BADIL Resource Center for Palestinian Residency and Refugee

62
Survey of Palestinian Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons (2006-2007)
2.5 Poverty
Annual per capita income among Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and the OPT ranges from US $450 to
US $600. Household incomes are higher among refugees in the 1967-occupied Palestinian Territory than elsewhere,
and lowest among refugees in Syria. 46 However, employed persons in the OPT have seen their salaries decrease from
a monthly average of US $500 before September 2000 to US $349 by the first quarter of 2005. 47 Since 1999, per
capita income has declined by 40% in the OPT. 48 The crisis engendered by sanctions has hit refugees in the OPT
harder than the general population with respect to employment and poverty. 49
Most refugee households rely on income from wages and self-employment. Those households that depend on financial
transfers remain a vulnerable low-income group. The major source of income for special hardship cases (SHC), the
most needy and vulnerable refugees in UNRWA’s five fields of operation, is transfer. 50 Special hardship cases make
up 5.7% of the total registered refugee population with UNRWA (250,000 persons). Around 47% of SHC families
live in camps, 44% are female-headed households, and only 9% of the affected individuals work. In total, 47% of
these individuals live on less than US$ 1 per day, a percentage that rises to 70% in the Gaza Strip and 66% in Syria. 51
Average per capita income among SHC families is US$ 449, with the lowest in Syria (US $ 338) and the Gaza Strip
(US$ 344), and the highest in Lebanon (US $664). 52 (See also Chapter Three.)
In the OPT, refugee camps suffer from the highest rates of poverty. Approximately 39% of the refugees are poor
compared with 31% of the non-refugees, and 34% of the refugee households are poor compared with 26% of the
non-refugee households. These figures probably reflect the high levels of poverty in the refugee camps. As many as 70%
of the poor refugee households are based in Gaza Strip, with 30% in the West Bank. 53 A study undertaken by UNRWA
in the OPT in 2005 found that there were 623,200 refugees officially recognized as poor (living on less than US $2.4
per day) and 406,000 refugees in deep poverty (living on less than US $2 daily). 54 While refugees accounted for 42%
of the population of the OPT, they accounted for about half of those in deep poverty. 55 Moreover, 2.6% of the refugee
households in Jordan are suffering from deep poverty compared with 7.4% in Syria and 10.8% in Lebanon. 56
2.6 Housing
Sub-standard housing is an indicator of lack of development. It is also linked to poor health and has a
disproportionately severe impact on women and other caregivers, children, handicapped people, and the elderly. 57
Overall, housing conditions are best in Syria and Jordan, followed by the OPT and Lebanon. However, within
these geographical areas, housing conditions differ widely.
Housing problems tend to be more
pronounced in camps. Nevertheless,
as a result of international
assistance, refugee camps often
have better infrastructure than
areas outside camps. While the
area of refugee camps has generally
remained the same over the last 50
years, their population has more
than quadrupled. In areas where
construction is permitted, this has led
to vertical expansion of the camps.
In some areas, including Lebanon,
the government has prohibited
construction in the camps.
Burj el-Shemali refugee camp is located in Southern Lebanon on the outskirts of the city of Tyre. Over
20,000 refugees reside in Burj el-Shemali. Thousands of camp residents are essentially homeless,
residing in make-shift shelters with zinc roofing, without basic plumbing, water supply and little income.
Pictured in this photo is a street within the camp of zinc housing, built by residents who had their homes
destroyed during the Lebanese civil-war. © Stefan Christoff.