Shatila refugee camp

Shatila in 2019
Shatila in 2003

The Shatila refugee camp (Arabic: مخيم شاتيلا), also known as the Chatila refugee camp, is a settlement 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 refugee camp has received a large number of Syrian refugees. In 2014, the camp's population was estimated to be between 10,000 and 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 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

Life in Shatila, a film from 2009

The camp comprises approximately one square kilometer and thus has an exceptionally high population density.[3]

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.[4]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c "Lebanon - Camp Profiles - Shatila". UNRWA. Archived from the original on 1 August 2016. Retrieved 1 January 2014.
  2. ^ a b "Syrian refugees fear permanent exile in Lebanon's camps". BBC News. 3 April 2014. Archived from the original on 24 May 2023. Retrieved 28 September 2023.
  3. ^ "News and media". ifrc.org. Archived from the original on 26 August 2006. Retrieved 23 August 2006.
  4. ^ "Association Najdeh". association-najdeh.org. Archived from the original on 15 April 2016. Retrieved 28 September 2023.
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