Al-Sabinah camp

Al-Sabinah camp, one of the Palestinian refugee camps in Syria, is located next to the city of Al-Sabinah, 14 kilometers south of Damascus. It was founded in 1948 on an area of 0.03 square kilometers of land. The camp was housed by those displaced from the 1948 war, in addition to Palestinians who had moved to the Golan Heights and were then displaced as a result of the 1967 Six Day War.^[1]

Due to the military confrontations that took place in the camp in 2013, all of its 22,600 residents were displaced. Some families then left the country in search of refuge in neighboring countries. Government forces regained control of the camp in late 2013. The camp remained closed for almost four years and housing and infrastructure had been severely damaged.

In September 2017, civilians were able to return to their homes. In 2018, all UNRWA facilities were rehabilitated, including three schools, the Environmental Health Office, the Office of Social Workers, the Food Distribution Center, the Health Center and the Community Center. The agency also provided support to Palestine refugees by transporting water and clearing rubble from main streets and corridors.

According to statistics for the academic year 2020–2021, the number of students enrolled more than 3,766 children in six UNRWA schools. More than 16,000 of the 22,600 people have returned to the camp as of March 2021, while another four thousand remain in the area around the camp.

The majority of refugees previously worked in factories and industrial facilities, or as day laborers on farms owned by Syrians. Women mostly worked as domestic servants in Damascus to support family income. But those opportunities have diminished during the conflict and the unemployment rate remains very high with limited financial resources.

Like other areas in Syria, displacement, unemployment, inflation, and protection and security risks are among the main concerns shared by Palestine refugees and Syrians alike. The 10-year conflict has led to an increase in early marriages, child labour, drug abuse, violence and psychological problems. Despite financial constraints, UNRWA has strengthened its efforts to conduct preventive and awareness-raising activities and to provide psychosocial support through its schools and the Community Centre. The situation was again exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Palestine refugee camps locations and populations as of 2015^[1]

Gaza Strip 518,000 UNRWA refugees	West Bank 188,150 UNRWA refugees	Syria 319,958 UNRWA refugees	Lebanon 188,850 UNRWA refugees	Jordan 355,500 UNRWA refugees
Al-Shati (Beach camp) 87,000 Bureij 34,000 Deir al-Balah 21,000 Jabalia 110,000 Khan Yunis 72,000 Maghazi 24,000 Nuseirat 66,000 Rafah 104,000 Canada closed	Aqabat Jaber 6,400 Ein as-Sultan 1,900 Far'a 7,600 Fawwar 8,000 Jalazone 11,000 Qalandia 11,000 Am'ari 10,500 Deir 'Ammar 2,400 Dheisheh 13,000 Aida 4,700 Al-Arroub 10,400 Askar 15,900 Balata 23,600 'Azza (Beit Jibrin) 1,000 Ein Beit al-Ma' (Camp No. 1) 6,750 Tulkarm 18,000 Nur Shams 9,000 Jenin 16,000 Shu'fat 11,000 Silwad Birzeit	Sabinah 22,600 Khan al-Shih 20,000 Nayrab 20,500 Homs 22,000 Jaramana 18,658 Daraa 10,000 Hama 8,000 Khan Danoun 10,000 Qabr Essit 23,700 Unofficial camps Ein Al-Tal 6,000 Latakia 10,000 Yarmouk 148,500	Bourj el-Barajneh 17,945 Ain al-Hilweh 54,116 El Buss 11,254 Nahr al-Bared 5,857 Shatila 9,842 Wavel 8,806 Mar Elias 662 Mieh Mieh 5,250 Beddawi 16,500 Burj el-Shemali 22,789 Dbayeh 4,351 Rashidieh 31,478 Former camps Tel al-Zaatar  ? Nabatieh  ?	Zarqa 20,000 Jabal el-Hussein 29,000 Amman New (Wihdat) 51,500 Souf 20,000 Baqa'a 104,000 Husn (Martyr Azmi el-Mufti camp) 22,000 Irbid 25,000 Jerash 24,000 Marka 53,000 Talbieh 8,000 Al-Hassan  ? Madaba  ? Sokhna  ?

References

1. ^ "Camp Profiles". unrwa.org. United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East. Retrieved 2 July 2015.