While the economic situation in much of the West Bank has improved over the last couple years, this progress has largely missed many of the West Bank’s refugee camps.

Askar Refugee Camp was established in the Palestinian city of Nablus in 1950 by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA). It was designed to house some of the 700,000+ people displaced or expelled during the creation of the state of Israel in 1948. The camp, however, was expanded by its residents in 1965 due to overcrowding. The expansion became known as New Askar Refugee Camp but was not officially recognized by UNRWA.

According to UNRWA, as of 2007, the poverty rate in Askar hovers between 40 and 50 percent while close to 30 percent experience “extreme” poverty.

The original residents of Askar Refugee Camp were expelled from areas such as Jaffa and Haifa in, what is now, Israel. Many camp residents still hold the keys and deeds to their pre-1948 homes hoping that they will be able to return one day.

New Askar Refugee Camp was an essential part of my introduction to Palestine back in 2005. I spent a little over two weeks volunteering and spending time with the kids of the camp. I returned to volunteer again in the summer of 2008. Now, five years since my first visit, I still recognize many of the children that have unknowingly played a significant role in my life, not as a photographer, but as a human being. And for that, I will be eternally grateful to them.

Being a freelance photographer gives me a degree of freedom that might not otherwise be possible. However, that also means that I am often forced to finance my own projects. If you enjoy my work, please consider making a donation.

I first came to the West Bank in August 2005 as part of an international voluntary work camp. For almost three weeks I, along with approximately 30 other people from around the world, spent time with the children from New Askar Refugee Camp. While we were there, we painted one of the walls of the camp’s social center. Every day, I took a panoramic photo of the wall in various stages of completion.

When I returned to the United States, I wanted to find some way to thank the people of the refugee camp for having us and for giving us an experience we would remember for the rest of our lives. So I decided to take the photos of the wall, make it into a poster and then sent it, country by country, around the world so that all of the international volunteers would have a chance to sign it. I don’t remember all of the countries it visited but I know it made a few stops in the United States, made its way through several European countries, and even traveled as far as South Korea. After many months (actually close to a year, I think) of coordinating shipments from person to person, it finally ended up back at New Askar Refugee Camp where it was framed and hung on the wall.

Now, almost 5 years later, I finally got a chance to see it the other day, hanging in the social center of New Askar Refugee Camp. I’ve included photos of the poster and the wall as it exists today…

Click on each image for a larger version…

Being a freelance photographer gives me a degree of freedom that might not otherwise be possible. However, that also means that I am often forced to finance my own projects. If you enjoy my work, please consider making a donation.

Askar Refugee Camp is located on the outskirts of the Palestinian city of Nablus in the occupied West Bank. The camp was established in 1950 by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA). The camp was created to house some of the 700,000 people displaced or expelled by the creation of the state of Israel in 1948. The original residents of Askar camp included Arab families from what is now Jaffa and Haifa in modern-day Israel. In 1965, residents of the camp began expanding into the surrounding territory because of severe overcrowding within the original lot allocated to Askar camp. This new territory became known as “New Askar” but is not recognized by UNRWA.

According to UNRWA, the poverty rate in Askar camp hovers between 40 and 50 percent, with close to 30 percent of camp residents experiencing “extreme” poverty. [1].

On 15 June 2008, the children of New Askar Refugee Camp participated in a parade to honor child “martyrs”. This included any child resident of the camp who had died or had been killed within the last few years. This mostly celebratory march took a somber turn when it ended at the grave of Jamil Abdul-Kareem al-Jabaji. Jamil was killed by the Israeli army on 3 December 2006. When the Israeli human rights organization B’Tselem reported that Jamil was a minor and a non-combatant, the Israeli army was quick to correct the report by adding that Jamil had been shot while he was throwing stones at an Israeli army vehicle as it patrolled the camp, making him a combatant. Jamil was 14.

Click on each photo for a larger version…

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