Area: Lebanon

Population Size: 17,945

Established date: 1948

Background:

The League of Red Cross Societies established the Burj Barajneh camp in 1948 to accommodate refugees who fled from the Galilee in northern Palestine. The camp is in the southern suburbs of Beirut, near Beirut International Airport.

Burj Barajneh suffered heavily throughout the Lebanese civil war. Refugees’ property was badly damaged and nearly a quarter of the camp's population was displaced.

Men from the camp generally work as casual labourers in construction, and women work in sewing factories or as cleaners.

It is the most overpopulated camp around Beirut and living conditions are extremely poor. The camp also has narrow roads, an old sewage system, and is regularly flooded during winter.

In December 2009 a rehabilitation project funded by the European Union began. It will install a new water supply system, replace the sewage network, clear storm water and reinstate alleys and roads.

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UNRWA website