Nablus - City of Refugees

The Steeple Church hosted a variety of organisations illustrating various aspects of refugees. DNTA highlighted Nablus as a City of Refugees who have been unable to return home for over 65 years.

Caption Participants at the UN World Refugee Day, 20th June 2016

There is a lot of attention on refugees currently fleeing from the wars in Syria. This prompted us to examine the situation of refugees in Nablus.

Caption Part of the DNTA display at the UN World Refugee Day, 20th June 2016

Many members of DNTA have visited refugee camps in Nablus but realise they still have much to learn about many aspects of the life, history and aspirations of the refugees.

We thought this story by Jan Berger and Michelle Sayles gave a good introduction to the lives of many Palestinian refugees. See all 8 panels here.

Every refugee has a story to tell. Many of those who fled have now died but their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren as still refugees and retain a connection with the homes they lost.

UNRWA camps in Nablus

UNRWA (The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees) was founded in 1949. It is funded by voluntary contributions from UN member states.

Originally it was responsible for about 750,000 people but today some 5 million Palestine refugees are eligible for UNRWA services.

There are three main camps in Nablus: Camp Number 1, Balata and Askar (on two sites - Old Askar and New Askar).