Tens of thousands of Palestinian refugees from Syria to Lebanon face the bitter reality of “double asylum”, as they have been forced to flee twice: first from Palestine to Syria, and second from Syria to Lebanon to escape the war.
The child Hamza, residing in the Mar Elias camp in Beirut, faces challenges beyond his young age, and his story, presented in the program “Victims and Heroes”, broadcast on the platform “Al Jazeera 360 “, reveals the tragedy of refugee transmission across generations.
Hamza says: “Since I arrived in the alleys of this camp, I understood that for someone like me, homeland is a big and complex question. I don’t understand why I am told that I am Syrian and then Palestinian, and both. In some cases, they say it as if it were an accusation.
He adds: “I think of my grandfather who is waiting for me in Syria and from there awaiting his return to Tiberias in Palestine, and I do not know what I should do: should I precede him to Tiberias or should we come back to him? in Syria?
Hamza’s story reveals the phenomenon of “asylum legacy” in Palestinian society, where the Palestinian refugee lives in Syria and Lebanon with an asylum document and does not obtain citizenship of the country of origin. welcome even if he was born there.
Children inherit from their grandparents the date of their first asylum, and the child finds himself registered as a refugee since 1948 when he is only a few years old.
After the war in Syria, tens of thousands of Palestinians again took refuge in Lebanon and today, according to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), there are around 29 remaining. 000 who fear returning to Syria, some for security reasons. and others due to poor economic conditions in both countries.
Difficult choices
Hamza’s father tells the show: “I officially entered Lebanon in 2017 through the General Security, but renewing my residence requires large sums of money, and the cost was 350,000 Lebanese pounds every 6 month, then it increased to 1 million and 100 thousand, and now it reaches two million lira, which means that I need more than 20 million lira every 6 months to renew the residence permits of the whole family.
The President of the Association of Palestinians in Syria declares: “We are the oldest refugee people on the planet and since our arrival in Lebanon, we have felt the need for a voice to express the suffering of the Palestinians, their poverty . , and their lack of access to the minimum necessities of life.
He added: “Most refugees live in uninhabitable places, and even in the camps, the houses are unsanitary.”
These difficult conditions are reflected in the ambitions of children like Hamza, who says: “Every time I told them about my ambitions when I grew up, they told me that this was difficult and that was even more difficult, simply because I am Palestinian. . »
His father adds: “We Palestinians have no perspective for the future. I may be able to put my son through college, but his job opportunities are almost non-existent. »
Speaking about the options available, the president of the association said: “Illegal immigration has become an option for some, despite the risks it entails, it is difficult to know that your son risks drowning in the sea or finding him in the forest two days later, devoured. an animal, but desperation pushes people to take this risk.