STORY: Residents of Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon in fears despite ceasefire
DATELINE: Sept. 20, 2023
LENGTH: 00:04:19
LOCATION: Beirut
CATEGORY: SOCIETY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of the destruction caused by clashes in Ain Al-Helweh
2. various of children playing with plastic guns in Ain Al-Helweh
3. SOUNDBITE 1 (Arabic): FOUAD OSMAN, Official with the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine
4. various of the destruction caused by clashes in Ain Al-Helweh
5. SOUNDBITE 2 (Arabic): NAZEK KLEIB, Palestinian refugee

STORYLINE:

Days after a ceasefire took effect between the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) militants and the Islamist militants in the Ain Al-Helweh refugee camp, in the vicinity of southern Lebanon's coastal town of Sidon, life has returned to almost normal as most of the refugees who fled the clashes returned to check on their properties.

Speaker of the Lebanese parliament Nabih Berri brokered the ceasefire. Still, the volume of destruction and damages inflicted were huge and the cost of reconstruction is beyond the capabilities of the refugees.

SOUNDBITE 1 (Arabic): FOUAD OSMAN, Official with the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine
"The volume of damages is huge and horrifying. When I toured the area yesterday and saw the damages, it was truly huge and horrifying. It is not easy for our people to return to these destructed areas and live in it. Therefore, an urgent call to UNRWA and the international community and the donors' countries is needed to secure the money needed to reconstruct what has been destructed and restore what has been damaged. And also to compensate the families for the losses they were subjected to and to enable them to return and be able to live the minimum of a decent life. I also call on the PLO (Palestine Liberation Organization) and the executive committee as they are the legal representatives of the Palestinian people to issue an appeal to collect the needed amounts of money for our people afflicted in Ain Al-Helweh. Without this approach, our people whose properties have been damaged or demolished will not be able to return to Ain Al-Helweh."

Some refugees who were shocked by the volume of destruction, asserted that they would not return soon to the camp because the security situation was still volatile.

SOUNDBITE 2 (Arabic): NAZEK KLEIB, Palestinian refugee
"We are not returning to the camp. I'm here to collect some personal things and leave again, because the security situation is still unstable. When the fighting broke out, we immediately escaped from this area through el Hisbeh. Those who had places outside, they went to them, and those who had not stayed in the streets. When we left, I took nothing with me, now I'm here to collect some personal things and leave again."

Though the calm is reigning in Ain Al-Helweh, fears of clashes to return are making the living in the camp and the surrounding areas tense as the main reason for the clashes has not been solved yet, which could reignite the clashes.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Beirut.
(XHTV)