Dheisheh

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Dheisheh Camp
Arabic	مخيم بلاطة
Government	Refugee Camp (from 1949)
Also Spelled	ad-Duheisha Camp (officially)
Governorate	Bethlehem
Population	9,400 (2006)
Jurisdiction	1,546 dunams (1.5 km²)

Dheisheh (31°41′N, 35°09′E; Arabic: مخيم ال دهيشة‎) is a Palestinian refugee camps located just south of Bethlehem in the West Bank. Dheisheh occupies 1.5 square kilometers and is home to approximately 10,000 people. The camp was established as a temporary refuge for 3,400 Palestinians from 45 villages west of Jerusalem and Hebron who fled during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. Though initially living in tents, the residents now live in houses. The streets are very narrow and there are shortages of water in the summer. The Ibdaa Cultural Center, whose stated goal is to create a positive atmosphere for the children, is located in the camp. The organisation Karama Palestine, whose stated goal is to explore and develop women's and children's abilities, skills and creativity, is also located in the camp.

[edit] History

The Dheisheh refugee camp was founded in 1949 on an area of roughly 430 dunums within the city boundaries of Bethlehem in the West Bank.

The people who gathered in Dheisheh originated from more than 45 villages west of Jerusalem and Hebron. Dheisheh is one of the refugee camps that was created as a temporary humanitarian solution to the problem of accommodating those expelled Palestinians. Towards the end of the 1950s the UNRWA started to build very simple living units: A single room of 10 square metres, 10 cm thick and 2.45 m high walls, a steel roof and a floor made of rough concrete. Refugees began to build their own houses so as not to live in the UNRWA's shacks any longer. Today there are nearly 12,451 inhabitants living in Dheisheh with a total number of 2,682 families. The number of shelters in Dheisheh camp is 2,480.

[edit] External links

Karama Palestine

v • d • e

Palestinian exodus · Palestinian refugees¹ · UNRWA

Gaza Strip 986,034 refugees	Jordan 1,827,877 refugees	Lebanon 404,170 refugees	Syria 432,048 refugees	West Bank 699,817 refugees
Beach camp, 76,109 Bureij, 30,059 Deir al-Balah camp, 20,188 Jabalia, 103,646 Khan Yunis, 60,662 Maghazi, 22,536 Nuseirat, 64,233 Rafah camp, 90,638	Amman New Camp, 29,805 Baqa'a, 80,100 Husn, 19,573 Irbid, 23,512 Jabal el-Hussein , 27,674 Jerash, 15,696 Marka, 41,237 Souf, 14,911 Talbieh, 4,041 Zarqa, 17,344	Beddawi, 15,695 Burj el-Barajneh, 19,526 Burj el-Shemali, 18,134 Dbayeh, 4,223 Dikwaneh, destroyed Ein el-Hilweh, 44,133 El-Buss, 9,840 Jisr el-Basha, destroyed Mar Elias, 1,406 Mieh Mieh, 5,078 Nabatieh camp, destroyed in 1973 Nahr el-Bared, 28,358 Rashidieh, 24,679 Sabra Shatila, 11,998 Tel al-Zaatar, destroyed in 1976 Wavel, 7,357	Dera'a, 5,916 Dera'a (Emergency), 5,536 Hama, 7,597 Homs, 13,825 Jaramana, 5,007 Khan Dunoun, 8,603 Khan Eshieh, 15,731 Neirab, 17,994 Qabr Essit, 16,016 Sbeineh, 19,624 Latakia, 6,534 Yarmouk, 112,550 Ein Al-Tal, 4,329	Abu Dis Aida, 3,260 Am'ari, 8,083 Aqabat Jabr, 5,197 Arroub, 9,180 Askar, 13,894 Azaa, 1,828 Balata, 20,681 Deir Ammar, 2,189 Dheisheh, 10,923 Ein Beit al-Ma', 6,221 Ein el-Sultan, 1,888 Far'a, 6,836 Fawwar, 7,072 Jalazone, 9,284 Jenin, 14,050 Kalandia, 9,188 Nur Shams, 8,179 Shu'fat camp, 9,567 Tulkarm, 16,259

¹The UNRWA definition of a "Palestinian refugee" is a person "whose normal place of residence was Palestine between June 1946 and May 1948, who lost both their homes and means of livelihood as a result of the 1948 Arab-Israeli conflict." "UNRWA's definition of a refugee also covers the descendants of persons who became refugees in 1948." (UNRWA)