APAwire - APAwire CLIENTS ONLY, Gaza - 07 August 2019. Protester take part in a demonstration in solidarity with Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, and in solidarity with Palestinain prisoners in Israeli jails, in Gaza city.
STORYLINE - Protests over labour conditions for Palestinians in Lebanon are spreading from refugee camps into city streets as frustration grows over curbs on their civil rights.
Thousands of Palestinians and Lebanese marched in the southern city of Saida on Tuesday to demand the reversal of a Ministry of Labour crackdown on foreign workers without permits.
According to activists, the demonstrations – and the will behind them – may form the basis of a wider movement to demand Palestinians’ rights, although the chances of them being granted remain slim for now.
Palestinian refugees have lived in Lebanon for 71 years since fleeing Palestine in 1948 after the creation of Israel, and many have never left the country. But they are still considered as foreigners when it comes to Lebanese labour law, and say that the crackdown discriminates against them.
As well as the labour restrictions, Palestinians in Lebanon have no defined legal status, and aren’t allowed to own property, or vote or stand in elections. While some live in cities among Lebanese populations, many are crammed into impoverished, overcrowded conditions in 12 official refugee camps. Many Palestinians see the clampdown as part of wider, systematic discrimination against them in Lebanon.
Statistics are hard to come by, but in 2014 the International Labour Organization was reported as saying that the number of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon holding a work permit was “very low”.
Yet Palestinians say they do not want the Ministry of Labour to make exceptions for them, and do not want to be treated as foreigners when it comes to labour law in the first place.
Footage by Mahmoud Ajjour/APAwire
RESTRICTION SUMMARY: APAwire CLIENTS ONLY SHOTLIST: APAwire - APAwire CLIENTS ONLY, Gaza - 07 August 2019. Protester take part in a demonstration in solidarity with Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, and in solidarity with Palestinain prisoners in Israeli jails, in Gaza city. STORYLINE - Protests over labour conditions for Palestinians in Lebanon are spreading from refugee camps into city streets as frustration grows over curbs on their civil rights. Thousands of Palestinians and Lebanese marched in the southern city of Saida on Tuesday to demand the reversal of a Ministry of Labour crackdown on foreign workers without permits. According to activists, the demonstrations – and the will behind them – may form the basis of a wider movement to demand Palestinians’ rights, although the chances of them being granted remain slim for now. Palestinian refugees have lived in Lebanon for 71 years since fleeing Palestine in 1948 after the creation of Israel, and many have never left the country. But they are still considered as foreigners when it comes to Lebanese labour law, and say that the crackdown discriminates against them. As well as the labour restrictions, Palestinians in Lebanon have no defined legal status, and aren’t allowed to own property, or vote or stand in elections. While some live in cities among Lebanese populations, many are crammed into impoverished, overcrowded conditions in 12 official refugee camps. Many Palestinians see the clampdown as part of wider, systematic discrimination against them in Lebanon. Statistics are hard to come by, but in 2014 the International Labour Organization was reported as saying that the number of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon holding a work permit was “very low”. Yet Palestinians say they do not want the Ministry of Labour to make exceptions for them, and do not want to be treated as foreigners when it comes to labour law in the first place. Footage by Mahmoud Ajjour/APAwire
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