Covid-19 has caused poverty crisis for Palestinians, says UNRWA head

Philippe Lazzarini says investing in the UN agency boosts regional stability

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  A Palestinian worker carries sacks of flour distributed by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency in Gaza City. AP

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  A Palestinian man wearing a protective mask sorts food aid provided by UNRWA to be delivered to refugee homes at the Al Shati camp in Gaza city. AFP

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  A Palestinian loads a cart with aid food provided by the UN's World Food Programme and its agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, in the Gaza Strip's Al Shati refugee camp. AFP

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  Members of the medical staff at UNRWA prepare prescription medicines to deliver to Palestinian refugees in their homes at Amman New camp amid concerns over the spread of the coronavirus in Amman, Jordan. REUTERS

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  Members of the medical staff at UNRWA prepare prescription medicines to deliver to Palestinian refugees in their homes at Amman New. REUTERS

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  A refugee receives his prescription medicine from a member of the medical staff at UNRWA in front of his home at Amman New camp. REUTERS

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  A member of the medical staff at UNRWA prepares prescription medicines to deliver to Palestinian refugees. REUTERS

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  The Director of UNRWA Operations in West Bank, Gwyn Lewis, in a visit to Sur Baher Girls school. © 2019 UNRWA/ Kazem Abu Khalaf

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  Health staff at Shaboura health centre in Rafah packing and delivering medications to elderly people. © 2020 UNRWA/ Khalil Adwan

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  Noon Briefing by the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General Guest: Mr. Philippe Lazzarini, Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia. UNRWA

Covid-19 caused a poverty pandemic as well as a health pandemic, UN Palestinian aid agency head Philippe Lazzarini said on Tuesday as he called for long-term support for a community hit hard by the virus.

In Beirut, I was struck by the level of despair and hopelessness

The head of the UN Relief and Works Agency, which provides support to more than five million Palestinians across the Middle East, said he was struck by the toll of the pandemic during visits to Palestinian communities as he described reports of Gazans rooting through bins to find food.

"I do believe that Covid-19 is unleashing a pandemic of abject poverty. I recently visited a camp in Beirut, for example, and I was struck by the level of despair and hopelessness," he told The National on a visit to Abu Dhabi on Tuesday.

“Basically, while Covid-19 does not make any distinction between the people who can get the virus, when it comes to its impact, it shows all the inequalities because the most vulnerable, and among them the Palestinian refugees, are the harsher hit in terms of socio-economic impact.”

He described the reports of people picking through rubbish for food as "completely new" and said it was "an indication of how the situation is becoming desperate".

Coupled with the pandemic, the tens of thousands of Palestinians living in Lebanon have also been hit hard by the country's dire economic crisis.

“Lebanon has been a downfall over the last few years, and is now experiencing an unprecedented political crisis, unprecedented financial crisis, economic crisis and we had the [August 4] blast – the blast basically symbolised all the dysfunction of a system which was in place in Lebanon until now,” he said.

He said that as the level of poverty in Lebanon has gone from about 30 per cent of the population to more than 50 per cent, it has translated in Palestinian camps to 80 to 90 per cent of the community being fully dependent on UNRWA assistance.

UNRWA head Philippe Lazzarini said that the Covid-19 pandemic had unleashed a poverty pandemic for Palestinians. Victor Besa/The National

But it is not only communities in Lebanon that face that reality. In Syria, where the majority of the 438,000 Palestinian refugees have been displaced by the country's civil war, people are also facing the worsening economic situation. So too are people across the border in Jordan.

“We have more and more families, for example, in Syria who have gone from two meals a day to one meal a day and we even hear of families struggling to get the one meal a day.”

But Mr Lazzarini, who took over the agency in April, praised the work of the more than 28,000 staff across five countries who he said adapted to the pandemic “within days”.

Because most staff come from the community, UNRWA has been capable of maintaining all its critical services

He said that despite differing local situations, staff started delivering aid rather than running centralised distribution centres, teachers moved online at the hundreds of UNRWA schools and doctors at UNRWA clinics started doing video consultations.

He said their experience of working in war zones meant they were used to working at a distance, but they also faced difficulties.

One challenge was that many of the population do not have access to technology and the internet and do not live in formal housing, he said.

“[But] because most of our staff come from the community, [UNRWA] has been capable, in fact, of maintaining all its critical services," he said.

Mr Lazzarini's calm demeanour belies the fact he is fast becoming a man who can manage uncertainty.

“We are an organisation which has a core budget of $800 million, plus you add the emergency appeal which brings us to more than $1 billion. We have an organisation with 28,000 staff. And despite that, most of the time, we do not know if the month after we will be in a position to pay the salaries,” he said.

"This is highly unsettling for the Palestinian refugees, it's highly unsettling for the staff and it's is highly unsettling for the host countries."

But he has a plan.

Banksy in the West Bank

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  A graffiti by British street artist Banksy showing a dove with a bulletproof vest is seen in the Israeli occupied West Bank town of Bethlehem on March 15, 2017. AFP

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  Two men are sitting in front of a famous graffiti of British street artist Banksy, painted on a wall of a gas station in the West Bank city of Bethlehem on December 16, 2015. AFP

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  A Palestinian boy walks past a Banksy mural of children using an Israeli army watch tower as a swing ride in Beit Hanoun, Gaza, as seen on April 10, 2015. EPA

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  'The Flower Thrower', arguably one of the most famous works by Banksy, depicts a masked Palestinian man throwing a bouquet of flowers, seen in Bethlehem on December 12, 2018. EPA

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  Palestinians ride a motorcycle past words thought to be painted by British street artist Banksy on the wall of destroyed homes in Beit Hanoun town in northern Gaza. Pictured on April 10, 2015. EPA

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  A work by Banksy, seen in Bethlehem in December 2007. The stencilled work has been interpreted to depict a small girl in a dress, thought to be Palestinian, frisking an Israeli soldier. EPA

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  An armed Palestinian policeman stands before 'The Armoured Dove', a graffiti painting by Banksy depicting a peace dove wearing a flak jacket with crosshairs on the bird's chest, painted on a wall at the entrance to the West Bank city of Bethlehem, as photographed on January 6, 2019. EPA

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  Banksy opened The Walled Off Hotel in Bethlehem in 2017. EPA

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  A view through a window inside The Walled Off Hotel. EPA

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  A room at The Walled Off Hotel in Bethlehem with a work by Bansky, depicting an Israeli soldier and a Palestinian protester during a pillow fight. EPA

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  A graffiti mural of a kitten by Banksy, on the wall of the Al Shimbari family's home, which was damaged during the 2014 conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza. Seen on February 27, 2015. EPA

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  'Scar of Bethlehem' is a modified nativity set that Banksy created for the Walled Off Hotel in Bethlehem in December 2019 . EPA

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  A rumoured work by Banksy, depicting a camel with human figures climbing up and down its legs. Seen on December 4, 2007. EPA

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  A stencilled work by Banksy, showing an Israeli soldier asking a donkey for its identity card, seen on December 4, 2006. EPA

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  A mural by Banksy in Beit Hanoun, as seen in February 2015, depicts a bent figure wearing a head scarf, painted on the door of a home destroyed by the Israeli military in 2014. EPA

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  Graffiti thought to be by Banksy, as seen in December 2007 in Bethlehem. The white donkey has what appears to be a small Palestinian village on its bac,k and the black donkey carries on its back what appears to be a modern Israeli town. The work was not signed by Banksy. EPA

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  Banksy street art on the entrance to the Aida refugee camp in Bethlehem, as seen on April 18, 2019. EPA

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  This stencil of a tank being towed away on the wall of a house on a main street in Bethlehem is credited to Banksy, but not signed, as seen December 4, 2007. EPA

Mr Lazzarini is looking to change the way UNRWA appeals for funding, from perpetually chasing enough to plug gaps to adopting a multi-year strategy.

And his pitch to donors who may be fatigued by requests from a chronically cash-strapped agency? That this is an investment in stability for a region plagued by uncertainty.

“We are in a highly volatile region, there is a lot of unpredictability … and UNRWA, in reality, can be a source of predictability," he said.

"No one wants the Palestinian refugee population in the respective countries to become a new source of instability, because despair is growing, because they do not have access any more to the basics, do not have access to their own dignity.

“I still believe that investing in UNRWA services is a good investment if we want to promote the stability of the region.”

Gaza under Covid

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  A Palestinian man lifts up a baby on the beach in Gaza City after coronavirus restrictions in the territory were largely eased. Reuters

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  Palestinians crowds the beach at sunset in Gaza, people are preparing to celebrate Eid Al Adha without coronavirus restrictions imposed elsewhere in the Middle East. Reuters

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  A boy opens the mouth of a goat to check its age as Gazans prepare for the traditional animal sacrifice at Eid Al Adha. Reuters

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  A man takes a selfie with his family on the beach in Gaza City. Reuters

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  Children play in a public fountain during a hot summer day in Gaza City. AFP

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  A worker paints frames of containers to be used for a coronavirus quarantine centre in the Gaza Strip. Reuters

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  A labourer carries a panel at the construction site of a field hospital for Covid-19 patients in Deir Al Balah in the central Gaza Strip. AFP

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  Authorities in Gaza have reported 75 infections and one death from the coronavirus at quarantine centres, but none in the general population. AFP

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  Children shake hands with members of Hamas, the militant group that rules Gaza, as they march past the Beach refugee camp in Gaza City. Reuters

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  Members of Palestinian security forces loyal to Hamas take part in a simulation exercise for preventing the spread of the coronavirus in Gaza City on July 18, 2020. Reuters

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  Gazan security forces spray disinfectant during a simulation exercise for preventing the spread of the coronavirus in the Palestinian territory. Reuters

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  Palestinian security forces man a checkpoint in Gaza City as part of a mock lockdown to prepare for a possible outbreak of coronavirus the blockaded coastal territory. AFP

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  Security forces loyal to Hamas take part in a simulation exercise for preventing the spread of the coronavirus. Reuters

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  Palestinian medics take part in an exercise to simulate an outbreak of coronavirus in the Gaza Strip. AFP

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  A Palestinian medical worker disinfects an ambulance at a hospital in Gaza City. AFP

He described the UAE as a having shown strong support to UNRWA over the years and said his visit was about discussing the future partnership during major regional developments.

He said the message he received in the UAE was that the signing of the Abraham Accord with Israel last month would not alter support for UNRWA.

“I do believe that the UAE will continue to support UNRWA and to support the Palestinian refugees," he said.

He also made the point that countries meet to renew the mandate of UNRWA every three years and have agreed to its mission, so are responsible for providing the money.

Not everyone thinks that way. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu previously called for UNRWA to be phased out because he said it perpetuated the "Palestinian refugee problem".

But Mr Lazzarini does not agree.

“UNRWA is not perpetrating any problem, the problem exists because it has not been politically resolved – no one today wants to be a refugee, no one wants to be a third-generation refugee,” he said.

“I do believe that UNRWA is part of a broader solution and UNRWA is definitely not the organisation perpetuating a problem. The problem is perpetuated because of the absence of a political solution.”