By Mona Alami
"BEIRUT, Jun 14, 2010 (IPS) - Lebanon’s record of segregating Palestinians is not much better than that of Israel. Since their exodus here, after the establishment of Israel in 1948, Palestinians have been systemically denied equal employment and social rights.
High unemployment rates now threaten to push the community onto the path of despair and radicalism.
"Palestinians in Lebanon live encaged," stated philosopher and activist Noam Chomsky on a recent visit to Lebanon.
Large camps, such as Ain el-Helweh, Bedawi and Chatila, are guarded by the Lebanese military or police. Youngsters sit idly around the meandering dirty streets, chatting or smoking cigarettes.
At night, militants often run amok, engaging in futile feuds with rivaling political gangs.....
Pushed to the brink of poverty many Palestinians have chosen to join political factions to secure a stable paycheck every month. In recent months, radical groups in Ain el-Helweh and Bourj Barajneh seem to have been recruiting en masse.
"It doesn’t mean that we really adhere to one party or another," says Ahmad. "It just pays the bills." "
"BEIRUT, Jun 14, 2010 (IPS) - Lebanon’s record of segregating Palestinians is not much better than that of Israel. Since their exodus here, after the establishment of Israel in 1948, Palestinians have been systemically denied equal employment and social rights.
High unemployment rates now threaten to push the community onto the path of despair and radicalism.
"Palestinians in Lebanon live encaged," stated philosopher and activist Noam Chomsky on a recent visit to Lebanon.
Large camps, such as Ain el-Helweh, Bedawi and Chatila, are guarded by the Lebanese military or police. Youngsters sit idly around the meandering dirty streets, chatting or smoking cigarettes.
At night, militants often run amok, engaging in futile feuds with rivaling political gangs.....
Pushed to the brink of poverty many Palestinians have chosen to join political factions to secure a stable paycheck every month. In recent months, radical groups in Ain el-Helweh and Bourj Barajneh seem to have been recruiting en masse.
"It doesn’t mean that we really adhere to one party or another," says Ahmad. "It just pays the bills." "
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