Displaced again: Palestinian refugees from Syria struggle to survive in Gaza
Omar Odeh helped establish a follow up committee dealing with the affairs of Palestinian refugees from Syria who fled to Gaza
Amjad Yaghi writes in +972:
In mid-2012, Egyptian police arrested Omar Odeh for violating the conditions of his residence permit and overstaying his visa. After realizing he was a Palestinian refugee from Syria, they deported him to Gaza. Today he is one of hundreds of Palestinian refugees from Syria who fled the civil war there only to find hardly-endurable living conditions in the strip.
Odeh, 63, is originally from the destroyed Palestinian village of Majdal, near present-day Ashkelon. Today he lives in Biet Lahia, a town in northern Gaza, with his family of six, who joined him after his deportation. Alongside a group of Palestinian refugees from Syria, he helped established the Follow-Up Committee for Palestinians from Syria in Gaza, which works with governmental and non-governmental organizations, the Palestinian Liberation Organization, and international groups to secure a dignified life for them in Gaza.
When Palestinian refugees from Syria began returning to Palestine, the Palestinian leaderships in the West Bank and Gaza promised to help them in their resettlement process. The Palestinian Authority and Hamas, however, have yet to deliver on their promises, said Odeh.
According to him, Hamas promised the refugees from Syria financial aid to help them secure shelter and jobs. But with surging unemployment and high rents, many are struggling to climb out of poverty.
Palestinian refugees in Syria knew that Gaza was under blockade by the Israeli army and that living conditions were challenging. They resettled in Gaza thinking they would be better integrated into Palestinian society than elsewhere.
“No one looks at us as refugees from Palestine,” said Odeh. “When we were in Syria, we worked in economics, sports and art, we were part of building Syria. Now, in Gaza, we are strangers. We can’t live a dignified life and we don’t feel we are in our home. All the Palestinian refugees from Syria are trying to leave Gaza and I am one of them, but they can’t.”