Palestinian refugees in Jordan dream of return: Report

Palestinian refugees in Jordan endure the hardships and poor living conditions on the hope of returning one day to their native homeland Palestine.

In Jordan, there are 13 camps, 10 of them are recognized by UNRWA. The latest statistics indicated that the number of refugees in Jordan is more than 3.3 million which is the biggest number of refugees compared to other host countries.

Camps residents are the poorest
Kathem Ayesh, the director of ‘The Right of Return’ association, described the living conditions of the refugees in those camps saying: “residents of those camps are the poorest of all Palestinian refugees. Camps in Jordan are very crowded, hygiene is virtually non-existent, waste piles up in the streets and the housing units are uninhabitable”.

He told the PIC: “because of these tragic living conditions, refugees in those camps are leaving whenever their financial situations improve and only 18% of the refugees are still living in camps”.

He noted that 31% of camps’ residents suffer chronic diseases because buildings are very close to each other and unhygienic. Ayesh added: “Gaza camp in north Jordan is the worst in terms of services. Until this day there are no sewerage services there.”

In the same context, Ayesh pointed out that some camps in Amman are witnessing the demolition of old houses to pave way for building main roads and modern stores, which annulled their status as refugee camps.

The right to return
Ayesh accused some parties, which he did not identify, of trying to erase the idea of return from the Palestinians’ minds by removing the lessons that address this matter from the curriculums and totally ignoring it in the media.

He also pointed out that Zionists said when they occupied Palestine: “Old Palestinians will die and young Palestinians will forget!” He urged parents to raise their children’s awareness about their cause, and hoped that schools would also play a role in this regard.

Resettlement and the alternative homeland
About the “alternative homeland”, Ayesh described the idea as “Zionist”, since many Israelis had declared that Jordan should be the homeland for Palestinians … arguing that they enjoy citizenship rights and are represented in the parliament.

However, Ayesh emphasized that the Palestinian refugees refuse to have Jordan as an alternative homeland for Palestine.

The PIC correspondent met an old lady with wrinkles all over her face in an alley in Hittin camp, she said: “I don’t accept any substitute for Palestine, and I still have the key of my house in Aqer where I was born, I took it from my father and if I die before I return I will give it to my children, Israel will be gone and we will eventually restore our rights.”