Shatila refugee camp

Coordinates: 33°51′46.26″N 35°29′54.17″E / 33.8628500°N 35.4983806°E / 33.8628500; 35.4983806

Life in Shatila
Shatila, 2003

The Shatila refugee camp (Arabic: مخيم شاتيلا‎‎), also known as the Chatila refugee camp, is a refugee camp, originally set-up for Palestinian refugees in 1949. It is located in southern Beirut, Lebanon and houses more than 9,842 registered Palestine refugees.[1] Since the eruption of the Syrian Civil War, the camp has swollen with Syrian refugees. As of 2014, the camp's population is estimated to be from 10,000 to 22,000.[2]

History

Establishment

Shatila was set up by the International Committee of the Red Cross to accommodate hundreds of refugees who came there after 1948.[1] They were from villages around the area of Amka, Majd al-Krum and Yajur in northern Palestine.[1]

During Lebanese Civil War

The Sabra and Shatila massacre was the slaughter of between 762 and 3,500 civilians, mostly Palestinians and Lebanese Shiites, by the Kataeb militia in the Sabra neighborhood and Shatila from approximately 6:00 pm 16 September to 8:00 am 18 September 1982.[3]

During Syrian Civil War

School in the camp

Since the eruption of the Syrian Civil War in 2011, Lebanon's population has swelled by more than 1 million Syrian refugees. The camp has also swollen with Syrian refugees, receiving mostly the poor Syrians. As of 2014, the camp's population is estimated to be from 10,000 to 22,000.[2]

Management

The camp comprises approximately one square kilometer and thus has an exceptionally high population density.[4]

UNRWA operates one health center and two primary schools within the camp. Non-governmental organizations active in the camp include Al-Najda, Beit Atfal Al-Soumoud, Norwegian Peoples' Aid, Doctors Without Borders, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society and the Association Najdeh.[5]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Lebanon - Camp Profiles - Shatila". UNRWA. Retrieved 1 January 2014.
  2. 1 2 "Syrian refugees fear permanent exile in Lebanon's camps". BBC News.
  3. ↑ Malone, Linda A. (1985). "The Kahan Report, Ariel Sharon and the SabraShatilla Massacres in Lebanon: Responsibility Under International Law for Massacres of Civilian Populations". Utah Law Review: 373–433. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
  4. ↑ "News and media". ifrc.org.
  5. ↑ "Association Najdeh". association-najdeh.org.
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