A perspective of a Palestinian familiar with the work of UNRWA to highlight the extent to which many of the refugees have been able to achieve economic independence and self sufficiency, becoming success stories thanks to their own hard work and the assisstance of this Agency

In 1948, Some of my mothers family were forced away from their  businesses in Haifa and had no option but to return to their town of origin, Nablus, in the West Bank, where they had to start all over again, though never truly recovered their losses. In 1967 again, parts of the family found themselves as refugees in Jordan and have since settled there successfully. My early memory of UNRWA refugee camps dates back to the time when we lived in Sidon, South Lebanon, where I grew up. Next to our school, there was the AIN EL HILWEH refugee camp so as children we got to see first hand how tough life can be in the camps, with over crowdedness, polluted water, camps not allowed to have concrete buildings, or sewage systems. At that time, there were also regular Israeli bombings of the camp site.  After every bombing we would go there to see how we can help; though we came away with great sadness, the strength of the people in the camp was inspiring, and despite all, the children still had a hunger for learning, and the adults for working, and getting on with life.

As you may know, the Palestinian refugees are the largest and oldest of any world wide refugee group and they generally fall into 3 main groups; those who were displaced in 1948, to allow for the creation of Israel, the second group being internally displaced, who remained on land which is now part of the state of Israel, and those displaced in 1967 from the West Bank and Gaza. Of the 10 million Palestinian refugees, 4.6 are registered for humanitarian assistance with the United Nations, however there are many who did not register, but still count as refugees. The majority of refugees don't live too far from their homeland, in the belief that they will be going home one day soon, and it has now been 60 years and counting... Half of the refugees live in Jordan, and the other majority live in the West Bank and Gaza. About 15% live in equal numbers in Syria and Lebanon. Of the 4.6 million registered with UNRWA 33% live in UNRWA'S 59 refugee camps throughout these areas.

Though initially UNRWA began as a relief program for the Palestinian refugees, it has become a lifeline for the millions registered whose needs in terms of education, health and social services has got to be met.  As refugees, having lost their homes, their land and their livelihood, the Palestinians came to the conclusion that the only thing that cannot be taken away from them is the power of their feelings and their capacity for education and knowledge. There was always a strong tradition of education in Palestine, and it was important that this continues. The Palestinians soon realized that education was a key factor in maintaining their power, dignity and presence in the world. As result, the Palestinians have become the most highly educated group in the Arab world, and it is that which has allowed them to carve a life and a future for themselves wherever they may be. Despite all the hardships that the Palestinian communities encounter, education is still the most highly valued asset for those in exile. It is seen as an opportunity to a better future and a way of reaffirming Palestinian identity. An UNRWA study showed that 76% of adolescents questioned, aspired to higher education but had no access to it in their host countries and could not pursue it for lack of financial means.

It is in the role of educator that UNRWA has managed to make a huge difference to the refugees: Education is UNRAWS largest area of activity and nearly 50% of its budget is spent there. The UNRWA schools follow local government school curriculum so that the students can have same access to educational and employment opportunities. UNRWA provides education to half a million children across the Middle East.  Many students complete the 9 year program and go on to higher education. By linking with other NGOs and foreign governments, UNRWA has been able to award thousands of scholarships in different universities and in 44 different fields of study; this has enabled the graduating students to become successful and to hold key positions in Arab Society. Many  of the Palestinians who went to the Gulf countries as young engineers, doctors and teachers in the 50's and 60's,  had passed through the UNRWA school system, and managed to become highly successful in those countries. Others also were able to meet success in countries that hosted the refugee camps, such as Ali Mustafa in Syria, having studied at the UNRWA schools in Yarmouk camp in Damascus, has gone on to become the Director General  of the General Authority for Palestinian Arab Refugees. Several others have also become renowned lawyers and doctors.

One realizes the importance of the UNRWA schools when you see some of the impoverished refugee children who have dropped out of schools in countries like Lebanon so that they can help their families. Unfortunately, there are 70 kinds of jobs the refugees are not allowed to hold, which restricts them to basically manual labor sort of jobs. Many of the children that drop out of school eventually turn to drugs or crime, or join a politico-religious group to earn some money. there is always a fear that without education these desperate young people may create more conflict in society. Increasingly, UNRWA  is giving more hope to young people, not just through education but through its vocational training that equips them with skills and expertise that will allow them to be a major part of the Middle East labor markets. The active involvement of graduates in the economic life of the Middle East has contributed to social stability and many graduates have made major contributions to economic and social development in Arab countries. UNRAW’s success stories are not just restricted to the Middle East. One of my mothers cousins had initially joined UNRWA as an 18 year old to help out in the refugee camps, but they soon gave her a scholarship in education, so that she can come back and teach in the refugee camps, of which she did. Eventually, she went on to graduate from Columbia University and held a high office the United Nations for many years until her recent retirement.

Despite the political differences and the geographical spread all over the world, the Palestinian community in the Diaspora has managed to keep a strong sense of identity and belonging to their homeland. the young generation seems to be carrying on the struggle with effective means: whether lobbying or demonstrating in the west , or through technology and media, they have been able to give a voice to their cause and an awareness to their plight.

Since UNRWA was founded, many Palestinian charities have been created and sometimes they are able to co-operate on joint programs with UNRWA; one of the biggest institutions is the Welfare Association, of which I'm a member of, and it was started by a group of Palestinian businessmen of whom several had attended UNRWA schools as young people and went on to become successful businessmen and women, while incessantly working towards furthering the progress of Palestinians, preserving their heritage and identity, and supporting their living culture and civil society.

Whether we live in refugee camps or mansions, we still dream of going back to our homeland and all we are demanding is a basic right which is stated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Though we are grateful for UNRWAS work, we hope that one day it will not be so needed, and the concept of refugee camps will cease to exist. There has got to be an acceptable solution to both Palestinians and Israelis, a solution that deals with justice and respect of refugee’s human rights. The world will be a better place for realizing this, and we, the Palestinians are determined to make our dream a reality.