Husn Camp or Al-Husn Camp, known locally as Martyr Azmi el-Mufti camp, is a

Palestinian refugee camp Camps are set up by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip to accommodate Palestinian refugees registered with UNRWA, who fled or were expelled during the 1948 Palestinian ...

Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...

. It is located near

Al Husn Al Husun ( ar, الحصن, also Romanized as Al Husn, Hisn and Husn) is a town in northern Jordan, located north of Amman, and about south of Irbid. It has a population of 35,085. The region has fertile soil which along with the moderate cl ...

, about north of

Amman Amman (; ar, عَمَّان, ' ; Ammonite language, Ammonite: 𐤓𐤁𐤕 𐤏𐤌𐤍 ''Rabat ʻAmān'') is the capital and largest city of Jordan, and the country's economic, political, and cultural center. With a population of 4,061,150 a ...

. It was established in 1968 as an emergency camp to house 12,500 refugees who were displaced from the

West Bank The West Bank ( ar, الضفة الغربية, translit=aḍ-Ḍiffah al-Ġarbiyyah; he, הגדה המערבית, translit=HaGadah HaMaʽaravit, also referred to by some Israelis as ) is a landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...

and the

Gaza Strip The Gaza Strip (;The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p.761 "Gaza Strip /'gɑːzə/ a strip of territory under the control of the Palestinian National Authority and Hamas, on the SE Mediterranean coast including the town of Gaza.. ...

during the 1967

Six-Day War The Six-Day War (, ; ar, النكسة, , or ) or June War, also known as the 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states (primarily United Arab Republic, Egypt, S ...

. As of 2005, it housed 50,573 refugees. The camp has a women's centre, four schools in two buildings, a health centre, a food distribution centre, and a rehabilitation centre.

Housing

Initially, the refugees were housed in tents which were pitched in an area of . With the influx of more refugees, 2,990

prefabricated Prefabrication is the practice of assembling components of a structure in a factory or other manufacturing site, and transporting complete assemblies or sub-assemblies to the construction site where the structure is to be located. The term is u ...

structures were constructed between 1969 and 1971 by the

United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) is a UN agency that supports the relief and human development of Palestinian refugees. UNRWA's mandate encompasses Palestinians displaced by the 1948 P ...

(UNRWA). Many of the refugees were shifted to these prefab housing complex.

Demographics

The initial refugee population, centered at a temporary facility, was 12,500, while there are now over 22,000 refugees registered at the camp. The demographic statistics indicate that people in the age group of 25-45 constitute about 30 percent, while children in the age range of 0–5 years are about 12 percent, and senior citizens above 60 years of age constitute about 10 percent.

Support facilities

The support facilities provided by the UNRWA at Husn Camp are spread over an area of . They include health, education, relief, and social services at nine locations operated by 167 staff members. The camp also has a women's programme centre, which generates income for women. During 2001–03, the infrastructure works built in the camp covered concrete sewer lines and house connections over a total length of , water supply connections covering lines, creation of drainage facilities and reinforced concrete walls, and upkeep of all existing facilities. The Husn refuge camp has one health center. It is staffed by a doctor, one or more nurses, and a midwife. The four schools, which are housed in two buildings, are supported under the education programme of

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

. The

Social safety net The social safety net (SSN) consists of non-contributory assistance existing to improve lives of vulnerable families and individuals experiencing poverty and destitution. Examples of SSNs are previously-contributory social pensions, in-kind and fo ...

programme of UNRWA also provides distribution of cash subsidies and also food to refugees apart from providing vocational training centres or education science facilities to selected students in the hardship category.

References

{{coord, 32, 28.5, N, 35, 54.3, E, display=title, region:JO Palestinian refugee camps in Jordan 1968 establishments in Jordan Populated places in Irbid Governorate