Day 4 of the Delegation: USPCN in Balata and New Askar Refugee Camps

Day 4 of the Delegation: USPCN in Balata and New Askar Refugee Camps

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Today, we visited the Palestinians of Balata and Askar refugee camps in and near Nablus, and toured the site of Jacob’s Well.

Local activist Nasser was our guide in Balata, where over 30,000 refugees live in difficult, cramped quarters. Most of them are originally from Yaffa. Nasser focused on two issues: the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA, which was established after the Nakba to provide services exclusively to Palestinian refugees) and the Right of Return.

The Balata camp residents’ general perspective is that UNRWA is almost like a second occupying force. It does not provide the mandated services that it should, and restricts education about Palestine in its schools. Residents also believe that UNRWA assists in the criminalization of community organizing in the camp, mostly by making public its criticism of resistance. In addition, there is no hospital in Balata, only a clinic without sufficient medical supplies. According to the leaders of the camp, UNRWA wastes money and resources, and is a political barrier to the Palestinians there fighting for liberation and the Right of Return.

Another fierce criticism offered by camp residents is that the Palestinian Authority has neglected its responsibilities to the people of Balata. PA security forces, working directly with the Israelis under the policy of “security coordination,” often attempt to enter the camp and arrest members of the resistance, but are confronted directly by the people there. Residents have left their jobs with the PA because of this, one stating, “My honor is more important than a paycheck.”

Balata lost over 120 martyrs in the Second Intifada, and a number of its young men are serving life sentences as political prisoners in Israeli jails.

Across the street from Balata is Jacob’s Well, a Christian holy site that has regularly been targeted by ultra-right Israeli settlers who believe that the land belongs to Israel because, according to them, the biblical Jacob erected an altar at the site. In 1979, one of these settlers stormed the area housing the well and hatcheted to death its custodian, Archimandrite Philoumenos. This is one of many examples of the fact that all Palestinians are victims of the same state-sponsored attacks, regardless of religion.

We ended our day with a visit to the New Askar refugee camp, which was built in the early 1960s, but only began receiving services from UNRWA in 2007. Similar to Balata, most of the residents were exiled from Yaffa.

Ahmad, the director of the camp’s social development center, explained that the center focuses on needs assessments and community development. New Askar organizes comprehensive youth programming, has developed a debka troupe that is instructed by a young person who grew up in the center, and offers unique services for the disabled and others with special needs. New Askar, like Balata, also has a proud history of resistance, losing many martyrs and seeing thousands of political prisoners jailed by the Israelis over the years.

Balata and New Askar have much in common. The people of both camps are adamant in saying that PA “security coordination” with the Israelis must end immediately, and that only the Right of Return and self-determination will bring liberation, peace, and justice to Palestinians in the refugee camps and the rest of our nation.

Until Liberation & Return

USPCN
June 5, 2018