Palestinian-Syrians refugees displaced from Syria began a sit-in on Tuesday in front of the Palestinian Embassy in Cairo, demanding equal treatment with other Syrian refugees and registration with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, (UNHCR).
Bashar al-Assad forces have attacked Palestinian refugee camps in Syria in the course of the conflict, including the Yarmouk camp.
Protesters said if their demands were not met, they would then demand the dismissal of the Palestinian Ambassador, Barakat al-Farra.
The group started a Facebook campaign under the title, “Do not kill us twice”, in which they called on “the Palestinian Embassy to work with the Egyptian government to resolve the problems of refugees in terms of recognition and equality with Syrian refugees.
“This matter shall be treated as a top priority for the Embassy,” the Facebook statement said.
They also demanded that the Palestinian embassy in Cairo provides medical care, food and money aid to refugees, and to form an emergency committee at the Palestinian Embassy in Cairo. This committee would address the problems faced by Palestinian-Syrian refugee in Cairo and be headed by the ambassador and consist of members of the Palestinian-Syrian refugee community in Egypt.
They called on all Palestinian refugees who came to Egypt from Syria to join a campaign to re-list their names, since the Palestinian Embassy was denying them access to the original lists.
Refugees demanded that there always be a delegate present from the Palestinian Embassy at the airport, with a publicized telephone number, to assist any refugees on arrival.
Palestinian refugees from Syria do not receive support from UNRWA, the agency mandated with dealing with Palestinian refugees in Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, the West Bank and Gaza.
Technically, that would make the UNHCR, the UN’s refugee agency, responsible for assisting Palestinian-Syrians refugees in Egypt but this has not been the case.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
