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'Dheisheh' (; ) is a Palestinian refugee camp located just south of Bethlehem in the West Bank. Dheisheh occupies 1.5 square kilometers and is home to approximately 10,000 people. The camp was established as a temporary refuge for 3,400 Palestinians from 45 villages west of Jerusalem and Hebron who fled during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. Though initially living in tents, the residents now live in houses. The streets are very narrow and there are shortages of water in the summer.
The Ibdaa Cultural Center, whose stated goal is to create a positive atmosphere for the children, is located in the camp. The organisation Karama Palestine, whose stated goal is to explore and develop women's and children's abilities, skills and creativity, is also located in the camp.

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History

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History

The Dheisheh refugee camp was founded in 1949 on an area of roughly 430 dunums within the city boundaries of Bethlehem in the West Bank.
The people who gathered in Dheisheh originated from more than 45 villages west of Jerusalem and Hebron. Dheisheh is one of the refugee camps that was created as a temporary humanitarian solution to the problem of accommodating those expelled Palestinians. Towards the end of the 1950s the UNRWA started to build very simple living units: A single room of 10 square metres, 10 cm thick and 2.45 m high walls, a steel roof and a floor made of rough concrete. Refugees began to build their own houses so as not to live in the UNRWA's shacks any longer. Today there are nearly 12,451 inhabitants living in Dheisheh with a total number of 2,682 families. The number of shelters in Dheisheh camp is 2,480.

External link

★ Ibdaa Cultural Center write-up

★ Karama Palestine