How have the events of the past 50 years, since the establishment of the first Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon, affected endemic inter-communal violence? This paper from ‘Environment and Urbanization’ describes the exclusionist policies of the Lebanese state and the resulting tensions that have undermined peace processes following the Lebanese civil war. A case study of Chatila camp indicates that social reconciliation can only take place when the rights of marginalised communities are restored and when their members become equal participants in economic and political processes.
The political pressure and discrimination inflicted on the Palestinian refugees in Lebanon has had significant impacts on everyday life. The exclusion of Palestinians from the Lebanese political system and economic sector has led to unemployment and high density, which are the roots of social problems in all the camps.
Official and popular political discourse in Lebanon holds that the empowerment of the Palestinian refugees, or the granting of their civil rights, will lead to a much-feared assimilation into the fragile Lebanese political system and a disruption of the political order. The solution, as perceived by the state, depends on the declaration of an independent state of Palestine that will put an end to the ‘refugee problem’. However, with the freezing of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, the need to address the question of the camps becomes ever more pressing.
The cultural, moral and economic conflict between the different communities living in Chatila camp, near Beirut, creates a context within which violent incidents can erupt with speed and lethal force. Findings include the following:
- The influx of Syrian workers to the camp has caused tension with Palestinian families, who see them as a threat to young Palestinian women.
- Blaming the Syrians for gender-based violence creates a sense of solidarity against the ‘invading outsider’, but also diverts attention from equally serious cases of domestic abuse taking place in Palestinian refugee homes.
- The high unemployment rates for Palestinians relate to their exclusion not only from the unregulated informal sectors, such as construction and trade, but also from the illegal sectors.
- With the influx of additional refugees fleeing the 1967 war, the housing problem in Chatila became more acute and generated serious conflict between families.
The social reconciliation that follows the end of civil wars usually involves the participation of all parties in a systematic and inclusive process. However, the situation in post-war Lebanon, as exemplified in Chatila, is characterised by a continued disregard of rights and the creation of new grievances:
- Chatila, a place initially intended for Palestinian refugees, is now home to the Palestinians’ previous war enemies, with both groups competing for scarce resources in housing and employment and with past conflicts unresolved.
- Chatila has also become the refuge of illegal migrant workers, a situation that plants the seeds for future conflict.
- Almost 60 years after they first settled, the Palestinian refugees still have the status of temporary and practically illegitimate residents.
- Not only does the post-war Lebanese state engage in the systematic exclusion of marginal communities, it takes no measures to prevent future strife between Palestinians and non-Palestinians.
