Innocents Suffer As Fateh al Islam Shelter in Camp

Palestinian civilians from the Nahr el Bared camp in North Lebanon are paying the price of years of sectarian buildup between the Lebanese Government and the Opposition. The Lebanese army and a small radical Sunni Muslim militia have been fighting for over 3 days in the North of the country. Since the night of May 21, the Lebanese army has been besieging and shelling the Palestinian Camp of Nahr el Bared, where the militiamen have their stronghold.

The clashes in and around the northern city of Tripoli, Lebanon's second capital, left more than 50 dead by the end of the first day, nearly half of them from the Lebanese army. Most of the victims in the army originate from the poor areas of North Lebanon.

It is unclear how the fighting started. There are reports of a botched attempt by the Lebanese Internal Security Forces (ISF) to capture a gang accused of bank robbery. When the ISF were overpowered, the Lebanese army intervened. This was followed by what appeared to be a series of pre-planned operations, targeting army check points and vehicles tens of kilometers away from the clash areas and killing several army soldiers.

A small group of Sunni Muslim extremists, known as Fateh al Islam, seems to be the main party involved in the clashes. Little is known about this Sunni militia, except that it preaches a radical type of Islam. Reports that it is a splinter from the Syrian-controlled Fateh-al Intifidah have not been confirmed. It is also believed that the group's leadership is wanted by the Syrians for espousing extreme Islamic ideologies.

Lebanese Government and Opposition reacted predictably to the violent events. The Government accused Fateh al Islam of being in the pay of the Syrian regime, and of acting to derail the International Tribunal to indict the killers of the late prime minister Rafic Hariri.

The Opposition accused the Government and its Saudi and US partners of having strengthened extremist groups such as Fateh al Islam in order to counter the Shi'a Hizbullah by fanning sectarian fire. The Opposition's version is strengthened by the fact that a few months ago, the Government granted legal status to Hizb al Tahrir, a radical Sunni Muslim Party banned in many Arab countries. It is also reported that, in recent past, pro-government politicians have exerted pressure in order to free jailed members of radical Sunni armed groups, in a move to rally the Sunni Muslims to the government's cause. The relationship between the Lebanese and US governments and Sunni Muslims fundamentalist groups in Lebanon was addressed by US journalist Seymour Hersh in an essay entitled "The Redirection", which appeared in February 2007.

It is not clear who is really fighting opposite the Lebanese army. Although the militia is hiding in the Palestinian camp of Nahr el Bared, reports indicate that not more than 30% of the militiamen are Palestinians, and that the bulk is Lebanese, with some Saudis, Yemenis, Afghanis, Tunisians and Algerians.

The North of Lebanon is home to some of the poorest people in the country, especially in the poor quarters of the city of Tripoli such as Bab el Tebbaneh, and in the Palestinian camps such as Nahr el Bared. The Nahr el Bared camp is located 18 km north of Tripoli, and houses 40,000 people on an area not exceeding 2 square kilometers. Miranda Pittaway, a disabilities expert from New Zealand has worked in the camp with the Movement for Peace, a Spanish NGO. She describes the camp as "very deprived, with dark, cold houses often lacking electricity. The river Bared, in reality a sewer carrying municipal wastes, runs behind the houses, creating a most insalubrious environment. There are huge areas of uncollected rubbish. Most of the youth is unemployed, and loiters about during the night and sleeps during the day. At the center of the camp sits the souk (market), an oppressive, dark, smelly place with a public sewer running in the middle, and piles of vegetables and hanging morsels of meat on both sides. There is no hospital, and only a few clinics offer a semblance of health care."

Palestinians in Lebanon are prohibited from holding but the most temporary and menial jobs. They cannot benefit from the state's health, social and education services. They cannot own property or rehabilitate the squalid houses in which they live: it is illegal to bring building materials into the camp areas.

This is the situation on May 23, 2007, Lebanon time. The Lebanese Army is besieging the Nahr el Bared Camp. The camp has been under artillery shelling for the past 48 hours but a fragile truce has been holding since the morning. The extent of civilian losses is still unknown, but it is likely to be very high: tens of thousands of people crammed into a small area, lacking basic health necessities make easy casualties. There are no shelters, and no place for people to hide. This morning, groups of women and children have finally been allowed out, and have sought refuge in the neighboring, overcrowded Palestinian refugee camp of Beddawi, mostly in school buildings. The latest figures indicate that up to 12,000 people may have left. Some have elected to stay behind to try and protect their houses and possessions. Some lack the means to leave.

Timid voices have started to be heard in Lebanon. Few have condemned the bombing of civilians inside the camps, but no politician from either Government or Opposition has made any clear statement. The Women's Humanitarian Organization, a Lebanese NGO active in the camps, issued an apologetic statement clarifying that Fateh al Islam appeared in the camp only six months ago, that they are mostly non-Palestinian, and that they are unrelated to any of the Palestinian organizations in the camp. The Organization asked for a truce to allow the evacuation of the civilian dead and wounded by the Red Cross.

The politics of the Middle East may be complicated, but some of its recurrent realities are very simple. Here's one of them: whenever any two opposing parties want to send each other a message, the poor end up paying the price.

Rami Zurayk is a Professor of Ecosystem Management, American University of Beirut. The opinions expressed in this article are personal and do not necessarily represent the opinions of the American University of Beirut. Interested in food, farming and rural society? You can view more of Prof. Zurayk's work at www.landandpeople.blogspot.com

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