Bureij Refugee Camp:
Where is Bureij Camp Located?
Bureij camp is located in the centre of the Gaza Strip to the east of the Salah Eddin main road. The camp was set up in 1949 on a 528 dunum site. A number of the original 13,000 refugees were housed in the British army barracks there and the rest in tents. UNRWA built cement block shelters in the 1950s.
Today, most refugees live in crowded shelters and about 70 percent of shelter roofs are covered with asbestos sheeting. A part of the camp has no sewerage system and sewage runs in open drains and accumulates in Wadi Gaza to the north, which is a breeding ground for mosquitoes and poses a serious health hazard. All shelters are supplied with water from Mekorot, the Israeli water company.
Prior to the closure of the Gaza Strip most of the refugees worked as labourers in Israel or locally in agriculture. Some refugees run their own shops and workshops or find work in neighboring farms and citrus groves. There is a public market in the camp every Thursday which attracts traders from all over the Gaza Strip.
Bureij Camp Facts and Figures
- The registered refugee population is 28,770 persons.
- UNRWA operates 8 schools in the camp (6 elementary and 2 preparatory) with 9,306 pupils enrolled in 2004/2005. 2 schools are run in a double shift.
- The Agency's health centre underwent extensive renovation in 1992 and its maternity ward was renovated the following year. It is staffed by 32 health care workers assigned to a morning shift. On average, 10,800 consultations are held there each month.
- 1,070 families (5,441 refugees) are eligible for relief assistance under the Agency's special hardship programme.
- The women's programme centre was reconstructed in 1995 and around 6,500 women and 2,500 children participate in programmes yearly.
- The youth activities centre was renovated in 1995. The members carried out work on a voluntary basis and the project was jointly implemented by UNRWA, UNDP and UNICEF.
http://www.un.org/unrwa/refugees/gaza/bureij.html |
