Helping young people to believe in their future is key to the stability of any society

Yesterday, the Commissioner General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), Philip Lazarini, began his first official visit to Lebanon since taking office on March 18.

During his visit to the Siblin Center, Mr. Claudio Cordone was accompanied by the Director of UNRWA Affairs in Lebanon, where he spoke with the young Palestinian refugee students about their aspirations and interests. He also visited the building that was rehabilitated to receive Palestinian refugees in need of isolation due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Subsequently, the Commissioner General visited the UNRWA isolation center and clinic in Al-Buss camp, where he was briefed on the health services that the Agency continues to provide to Palestinian refugees in light of the new measures and procedures. due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The commissioner’s visit also included the recycling site, boardwalk, and damaged houses in Rashidieh camp, where he met with a group of sanitation workers to thank them “for the efforts they are making together with front-line staff, to in light of today’s difficult circumstances to help raise the level of safety and hygiene in their communities. ” .

“Returning to Beirut in my new position and after the impact of the explosion last month is very emotional for me,” he said. He added: “Time spent with my UNRWA colleagues, with people living in Palestinian refugee camps and with representatives of the National and People’s Committee and the Camp Improvement Committee has added much to my information about the complex conditions of the Palestinian refugees in Lebanon “.

Lazarini also met with school MPs in the Tire region as UNRWA school children begin to relearn this month, to hear their views on education-related issues and their concerns about the limited prospects that await them after graduate.

After the visit, Lazarini said: “Keeping young people motivated and helping them believe in their future is the key to the stability of any society. Providing education and skills training for young Palestinian refugees is at the core of our programs. It is imperative to help them be productive in their society and support their access to the labor market. ”

On the other hand, Lazarini discussed the conditions of the Palestinian refugees with the president of the parliament, Nabih Berri.

Lazzarini also met with the head of the Palestinian-Lebanese Dialogue Committee, Hassan Mneimneh, at the committee’s headquarters in the government palace.

The meeting was attended by Claudio Cordone, the agency’s director in Lebanon, and the agency’s legal officer, Marie Shibli. The discussion dealt with the conditions in the camps in Lebanon and the difficult health and living conditions suffered by Palestinian refugees in Lebanon as a result of the spread of the Corona virus and the high number of people infected with it, on the one hand , and the economic, financial and monetary crisis in Lebanon. Rising unemployment and rising commodity prices, on the one hand, and UNRWA’s continuing financial deficit, on the other.

Mneimneh, UNRWA Commissioner General, was informed of the measures taken to ensure the needs to confront the spread of the Corona epidemic in the Palestinian camps and concentrations. He stressed “the need to strengthen the capacities of UNRWA to fulfill its responsibilities in providing health and social services to the residents of these camps and gatherings.”

The two sides emphasized “the importance of UNRWA’s continuing role and its responsibility towards Palestinian refugees, and the importance of donor countries and Arab countries in particular fulfilling their duties to support the agency and upholding its role and duties. humanitarian “. They viewed UNRWA support as support for stability in Lebanon and the region at this crucial stage. They agreed to continue communicating and strengthening cooperation between the Commission and the Agency and with the Lebanese state, donor and friendly countries to address the risks faced by UNRWA and Palestinian refugees.