Saturday, April 25, 2015

UNRWA Kvetches About Lack of Funds to Rebuild "Refugee" Camp--In Gaza

The complaint:
JERUSALEM, April 23, 2015 (WAFA) – UNRWA Thursday highlighted its recently-commenced $40-million camp improvement pilot project aimed at improving ‘the quality of life for Palestinian refugees in Deir El Balah camp.  
“We recognize these are very tough days for all Palestine refugees, which is why projects such as this one offer a glimmer of hope and a chance to look to the future,” commented Director of UNRWA Operations in Gaza Robert Turner on the vitality of the project for the refugees. 
“As with all of Gaza, we don’t yet know the details of what that future looks like in Deir El Balah. But we do know that standards of living and socioeconomic development cannot be separated from the living conditions of Palestine refugees – the quality of a camp’s physical environment has a direct bearing on the quality of everyday life,” he added. 
Commenting on the lack of progress on Gaza reconstruction, the UN agency said that almost eight months after the announcement of the ceasefire, not a single totally destroyed home has been rebuilt in Gaza.  
It affirmed that it didn’t receive any additional funds and had no resources available to issue additional repair payments in this reporting week. ...
Sorry to have to break in with some sanity, but why is there a "refugee camp" in an area wholly controlled by Palestinians? Shouldn't these "refugees" be residents and/or citizens?

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