Baqa'a

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The Baqa'a refugee camp (Arabic: البقعة‎), first created in 1968, lies 20 km north of the Jordanian capital Amman, and is home to around 80,100 Palestinians who are registered as such with the United Nations, making it the largest camp in Jordan.

Baqa'a was one of six camps set up in Jordan in 1968 to house the Palestinians who left the West Bank and Gaza Strip during the 1967 Arab Israeli war. Between June 1967 and February 1968, residents were housed in temporary camps in the Jordan valley. When Baqa'a was set up it had 5,000 tents for 26,000 refugees on an area of about 1.4 square kilometres. UNRWA replaced the tents with 8,048 prefabricated shelters between 1969-1971 with contributions from Germany. Most of the residents have since then replaced the original tents and prefabs with concrete shelters.

During the 2003-4 school term, the 16 schools in the camp enrolled 16,718 students, and had 493 paid employees on the teaching staff, with each school run on a double-shift basis in eight school buildings. The UN also runs a general clinic, and two mother-and-child clinics, which jointly treat around 1,200 patients every day, and which are staffed by 12 doctors, two dentists, and 57 nurses and assistants; there is also a kindergarten and nursery financed by UNRWA. Two women's programs run courses in sewing, hairdressing, computers, Internet, exercise, English, legal consultancy, and handicrafts. There are also two sports clubs and 17 charities operating in the camp.

The camp houses a market, called Souq Al-Hal-lal, where residents can earn some money selling their wares or food, and many also earn a living by traveling by bus in the morning to Amman, where they work as cleaning or maintenance staff.

[edit] See also

• Palestinian refugee camps

[edit] References

• Baqa'a refugee camp, UNRWA

v • d • e Palestinian exodus   ·   Palestinian refugees1   ·   UNRWA
Gaza Strip 986,034 refugees Jordan 1,827,877 refugees Lebanon 404,170 refugees Syria 432,048 refugees West Bank 699,817 refugees Beach camp, 76,109 Bureij, 30,059 Deir al-Balah camp, 20,188 Jabalia, 103,646 Khan Yunis, 60,662 Maghazi, 22,536 Nuseirat, 64,233 Rafah camp, 90,638 Amman New Camp, 29,805 Baqa'a, 80,100 Husn, 19,573 Irbid, 23,512 Jabal el-Hussein , 27,674 Jerash, 15,696 Marka, 41,237 Souf, 14,911 Talbieh, 4,041 Zarqa, 17,344 Beddawi, 15,695 Burj el-Barajneh, 19,526 Burj el-Shemali, 18,134 Dbayeh, 4,223 Dikwaneh, destroyed Ein el-Hilweh, 44,133 El-Buss, 9,840 Jisr el-Basha, destroyed Mar Elias, 1,406 Mieh Mieh, 5,078 Nabatieh camp, destroyed in 1973 Nahr el-Bared, 28,358 Rashidieh, 24,679 Sabra Shatila, 11,998 Tel al-Zaatar, destroyed in 1976 Wavel, 7,357 Dera'a, 5,916 Dera'a (Emergency), 5,536 Hama, 7,597 Homs, 13,825 Jaramana, 5,007 Khan Dunoun, 8,603 Khan Eshieh, 15,731 Neirab, 17,994 Qabr Essit, 16,016 Sbeineh, 19,624 Latakia, 6,534 Yarmouk, 112,550 Ein Al-Tal, 4,329 Abu Dis Aida, 3,260 Am'ari, 8,083 Aqabat Jabr, 5,197 Arroub, 9,180 Askar, 13,894 Azaa, 1,828 Balata, 20,681 Deir Ammar, 2,189 Dheisheh, 10,923 Ein Beit al-Ma', 6,221 Ein el-Sultan, 1,888 Far'a, 6,836 Fawwar, 7,072 Jalazone, 9,284 Jenin, 14,050 Kalandia, 9,188 Nur Shams, 8,179 Shu'fat camp, 9,567 Tulkarm, 16,259
1The UNRWA definition of a "Palestinian refugee" is a person "whose normal place of residence was Palestine between June 1946 and May 1948, who lost both their homes and means of livelihood as a result of the 1948 Arab-Israeli conflict." "UNRWA's definition of a refugee also covers the descendants of persons who became refugees in 1948." (UNRWA)