Audio Documentary - Burj el-Shemali Refugee Camp

Listen to a radio documentary on Burj el-Shemali refugee camp, located on the outskirts of the southern Lebanese city of Tyre and home to upwards of 20 000 Palestinian refugees. Recorded in Burj el-Shemali during the summer of 2005, this documentary focuses on the present day political, economic & social situation facing the Palestinian residents of the camp, within the context of ongoing major political changes taking place in Lebanon.

Palestinian youth walk on the streets of Burj el-Shemali camp. [Photo: Stefan Christoff EI]

Hundreds of thousands of stateless Palestinian refugees reside in Lebanon scattered in impoverished refugee camps throughout the country, originally displaced through the creation of the state of Israel in 1948. Without the right to work in over 70 professions, barred from owning property and legally defined as foreigners, Palestinians live in Lebanon as second-class citizens without basic social or political rights.

This radio documentary addresses the present reality facing Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, through voices of residents from Burj el-Shemali refugee camp. Featuring interviews with camp residents on critical issues, such as U.N. Resolution 1559, which demands for the disarmament of all Palestinian military factions within the refugee camps of Lebanon. This radio documentary also focuses on the issue of the right of return for Palestinian refugees, a demand voiced by Palestinian refugees throughout Lebanon and outlined in U.N. Resolution 194.

  • Listen to/download this documentary [26MB, MP3 format]

    Featuring voices of Palestinian social activists from Burj el-Shemali including, Khawla Khalaf and Mahmoud Juma of Palestinian NGO, Beit Atfal al-Sumoud [Home of Children with Steadfastness] and Raef Ahmed of the ‘Popular Committee’ in Burj el-Shemali refugee camp.

    For more information on Burj el-Shemali visit the camps website at:
    http://www.bourjalshamali.net & http://gallery.cmaq.net/burj-el-shemali.

    This 30-minute radio documentary/Internet podcast was produced by Sawsan Kalache, and Stefan Christoff of the Independent Media Center of Beirut and Radio TADAMON! for broadcast on CKUT Radio in Montreal and distribution through the Electronic Intifada.