Lebanon, May 2007 - As the days pass without a resolution to the conflict in northern Lebanon, Beddawi camp is continuing to struggle with its new inhabitants.
Sitting in hallways, even sprawled on the floor through UNRWA's schools, parents attempt to distract their children from the obvious despair they are feeling. Many refugees say this displacement is reminiscent of the first one all those years ago.
With nowhere to sleep, the humanitarian situation is of the most difficult order.
As the health situation continues to deteriorate, it brings with it a new crisis: how to clothe, house and feed the more than 20,000 displaced from Nahr el-Bared.
Children, hungry, bored and traumatized roam the streets and hallways of the schools. NGO:s continue to arrange activities for them, but it is difficult because of the lack of space. Beddawi's population has doubled and the camps' infrastructure is stretched beyond capacity.
UNRWA teachers from Beddawi and Nahr el-Bared camps have put together an awareness campaign to reiterate the need for hygiene, in the hope of staving off disease and infection. There have already been many reported cases of lice and scabies.
The extent of the trauma of those suffered by those fleeing from Nahr el-Bared Camp is still not fully highlighted. However, stories are now emerging from those who left the beleaguered camp.