Homeless In Gaza From a Correspondent lately in Gaza To most people the name of Gaza brings a picture of blind Samson pulling down the pillars of the house upon the Philistines and himself. To-day the reputed tomb of Samson is inhabited by a family of Arab refugees. They form part of the horde of some 200,000 people from Palestine who poured into the " Gaza Strip " in 1948, during the troubles between the Arabs and Jews which broke out after the partition plan was announced. Many moved out under orders from their leaders, although im- plored to stay by Jews with whom they had been on friendly terms for years. Others, particularly the townspeople of Jaffa, were driven to flight by the brutality of the Irgun terrorists, and a massacre of innocent villagers at Dir Yassin, magnified by rumour, struck panic into the hearts of thousands. The refugees in the north gravitated to the Lebanon and Syria, those to the east to Judea, the Jordan valley, and Transiordan, while those in the south turned towards Gaza, which was held by the Egyptians and is now under military government. The " Strip," only 25 miles long and five miles wide, runs from Gaza to the Sinai frontier at Rafah. Last August the total number of Arab refugees receiving rations from the United Nations was 860,000, and because of the high birth-rate this number is steadily increasing. Roughly half of these are in the Kingdom of Jordan, a quarter in the Lebanon, Syria, and Iraq, and a quarter in Gaza. There are two alternatives possible for them-repatriation or re- settlement. In December, 1948, the United Nations Assembly resolved that "the refugees wishing to return to their homes and live at peace with their neighbours should be permitted to do so." The Arab League took its stand on this and insisted on the refugees' repatriation as a condition of peace negotiations. It has since taken a more realistic view and, while still main- taining the principle of repatriation, has agreed that efforts shall be made to re- settle the refugees in the lands where they now are. RESETrLEMENT PLANS Extensive recommendations for resettle- rvent have been made by the Economic Survey Mission for the Middle East (the Clapp Commission), which has proposed the development of the econo- mic and natural resources of the Arab countries in cooperation with the Govern- ments concerned. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency, now responsible for the maintenance of the refugees, has already begun to carry out some of these schemes, but has been unable to reach the targets set by the commission, among the reasons being the late start, the time taken to interest refugees and Governments, the lack of funds, and the lack of opportunity for work in Gaza. The only exit from the Gaza Strip, which is hemmed in by Israel, is to Egypt, and there the refugees are not welcome. They are virtually imprisoned in the area, their only means of escape being a dangerous moonlight flit through Jewish territory. Meanwhile, 70,000 of them have crammed themselves into Gaza town, more than doubling its inhabitants. Over- crowded rooms are let at extortionate rents and those unable to afford them have taken to tents, makeshift shelters, even holes in the ground. On every bit of spare ground pitiable shacks can be seen, made of canvas, sacking, boughs of trees, and bits of tin. Outside the town huge scattered camps have grown up round the villages and two former British Army camps. In Breij about 8,000 refugees are in tents or makeshifts and 6,000 in buildings of varying degrees of soundness. Many of these are large barracks with fairly sound walls and roofs but lacking doors and windows. Inside each is a honeycomb of 30 or 40 cubicles, divided by mud walls or partitions of blankets. In each cell live one, two, or three families, the lucky ones being those with a window. In the larders and kitchens of these ex-Army canteens the refugees huddle among the sinks and stoves, and in the bath-houses they lie down to sleep among the showers or in the boiler rooms. Those under canvas have fared no better, for many tents which were in reasonable shape when issued quickly rotted in the rain and gales of winter, and total replacement was im- possible. The tents, too, are over- crowded, and even the small ones are often divided by a canvas partition separating two families. Privacy, even by Arab standards, is impossible in such con- ditions. In addition, there is the corrosion of idleness and despair, eating into moral fibre and breeding bitterness and discontent. The Gaza scene, especially in spring, is a pleasant one, with its undulating hills and deep green orange groves. There are orchards of almond and fig and fields of corn and vegetables. But aU the crops depend upon expensive artificial irrigation or the short rainy season, and among the oases of cultivation are great tracts of desert sand. There are no possibilities of agricultural or industrial development, and all the Clapp Commission could sug- gest was some road works and tree plant- ing to prevent the encroachment of the sand. The United Nations rations keep the recipients above starvation level, and there are extras for those who can afford them; but resources are running out, and hunger makes the temptation to cheat and steal overwhelming. A few hundred are em- ployed on weaving and tailoring and 1,500 on relief work, but many thousands of able-bodied men have no occupation whatever. Bodies as well as hearts grow sick with hope deferred, and though there has been no major epidemic there is a high incidence of tuberculosis and respiratory diseases and inadequate means of treating them. At the English Church Missionary Society hospital Dr. Hargreaves and his staff are heroically coping with 90 in- patients instead of 30 and vast out-patient clinics. EFFECT ON CHILDREN The effect of such conditions among the children is tragic. In the schools the teachers, mostly very young, are doing a fine job against great handicaps; but only about a quarter of the children of school age go to school, the rest run wild, and many cannot attend because of lack of clothes. If only funds were available there would be an unequaUed oppOrtunity to educate these youngsters, but last year teachers received only ?3 a month, and equipment was so inadequate that much of the teaching was given orally to children sitting on the ground. About 42,000 of the refugees in Gaza are townspeople from Jaffa, Lydda and Ramleh and 35.0C. are Beduin, nomadic tribesmen cut off from their lands by the demarcation line. This leaves about 125,000 fellaheen or villagers, who wear the native dress and have none of the sophistication of the westernized towns- men. They are often primitive and un- taught, largely illiterate, and their whole world hitherto has been their village and the land on which their forefathers have dwelt for generations-perhaps even before it was first promised to the Children of Israel. The more ignorant refugees have not yet realized that return is a practical impossibility and much " con- ditioning," both mental and physical, would be needed to fit them for resettle- ment elsewhere. There has been no serious rioting among the refugees, but there is wide- spread unrest which is liable to break out in mob demonstrations and minor violence, especially when bodily discom- fort becomes intolerable. In February last year a three-day storm of violent gales and rain culminated in snow, and existence in leaking tents, tearing to shreds in the wind on exposed hill-tops, must have been pitiful. EXPLOSIVE FORCES Colonel H-oward Kennedy conclolded bis report to the United Nations Political Committee on November I with the words: As Director of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency I feel it my duty two bring these matters to the attention of the United Nations, because explosive forces are being generated which should be dealt with before the point of detonation is reached . . . the United Nations is on trial in its handling of the Palestine situation, and wise and sympathetic handling of the current refugee problem is irmperative if the situation is not to experience further deterioration. Grave difficulties and dangers elsewhere should not blind us to this great human tragedy of the Middle East. The Clapp Commission recognized that, though the measures it recommended to reduce the refugee problem would not of themselves bring peace, yet "if the refugees be left forgotten and desolate in their misery, peace will recede yet farther from these distracted lands." *'* Picture on page 12. HOMELESS IN GAZA PLIGHT OF ARAB REFUGEES IN PALESTINE