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World Humanitarian Day 2020 - #RealLifeHeroes West Bank

19 August 2020

This World Humanitarian Day we are calling attention to frontline staff who don’t always get the recognition they deserve – camp sanitation teams. They provide vital sterilization and cleaning services in Palestine refugee camps across the Agency’s fields of operation in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. This photo essay is a journey through the UNRWA response to COVID-19 in Balata camp through the eyes of front-line responders, our humanitarian #RealLifeHeroes.  

Mohammad Abu Ayyash has been an environmental health laborer with UNRWA for thirteen years. “Some people don’t mind when we tell them not to dispose of facemasks in the street, others don’t like it. People look to UNRWA and rely on our services.” He adds, “The camp population has increased which has also increased our workload. There’s a need for more laborers.” The Agency hired an additional five sanitation staffers in response to Balata camp’s COVID-19 response. “We disinfect the houses of those who are infected and quarantined. We also disinfect clinics on Wednesdays when the medical staff change their shifts weekly.” © 2020 UNRWA Photo by Louise Wateridge Mohammad Abu Kishek has been an environmental health laborer in Balata for fifteen years. “The camp has sixteen main clean-up locations. We see a lot of disposable gloves and facemasks on the ground and have increased our clean-up efforts in response. We usually clean and disinfect the same locations multiple times a day.” “Our schedules have changed since the pandemic began. We start our work at six a.m. to three p.m. We also remain on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week. We all had only one day off for Eid! The community needs us and we are here to serve them now, just as we always have.” “When I come home from work, my little daughter gleefully shouts, ‘Corona! Corona!’ and laughs as she runs away,” shares Mohammad. “I’m aware that I am putting myself and my family at risk by being a frontline responder. I make sure to take precautions to protect my family. I shower and change my clothing before I meet with my family after work,” said Mohammad. © 2020 UNRWA Photo by Louise Wateridge UNRWA Camp Service Officer, Abed Samad highlights, “These isolation centres are made possible through the brave service UNRWA sanitation labourers who are on call to maintain them. I call them the environmental engineers of the camp because they not only keep the camp sanitized in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, but they also ensure that the camp runs day-to-day.” Abed continued, “Their work is highly critical, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic because hygiene is an essential element in beating the virus. These engineers do very important work, their absence greatly affects the camp. If an environmental health engineer is absent for a day, things will get messy.”© 2020 UNRWA Photo by Louise Wateridge have tested positive for the virus and those who are showing symptoms. Of the ten centres, only one has been used. The centres provide Palestine refugees space to self-isolate in the event that they cannot do so in their own homes. The centres include amenities such as a stocked kitchen, appliances, television and beds. Additionally, arrangements have been made to have food brought to the Centre’s inhabitants. Head of the Balata Camp Service Committee, Mr. Ahmad Yusuf Dukhan: “Cooperation between UNRWA, the Palestinian Authority and Camp Committees has been very strong in response to the coronavirus pandemic. This centre opened on June 24, 2020 and even though there are nine active COVID-19 cases in Balata Camp, we have not yet use this isolation centre.”© 2020 UNRWA Photo by Louise Wateridge © 2020 UNRWA Photo by Louise Wateridge© 2020 UNRWA Photo by Louise Wateridge © 2020 UNRWA Photo by Louise Wateridge © 2020 UNRWA Photo by Louise Wateridge

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