COVID-19 cases confirmed in refugee camp in Lebanon prompt fresh calls to protect refugees from the virus.
Medics, Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and ARK’s colleagues and partners on the ground have had their fears realised this week following the positive identification of COVID-19 in Wavel refugee camp in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon. The first case has been reported in most media outlets as simply that of a female Palestinian Syrian refugee, and so it has been sobering to hear from our contacts inside the camp that the patient is a mother of five, who fled from Yarmouk Camp during the Syrian Civil war and is now raising her young children in Lebanon alone following the death of her husband during the conflict. As this blog was being written, news came in from our team that in addition to her case, four of her children have also tested positive for the virus. An important reminder that behind every positive test lies a human being.
To date the WHO calculate 682 confirmed cases and 22 deaths from the virus in Lebanon, but conversations with Lebanese citizens indicate the infection rate is likely considerably higher. That being the case, it was perhaps an inevitability that the estimated 250,000 Palestinian refugees and further 1 million Syrian refugees living inside Lebanon would eventually be directly impacted by the virus.
“We knew it was a matter of time before we had a case confirmed in the Palestine refugee community” Tamara al-Rifai, (UNRWA)
Having seen the virus spread unbridled amongst populations in countries with developed healthcare systems, ARK’s partners tell us that there is now palpable concern for refugees in Lebanon. In camps across the country, Palestinian refugees cannot access adequate healthcare and will find it near impossible to self-isolate or remain socially distant due to overcrowded living conditions. The concern for refugees is not isolated to Lebanon, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said recently “The core principles of refugee protection are being put to test, but people who are forced to flee conflict and persecution should not be denied safety and protection on the pretext, or even as a side-effect, of responding to the virus.” Given that Palestinians in Lebanon are routinely denied access to state care, the question for refugees now is where will this provision of safety and protection come from?
At present we are seeing refugees and CSOs in Lebanon mobilising internally, generating awareness initiatives as well as sterilisation campaigns across the camps. Currently our partner group the Palestinian Civil Defence (PCD), a voluntary group of men and women, have mobilised to disseminate awareness materials as well as enact large scale disinfection campaigns across the Palestinian camps. The PCD have voluntary units operating in six of the twelve refugee camps but understood quickly that those without voluntary help, including Wavel camp, might be left without support during the crisis. With that in mind, the PCD travelled to Wavel camp and trained a team of 20 volunteers, providing them with disinfectant and sanitisation equipment as well as awareness raising material in the hope of delaying the spread of the virus inside the camp.
This team of 20 however is a small line of defence, standing between a virus that is ravaging communities and a camp hosting an estimated 5000 residents comprising 450 households. Regardless, their fight continues, today establishing disinfection stations at the entrance of Wavel camp, something the PCD have implemented in a further four Palestinian camps in Lebanon; Nahr al-Bared, Ayn al-Hilweh, Baddawi and Mar Elias.
The work of groups like the PCD is vital, but these refugee initiatives are primarily voluntary and heavily reliant on external funding. It is therefore imperative, now more than ever, that the international community come together to fund lifesaving work and protect those most vulnerable to the spread of the pandemic.
