Commissioner General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) Philip Lazarini visited the old Askar camp in Nablus, headed by a delegation that included the Agency´s Director of Operations in the West Bank, Gwen Lewis, and the Agency´s Media Director, Kazem Abu Khalaf. The director of the Nablus area, Hanadi Abu Taqah, and the director of the agency’s office in the camp, Amjad al-Shobaki.
The delegation was received by Hosni Odeh, Chairman of the Popular Committee for Camp Services, members of the Committee, and representatives of a number of institutions in the old and new Askar camps.
In his welcoming speech, Odeh stressed the importance of the visit of Commissioner "Lazarini", which would allow him to have first-hand access to the concerns and problems of the Palestinian refugees in the refugee camps. He stressed that the popular committees are closely following the preparations for holding the annual donor conference for the International Relief Agency, because of its special importance, as the return from this conference will benefit the Palestinian refugee, who has suffered a lot as a result of the interruption of financial support to UNRWA by donors. He also stressed the refugees ’commitment to the survival and continuation of UNRWA’s work.
The Commissioner-General also listened to representatives of institutions and events in Askar Camps, who spoke about the concerns of the institutions´ problems, and the impact of the interruption of financial support for "UNRWA" on the services provided by their institutions to the refugees in the camp, which increased their suffering.
In turn, Lazarini talked about the arrangements being made to hold the UNRWA donor conference, which will have a positive impact on the reality of Palestinian refugee life in the camps.
After the meeting, the Commissioner-General and the accompanying delegation went on a field tour accompanied by the Chairman of the Services Committee, where he was briefed on the reality of the camp residents and their suffering.
