SYRIAN ARAB REPUBLIC
REFUGEE CAMP PROFILES

For information on "unofficial" refugee camps in Syria, please see:

• Yarmouk
• Latakia
• Ein al-Tal

[click on each camp name on the map for a profile of the camp]
 

Most of the Palestine refugees who fled to the Syrian Arab Republic as a result of the 1948 Arab-Israeli conflict were from the northern part of Palestine, mainly from Safad and the cities of Haifa and Jaffa.

In 1967, over 100,000 people, including Palestine refugees, fled from the Golan Heights to other parts of Syria when the area was occupied by Israel. A few thousand refugees fleeing war-torn Lebanon in 1982 also took refuge in Syria.

In Syria, Palestine refugees have access to government services such as government-run schools, universities and hospitals. UNRWA's services complement those of the Syrian Government. While the Syrian Government has taken on the responsibility for providing basic utilities in the camps, UNRWA provides basic environmental health services, including sewage disposal, collection and disposal of solid waste, and control of insect and rodent infestation. However, many of the water and sewerage systems are in need of upgrading, while some camps still lack networks altogether. Poor sanitation in the camps poses health risks for the refugees. In most of the refugee camps shelters remain very basic, and many require structural rehabilitation.

UNRWA-run schools provide basic elementary and preparatory education and follow the national curriculum of the Syrian Ministry of Education. UNRWA also runs a vocational training centre in Damascus, which prepares young refugees for employment by equipping them with marketable skills. More than 11,563 trainees (at both the post-preparatory and post-secondary levels) have graduated from the centre since its opening in 1961.

In the area of health, UNRWA provides preventive and curative services through a network primary health centres.

UNRWA sponsors women's programme centres and community rehabilitation centres, and supports refugees in special hardship with additional assistance.

UNRWA cooperates with the General Administration for Palestine Arab Refugees (GAPAR), a department of the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, which was established in 1950.

FACTS AND FIGURES

• Number of schools: 118
• Student enrolment: 64,169
• Number of primary health care facilities: 23
• Annual medical and dental patient visits (1 July 2005 – 30 June 2006): 1,025,060
• Refugees registered with UNRWA’s “special hardship” programme: 31,898
• Number of community rehabilitation centres: 6
• Number of women’s programme centres: 15
• Number of vocational and technical training centres: 1
• Vocational and technical training places: 964
• Number of microfinance and microenterprise loans awarded: 5,513
• Cumulative value of loans awarded: $ 3.3 million