FiMED – Follow-ups

The Independent Palestinian Movement organised on Thursday a sit-in outside the office of the director of Ain al-Hilweh camp for Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, with the participation of dozens of refugees and representatives of popular committees, in protest against cutbacks by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) in the health, education, relief and social services sectors.

The participants focused on the repercussions of reduced health and hospital coverage, especially with regard to securing medicines and treatment for cancer patients and those with chronic diseases, warning of the effects of these measures on the conditions of refugees, given that broad segments of them depend on the agency's services.

The demands also included halting the measures to merge school classes and suspending support programmes, as steps that affect the level of educational and social services provided to refugees and increase the living burdens placed on them.

The participants called on UNRWA's management to freeze the cutbacks and secure the necessary funding to ensure the continuation of basic services, stressing that the protests will not be limited to Ain al-Hilweh camp and that the moves will continue in the various Palestinian camps in rejection of any decline in the agency's responsibilities towards the refugees.