The Marka refugee camp ( ar, مخيم ماركا) is one of six emergency camps erected in 1968 to shelter 15,000

Palestinian refugee Palestinian refugees are citizens of Mandatory Palestine, and their descendants, who fled or were expelled from their country over the course of the 1947–49 Palestine war ( 1948 Palestinian exodus) and the Six-Day War ( 1967 Palestinian exo ...

s and displaced persons who left 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.. ...

as a result of the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. Located in the

Marka district Marka is an area of Greater Amman Municipality, Jordan. It is to the north-east of Amman proper. Its confines include Amman Civil Airport and the Marka refugee camp The Marka refugee camp ( ar, مخيم ماركا) is one of six emergency camps ...

of metropolitan

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 ...

, about ten kilometers northeast of the city center, it is known locally as Hittin (حطين) or Schneller and houses 44,879

UNRWA 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 ...

registered refugees and over 17,500 displaced persons.

History

Initially, the

refugee camp A refugee camp is a temporary settlement built to receive refugees and people in refugee-like situations. Refugee camps usually accommodate displaced people who have fled their home country, but camps are also made for internally displaced peo ...

consisted of tents erected on land area covering some 917,000 square metres. Plans to provide stronger tents for the harsh winters were shelved by United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) so as to construct 4,000 prefabricated shelters instead, between 1969 and 1971. Funding for the construction came from the

Federal Republic of Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated between ...

, the Government of

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, the Jordan Development Bank, and Near East Emergency Donations. Over the years since, many of the camp's inhabitants have built their own more durable concrete shelters.

Public services

Two secondary schools in the camp are operated by the government of Jordan and there is a health centre operated by

Medical Aid for Palestinians Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) is a British charity that offers medical services in the West Bank, Gaza and Lebanon, and advocates for Palestinians' rights to health and dignity. It is in special consultative status with ECOSOC since 2002. A ...

(MAP UK). A local committee in the camp operate a sewing centre and a computer centre. All other education, health and social services are provided by UNRWA, whose 418 staff members run 10 schools serving 9,492 pupils and two health centres for some 1012 patients a day. Over 600 families in the camp receive extra assistance through a special hardship case programme and sanitation works are also provided by UNRWA. A women's programme centre run by local women and a community rehabilitation centre which provides day-care also benefit from UNRWA support.

References

External links

Marka
articles from

UNWRA 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 ...

{{coord, 32, 00, 32.86, N, 36, 01, 13.71, E, type:city_region:JO, display=title Populated places established in 1968 Palestinian refugee camps in Jordan