Shadi Said’s handicap, which constitutes an additional obstacle in his way, does not deter or discourage him from the idea of immigrating. «Anything would be better than the hell of living in Lebanon,» says the young man.
Shadi graduated in 2012 from the Lebanese University in Saida, and began looking for work immediately. Neither his handicap nor being a Palestinian refugee were going to get in the way of his ambitions. But soon a series of disappointments were in store for Shadi as a result of not finding a job.
Nevertheless, he did not throw in the towel. Instead he tried to launch a modest project outside the boundaries of Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp where he lives, but the high rents for commercial spaces forced him to abandon the idea.
Shadi went on to attend a number of training sessions so as not be a prisoner of his difficult circumstances. There was no one he did not approach for help to find him an honest job so he could earn a living. In vain.
Shadi is not an isolated case. Many young Palestinian men and women in Lebanon are currently abandoning their dreams in favor of immigrating to any country that would afford them a dignified life.
According to a survey conducted by the Palestinian Association for Human Rights (Witness)(1), 70.3% of 18 to 20-year-old will immigrate if they get the chance. Feelings of anger and bitterness are palpable when talking with Palestinian youth in Lebanon. In their views, they are bearing the brunt of the unfair Lebanese laws since the first exodus in 1948, which deprived them of the majority of their civil rights.
These young people have inherited from their parents a burdensome legacy that prevents them from working in more than 72 jobs and professions, owning property in Lebanon and constructing inside the camps, in addition to restricting their movement, whether by means of the checkpoints that dot the entrances to their camps or constantly checking their identity documents, and to marginalizing them socially and economically.
The racism exercised against them in general by the host community and making them constantly feel inferior compounds their isolation and makes them shut themselves off inside their communities.
The unfair Lebanese laws, decrees and decisions directly impact young people, especially that half of the Palestinian population in Lebanon is under twenty-five. The majority of these expressed, through a sample we selected to talk to for the purpose of this article, that their number one concern was the absence of job opportunities regardless of their educational qualifications, in addition to exploitation at work, which they are often subjected to if they do find a job, such as underpaying them or depriving them of health and social security that is available to the Lebanese.
Rampant unemployment among youth and poverty, which is as high as 65% according to a study conducted by the American University in Beirut and UNRWA(2), result in an increase in social ills inside the camps. Thus, these camps transform over time from havens for Palestinian existence and identity into fertile environments for security issues and growing social ills, such as religious extremism, the proliferation of arms, drugs and domestic violence, and sexual exploitation of children, among other things.
Despite conflicting figures with relation to dropout rates among Palestinian students in UNRWA schools, this issue has also become a widespread phenomenon that raises a flag and that reflects the frustration and lack of prospects that students experience when they see those older than them unemployed or working simple jobs bearing no relation to their qualifications.
The young people all agree that the Lebanese state bears a large part of the responsibility for their worsening situation, which has become even more difficult following the Palestinian displacement from Syria to Lebanon and the resulting economic and social consequences. They, nevertheless, emphasize that the official Palestinian side, across the board, is also shirking their responsibilities towards youth, not granting them an active role in their local communities, and not involving them in the decision-making process. Instead, it sometimes exploits the capacities of youth to fuel its factional divisions.
The young people also point the finger at UNRWA especially in terms of it «failing to perform the role that it was established for», especially in light of on-going and growing cut-downs in its services.
«To be a refugee does not mean that I’m a dead corpse,» says Ruba Hamad, who sees in her refugee status a source of strength and defiance that helps her carry on despite the enormous difficulties she faces.
Despite the bleak situation, the majority of Palestinian youth does not resign and continue to try to find whatever little prospects they have for a dignified life. This was manifested recently in a number of youth initiatives in the camps and gatherings to promote youth, build their capacities and talents, enable them in several areas and create job opportunities for them.
They count on this kind of initiatives that despite their modest nature constitute an outlet for them, and they demand that civil society organizations support these initiatives and invest in the capabilities of youth through the projects they carry out to enable them and find job opportunities for them.
The dreams of Palestinian youth in Lebanon are modest in comparison with those of their peers of other nationalities. They range between education, work and starting a family. These dreams may seem ordinary, but they are impossible in Lebanon, even for the most optimistic. «In order for the goals of youth not to be directed at the sea,» says Hiba Yaseen, there should be a comprehensive review by all the relevant parties of this painful reality to address it before this «ticking bomb explodes because when the stomach is starving the minds stops working» says Maaz Khalil.
Those concerned may ignore this painful reality in the foreseeable future, but they will inevitably have to come to grips with its inevitable and grave consequences in the longer term!
The success stories of Palestinian youth in Lebanon may seem different compared with those of their peers of other nationalities due to their harsh conditions, but they remain stories of defiance and perseverance for a better tomorrow… Here are two such stories:
Ruba Rahme
A young Palestinian woman displaced from the Yarmouk refugee camp in Syria has left her mark on her peers in the Ain al-Hilweh camp. Ruba, always smiling and cheerful, has devoted her time and efforts to youth by seeking to lift them out of the void and disaffection.
Ruba has established an artistic troupe to teach the dabke folk dance, theater and singing, thus embracing various young talents. These young people used to move around for training sessions between Ruba’s home in the camp and Saida’s maritime promenade, before settling in the Development for People and Nature Association (DPNA) where Ruba works as a volunteer.
Ruba is seeking to obtain funding for her troupe in an effort to save the greatest number of young people. Ruba’s energy and her positive influence have imposed change for the better in the lives of young men and women. Some of them have replaced the knives that they did not part with before with the language of dialogue, while others have quit smoking, so that the families of some young people are turning to Ruba to help them solve their children’s problems.
Despite the migration of her family, Ruba is in charge not only of her younger brother, whom she supports financially too, but also the education of a young man in Saida’s vocational school, because, according to her, she wants youth to depend on themselves. Today, she is trying to establish alongside few youth from Ain el-Hilweh, away from existing divisions, a free space that is similar to that of El Moltaqa of DPNA that includes cultural and artistic events. Her big dream is to be able to help the largest possible number of young people before making her own big dream come true, reuniting with her family under one roof.
Ruba stands in front of a mural she painted at the forum of the Development for People and Nature Association (DPNA), Saida
Ahmad Halabi
Ahmad Halabi, from Shatila camp, greets us from his own barbershop located behind al-Madinah ar-Riyadiyyah stadium with a broad smile that reflects the extent of his pride with his achievement. This young man pulled himself up from the gutter to become what he is today. Ahmad’s arduous journey began when his mother left him, his sister and his father, when he was not three years old yet.
In the absence of care from his mother or father, Ahmad dropped out of third grade and entered real life, moving between a number of barbershops in different areas of Beirut. Thus began his journey with homelessness, imprisonment, alcohol and drugs. Ahmad would only come out of the abyss that is this bleak world following his shock at the death of a girlfriend from overdosing. So, he began writing rap songs and performing them and at the same time he continued to learn about hairdressing until he opened his own shop, Moudi, two months ago.
Ahmad has chosen to stay outside the boundaries of his camp, in order to escape what he dubs as an atmosphere that might take him back to what he was in the past. Ahmad, who is known as Pharaoh in the rap world, has become a role model for many children in the area where he resides through his singing and shop… «I want to dream like other people, I want to develop my shop Moudi and open branches, and go back to school to learn to read and write Arabic, and get a chance in the rap world,» says Ahmad as we are about to leave.
Ahmad stands in front of Moudi barbershop behind al-Madinah ar-Riyadiyyah stadium