in lieu of persisting, opposing forces against Palestinians and the right to return.
Q: The Israelis still refuse to recognize the Palestinian refugees’ right of return. They say if the Palestinians expelled from their homeland in 1948 return to the communities from which they were displaced, the security of Israel will be threatened. This is while the right of return is clearly recognized and protected under the international law. How should the UN or other responsible bodies take action to help more than 5 million Palestinian refugees living under dire conditions across the Middle East and pave the way for them to return to their homeland?
A: It is clear that Israel is unwilling to compromise. Despite the brutal ethnic cleansing that started on May 15, 1948 – including seizing historic Palestinian towns and renaming them, continuous bulldozing of homes, destruction of schools and hospitals and airstrike attacks in Palestinian territories since 2008 until last summer in Gaza – the Israelis are relentless in their efforts to eradicate all Palestinians from the region, so Israel will no longer feel threatened by the right to return. I would suggest the UN persist to push for a two-state solution and restore some Palestinian territories, while encouraging the international community to continue their support, reminding that the right to return is under international law and what Israel is doing is illegal, not to mention inhumane. 66 years is too long for a group of people to be living as refugees, and Palestinians need a home to call their own where they can have basic human rights and live with dignity. I believe one action the United Nations, and the global community should take to hold the Israeli government accountable would be to enact boycott, divestment, and sanctions. Like the measures taken against apartheid South Africa, Israel should also be compliant with international humanitarian norms. As South African Bishop Desmond Tutu has frequently observed, Israel treats the Palestinians in their country Palestine as badly, if not worse, that the Afrikaners treated blacks in South Africa.
Q: It’s sometimes claimed that the Palestinians left their country after the 1948 Nakba voluntarily and at the behest of the Arab leaders of the region. This claim has turned to be untrue as Israel continues forbidding the Palestinian immigrants and refugees from returning to their homeland, and has further taken up a plan of ethnic cleansing in the Occupied Territories as well as the Judaization of Al-Quds, known as the “yehud yerushalaim”. What’s your perspective on that?
A: If by “voluntarily” you mean their homes were being destroyed by Zionist forces and they wanted to avoid being slaughtered, and their only option was to leave Palestine and flee to surrounding countries, I would agree some left “voluntarily”. I disagree with this term, however, because if they left voluntarily, shouldn’t they be able to return, voluntarily? I think this is a weak defense for the Zionist imperialism in attempts to justify the crimes against humanity they’ve bestowed on Palestinians. It’s also a sectarian conflict, as the Israelis want to preserve their Jewish state and have it flourish, which would be difficult if Palestinians remained in their homeland and lived in equality with the Israelis.
Q: I know that you’ve traveled to Lebanon and visited the camps of Palestinian refugees several times. How are their living conditions? Do they have regular access to foodstuff, medicine, water and sanitation? What about the children who are born in such camps? Are there medical equipments available for taking care of the infants and the newborn? What about education for the young children and adolescents?
A: I first came to Lebanon when I was twenty-years old and was horrified by the living conditions. Of the five camps I’ve visited, I am most familiar with Shatilla camp in Beirut. Upon first arriving, I immediately noticed the uneven structure of the buildings, and filthy, narrow, unpaved streets scattered with trash and dirty puddles. There is trash everywhere, including places in the camp which serve as a dump and heaps of trash are piled high. I’ve seen hungry children digging through these piles of trash in search of leftover food before. Shatilla, like all the other camps, especially since the influx of Syrian refugees since 2011, was too crowded, and most homes were single rooms with a tucked away kitchen and bathroom and many mattresses on the floor. The nicer homes had two rooms, but three rooms maximum. These houses would often have several families living there. Most families are able to get food and water through UNRWA aid, since most Palestinians cannot have jobs and earn a wage. As for children being born in camps, Medecin san Frontiers has a site in Shatilla which takes care of women who are pregnant and giving birth. What saddened me the most when I first visited Shatilla in 2012 was the abundance of children I saw in these camps. They would run in the streets playing, finding ways to entertain themselves, but I wondered if they were aware of their future and what their life would be like as refugees, and whether or not they realized that children are in the world who are not forced to endure living in such conditions. Throughout the camps there are programs for children and adolescents besides UN schools. In Shatilla, one of the best places is the Children and Youth Center of Shatilla. The director, Abu Moujahed, showed me the center and described the educational and recreational activities which are done for the children.
There is also the IRC (International Rescue Committee) which provides hygiene essentials, some funding for food, and has established centers for women and children. These are only a few examples, but yes, there are programs to provide assistance to refugees in Lebanon, although the resources are very basic.
Q: In an October 2012 piece, you wrote about visiting a Palestinian grandmother living in a refugee camp in Saida, Lebanon, who passed away three days after you met her. In your concluding paragraph, you referred to yourself as “a privileged American student” who can hardly comprehend the depth of Fatima Hajj’s misery and the hardships she has been going through. There are so many “privileged” American statesmen and politicians who observe the plight of the Palestinian nation, including the refugees. Why don’t take action to alleviate their pains?
A: I constantly ask myself this question as well. When I try to understand it, I analyze possible reasons for their lack of concern regarding humanitarian issues. It’s well-known to the world that the US and Israel are allies. It’s well-known that Israel has a great influence on our contemporary American government. Many Americans, like myself, do not support our government funding and supplying weapons to Israel. I would like to ask the leaders of my government why they aren’t doing more to help the Palestinians and try to encourage a compromise of sorts, but I’m certain they would tell me it’s a conflict of interests and there’s nothing they can do. I think it’s an international responsibility to participate in humanitarian efforts, and I cannot conceptualize why my government is funding violence instead of helping rebuild Palestinian communities. I am ashamed as an American to think of my government’s motives and priorities, but I hope my generation will persist and prevail in the future to reshape our foreign policies and ensure our involvement with other nations is for the overall good of humankind.
Q: You’ve researched the psychological difficulties and trauma befalling the Palestinian children following each Israeli offensive into the Gaza Strip. I read that schoolchildren in the Gaza Strip reported a sharp decline in their educational performance following the Operation Pillar of Defense in November 2012. What’s your analysis of the impacts of Israel’s constant military aggressions into the Gaza Strip on the mental health of the children in the affected areas? Who’s really responsible for protecting them?
A: Children are impressionable with malleable minds. They’re sensitive and susceptible to their surroundings, and environment, despite your view on the nature-nurture debate, does determine how a child will develop into an adult. War is traumatic. That is not a subject up for discussion; even in the US, the rates of PTSD and suicide of veterans has drastically increased since the Iraq [and] Afghanistan war[s]. These children have spent their entire existence living in fear, witnessing bombs go off, having to move constantly because their neighborhood is unsafe or has just been bombed. These children have witnessed parents, siblings, neighbors and friends being blown up. These children have been deprived of adequate food and water, and education – which are also crucial to child development. These children aren’t performing well in school because they cannot focus. I cannot diagnose these children, but I can confidently predict the majority suffer from PTSD, anxiety, and depression. Low socio-economic status is a factor in mental illness, but pair that with continuous and inescapable war, these children are going to have very difficult lives even if they live to have a stable adulthood. It is essential for these children to be removed from such violent territories and it’s crucial that they receive psychological treatment. Unfortunately, there are not many programs which address mental health, and the ones that do are overwhelmed with patients and underfunded. In these conditions, these children will not be protected until they are out of the region where they are in a perpetual state of fear, anticipating war.
I think it’s a responsibility of the international community, since Israel is relentless in their attacks against children and Palestinians, even Israeli opposition groups, cannot defend themselves. I encourage humanitarian organizations which focus on mental health to provide services for these children, since there is insufficient treatment for these psychological crimes which will haunt these children until the day they die.
Q: There’s been an extensive blockade over the densely-populated Gaza Strip since June 2007, and as confirmed by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, its 2 million inhabitants are coping with grave living conditions. Do you see any chances that the siege will be lifted so that the situation could be normalized? Unemployment and poverty are on the rise in the coastal enclave. How do you see the status quo in the Gaza Strip and its future?
A: I remain optimistic, but currently, the future seems bleak. I hope, however, that if actions are taken in solidarity by the international community on behalf of Palestinian rights, we can collectively ease the suffering of Palestinians by allowing them to have their own businesses and trade. Providing aid is not enough, and more has to be done to rebuild the Palestinian community so they can support themselves instead of relying on aid.
In order for this to happen, Palestinian territories need international support and Israel needs to stop interfering with Palestinian territories. The future of Gaza will be determined by the efforts of those who care about Palestinians and will advocate for their rights, but Israel plays a role as well, and their compliance or aggression contributes a great deal to the future of Gazans, and Palestinians in general.
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