April 22, 2011 Issue No. 103

UNRWA hands over the first reconstructed homes of Nahr el Bared Camp to families

On Tuesday April 19, 2011, UNRWA handed the first 19 newly reconstructed buildings to 43 NBC

families who have been waiting for this day since the start of the 2007 NBC conflict. “This is a

hopeful day", said Abu Khalil Loubani, one of the residents returning to his new home. "At last my family is back to

its home after 4 years of displacement. I was sceptical about this return, but today it has become a reality" he

explained.

The agency organized an inaugural celebration for the community. Despite the celebratory atmosphere of the

event, community members were emotional showing both gaiety and sorrow in some cases. The returning

families received keys, furniture grant cheques, lists of a few outstanding works and the division of responsibilities

borne by the contractor, the families and UNRWA.

Jihad Awad, another returning resident said, “When I received the keys from UNRWA I was satisfied. Stability is

what we were missing over the past four years. Living outside your house makes you always feel afraid and

concerned of future. I hope all families will have the same feelings.”

Aouni Awad, N2 residents Abu Nizar Kahdr, Popular Committee Charles Higgins, Project Manager

UNRWA's Project Manager running the reconstruction project, Charlie Higgins, said in his speech, "The handover

of Block 2 of Package 1 is a modest start to a process of gradual return to the Camp, which will continue over the

months and years to come as the different packages get designed, funded, and constructed… It is also a

demonstration of what is possible even in the face of adversity. Above all, it is a sign of hope. Hope that the

whole camp – which many voices, even Palestinian ones – said could not be rebuilt or would never be handed

back to the people, will be reconstructed.

As Higgins' explained, "It is 3 years and 11 months since the outbreak of the Nahr el-Bared crisis, and UNRWA

feels the pressure to deliver homes in Nahr el-Bared almost as keenly as you. We will continue to apply all

pressure we can to get the works that are currently underway, completed as soon as possible.

Reflecting on the reconstruction, Higgins stated that, “With the reconstruction must come economic and social

regeneration, because recovery from a severe crisis… requires much more than just building bricks and mortar".

Reaffirming UNRWA's commitment to the NBC population, Higgins said that, "Over the months to come… [w]e

will build on the strengths and compensate for weaknesses, to make it possible to replicate and multiply all the

processes we have had to invent. In this way, we will increase the scale and pace of reconstruction of the

remaining packages. Demonstrating success is the best way to build support for the project, both financial and

political, and that is what we will over the coming months.”

Directly after the ceremony, men, women children and youth gathered in one of the yards on the newly built area

where they sang and danced. Celebrations continued into the night and the following day.

On Thursday, families began moving furniture into their new homes while preparations for the first marriage are

underway this Saturday. As the NBC families turn an important corner away from the sorrow of 2007, a change of

atmosphere is palpable in the community. It is defined by relief and renewed hope. This unprecedented

reconstruction is an ongoing demonstration of UNRWA's, the Lebanese Government and the donor community

commitment to the Palestine refugees in Lebanon.

Message from the Director of UNRWA Affairs, Lebanon, Salvatore Lombardo

Today, Tuesday 19 April 2011, UNRWA is handing-over half of the 32 buildings and 85 apartments in a completed

reconstructed area of Package 1 in Nahr el-Bared Camp. This is a modest but important start marking UNRWA's

and the Lebanese Government's shared responsibility toward the Palestine refugees of Nahr el Bared. The gradual

return to the Camp will continue over the months and years to come as the different packages get designed,

funded, and constructed.

The rest of Package 1 will be completed during the summer, with blocks being handed over to their residents as

they are completed, with the first blocks of Package 2 being handed over soon after that.

While construction continues in Package 1, UNRWA will not stop any of the relief support. "Emergency" relief

assistance to the families in Package 1 will continue until the handover of Package 1 in the late summer. With

regards to access, they will no longer need a special permit from the Lebanese Armed Forces to access their

homes.

Although, this is a modest step, this day is an important day marking a much-awaited return of the first families to

their reconstructed homes in Nahr el Bared. With commitment, dedication and patience, UNRWA aims to achieve

its shared responsibility with the Lebanese Government as agreed to in the Vienna Conference, June 2008. If there are any misprints or inaccurate statements, please go to Camp Information Office and NMU Communication Office

This newsletter was published thanks to OFID (The OPEC Fund for International Development) for their

contribution to the reconstruction of schools in NBC

FENCE2IN THE BLOCK NNOTICE REQUEST FOR COMMUNITY SUPPORT TO MAINTA

Please work together with the members of the Popular Committees, the Factions and the residents of N2

to keep people from climbing and sitting on the protective fence surrounding N2. It is placed for the

community's safety. It will not bear human weight. If it is not respected, UNRWA is cautioning the

community that the LAF will likely request UNRWA to cover it with razor wire. No one wants this. Please

keep people and youths off the fence.