Life in the Palestinian refugee camps of Beirut | DW Documentary

In the Palestinian refugee camps of Sabra and Shatila, people live at subsistence level. They have no civil rights and no prospects. The Palestinian camps set up in Beirut after the founding of Israel still seem like makeshift arrangements, even today.

The documentary portrays three families living in Sabra and Shatila. Both camps were established in the Lebanese capital of Beirut shortly after the founding of the state of Israel in 1948. They were created as a refuge for Palestinian families after their expulsion and flight from what is now the territory of Israel.

Eight-year-old Abu Ahmad, who fled to Beirut with his mother and two of his older siblings to escape the war in Syria, works 14 hours a day to supplement the family's meagre living expenses. He finds a fatherly protector in Abu Asali, who owns the juice stand where he works.

Ayman Kujeyje, father of five and a store owner, arranges the engagement of his daughter Sanaa - he does not want to worry about her anymore. But the engagement is problematic.

Ex-convict Aboodi Ziani is trying to get his life back on track after his release from prison. His young son Ali gives him hope and a purpose in life and Aboodi Ziani wants to give him a better life. But in a poor, makeshift neighborhood like Shatila, construction jobs pay badly. The money he earns is barely enough to survive.

The Daher family belong to the Lebanese Dom community - a traditionally itinerant group, similar to the Roma and Sinti in Europe. They have no official nationality and are fighting for the life of their seriously ill daughter Sareea. She is being denied medical help. The Dahers' adolescent son dreams of being free -- but without papers this is likely to remain a fantasy.

The filmmakers follow their protagonists over a period of four years - between 2018 and 2022 - as they experience the consequences of major upheavals. These include Beirut’s gigantic port explosion, Lebanon's historic economic crisis, the coronavirus pandemic and the ever-increasing number of refugees seeking shelter here.

[This film was produced in 2023, before the 07 October.]

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