Extending access to work and economic rights to Palestinians would give refugees back their dignity and benefit Lebanon
Ahmed Moor
guardian.co.uk, Friday 27 August 2010
"..... According to her, the few Palestinians who were naturalised in Lebanon during the late 1940s and early 1950s were Christians. But only a small number of Palestinian Christians gained citizenship – wealthy people, chiefly. That underlined the fact that while Lebanon is sectarian, economic considerations also bedevil this mélange society.
Palestinian refugees in Lebanon are mostly relegated to society's fringes. A history of violence, poverty and state-sanctioned discrimination combine to beget more violence and poverty. These refugees are traumatised. Theirs is a psychology of besieged dispossession – and they yearn simultaneously for home and a better life now, in Lebanon.......
Of course, there is a sectarian element to the Palestinian problem here. Naturalising Palestinians wrecks what is ostensibly a delicate demographic balance – never mind that a census hasn't been conducted since 1932. But Palestinians don't want to be naturalised. They just want their human rights and dignity."
Ahmed Moor
guardian.co.uk, Friday 27 August 2010
"..... According to her, the few Palestinians who were naturalised in Lebanon during the late 1940s and early 1950s were Christians. But only a small number of Palestinian Christians gained citizenship – wealthy people, chiefly. That underlined the fact that while Lebanon is sectarian, economic considerations also bedevil this mélange society.
Palestinian refugees in Lebanon are mostly relegated to society's fringes. A history of violence, poverty and state-sanctioned discrimination combine to beget more violence and poverty. These refugees are traumatised. Theirs is a psychology of besieged dispossession – and they yearn simultaneously for home and a better life now, in Lebanon.......
Of course, there is a sectarian element to the Palestinian problem here. Naturalising Palestinians wrecks what is ostensibly a delicate demographic balance – never mind that a census hasn't been conducted since 1932. But Palestinians don't want to be naturalised. They just want their human rights and dignity."
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