SBEINEH REFUGEE CAMP

Sbeineh camp is situated beside Sbeineh town, 14 kilometres south of Damascus. The camp was established in 1948 on an area of 27,000 square metres in what has become a busy industrial area. It also accommodates Palestine refugees who were displaced as a result of the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.

The majority of refugees work in Sbeineh's factories and industrial plants. Although they are themselves landless, others keep the agricultural heritage of their forebears alive, working as day labourers or seasonal haversters of crops on Syrian-owned farms. Women often work as housemaids in Damascus to supplement family income.

As in other camps, water and sanitation management remains one of the biggest problems. The sewerage system needs to be expanded and upgraded to cope with the increasing camp population. The camp lacks a proper piped water network and refugees have relied on local wells as their main water source. Wells have been drying up due to the semi-drought conditions in recent years and the refugees have had to buy water, usually of poor quality, from other sources. In addition, most of the schools are in a dilapidated state.

In 1997, UNRWA was able to upgrade the health centre with funds from Canada, and to build a women's programme centre with a contribution from the Government of Australia. The Agency needs to expand the centre to include an additional hall, library, kitchen and bathroom in response to a growing interest from the refugees. In 1998, the Agency constructed a dental unit and a laboratory with contributions from Germany.

FACTS AND FIGURES

• On 30 June 2002, there were 19,624 registered refugees.
• UNRWA runs six schools in the camp: four elementary (ages 6-12) - two for boys (1310 pupils) and two for girls (1295 pupils); and two preparatory (ages 13-15) - one for boys (454 pupils) and one for girls (476 pupils).
• Between January-June 2002 there were 27,816 patient consultations at the UNRWA health centre.
• 350 families (or 1,211 refugees) are registered as special hardship cases (SHCs).
• Over the past four years, UNRWA assisted ten of the poorest refugee families with the rehabilitation of their shelters.

Figures as of 30 June 2002