EL-BUSS REFUGEE CAMP

Buss camp is only 1.5 km south of the city of Tyre. The camp was originally built by the French Government in 1939 to accommodate refugees from Armenia. In 1948 Palestine refugees from the Acre area in the Galilee arrived.

Due to its location and small size the camp was spared much of the violence experienced by other camps during the years of civil conflict.

The camp’s inhabitants live in concrete block shelters, some of which were built by the refugees themselves. The Agency has not been able to assist in shelter rehabilitation due to a ban on entry of building material imposed by the Lebanese Government since 1998.

The refugees mainly find daily-paid seasonal work in agriculture and construction.

All shelters are supplied with water and electricity and have private toilets but only 60 percent are connected to the unfinished sewerage system. The rest use percolating pits.

FACTS AND FIGURES

• There are 10, 107 registered Palestine refugees;
• 292 families of 1265 persons are registered as S.H.Cs.
• One UNRWA health centre with an average of 305 patients per day;
• Four UNRWA elementary/preparatory schools for 1,950 enrolled pupils in 2003/2004;
• One community managed women's programme centre that runs skill-training courses, organizes awareness raising sessions on health, social, legal, human rights and gender issues and coordinates with local NGOs to respond to community needs.
• Mainstreaming for visually impaired students programme.
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A number of NGOs are active in El-Buss, including Al-Najda, Beit Atfal Al-Soumoud, Naba’, Tyre Public Hospital, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, Nabil Badran Association for the Disabled, Community Rehabilitation Development Centre for Disabled Children. The services they provide include medical assistance and hospitalization, kindergartens, training centres, rehabilitation centres for refugees with disabilities and cultural clubs.

The Disability Programme carried out needs assessment for the local KGs in coordination with the Community Rehabilitation Development Centre for Disabled Children and Nabil Badran Association for the Disabled to identify children with special needs enrolled in the KGs for further necessary intervention. The inhabitants of the camp have access to the RSSD loan and soft loan schemes.