(Daily Star-Lebanon) Simona Sikimic - The EU-funded "Socio-Economic Survey of Palestine Refugees in Lebanon," released Tuesday, paints a bleak picture for the 260,000-280,000 Palestinian refugees the report found to be living in the country. This is a significantly smaller figure than the 425,000 UN-registered refugees, many of whom are thought to have emigrated in search of work. The survey, conducted by researchers at the American University Beirut in coordination with UNRWA, found jobless rates among Palestinians to be 56%. Two-thirds of those employed were engaged in agriculture and construction. Due to low wages in these industries, even those with work find it difficult to lift themselves out of poverty. A large amount of blame is being placed on the perceived lack of opportunities, limited by state restrictions requiring Palestinians to obtain work permits and which, in spite of recent relaxations, still exclude Palestinians from certain professions, such as medicine.
2010-12-15 10:48:49Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive