The creation of the Israeli state was based upon the disposition of the Palestinian people from their land. Mass expulsions began in 1948 and have continued until today. Walking through the tiny alleyways of the Shatila refugee camp just outside the city here, the 1982 massacre that occurred during the Israeli military occupation of the city is still an issue.

The occupation followed a massive Israeli invasion of the country, aimed at dealing a decisive military and political blow to the Palestinian movement.

"Right here lie about 3,000 women, children, and men, young and old, about half who were Lebanese," said camp resident Khoder. "They were butchered by the fascist militias as Israeli troops looked on." The cemetery is a plot of land about 400 square meters. "As you can see there is no monument, no tombstone, no marker. These people are yet to be buried with the dignity they deserve," said Khoder.

Mai Masri, the Palestinian director of the award-winning movie documentary "Children of Shatila," added, "Until recently the plot was a garbage dump. It took a struggle by Palestinian youth to just clean it up."

"Shatila was leveled three times in less than 10 years," Khoder explained. "The last time was in the 1985-1987 camp wars, which pitted the Palestinian fighters against the Shiite Amal militias.

"About 7,000 Palestinians still live in this camp," explained Khoder. "What has changed is that some 11,000 Lebanese war refugees from the south as well as Syrian workers also now live in the camp. And Gypsies have settled right on the outskirts."

The Palestinian Human Rights Organization in the camp include Palestinians and Lebanese. Such committees exist in a number of camps and involve Palestinian youth. We met with four Palestinians and a Lebanese member of the organization.

Palestinians in Lebanon "face a very difficult situation," said committee member Bassam. "The PLO accords with Israel have left us in a state of suspension. It is evident that our right to return to Palestine, to our old towns and villages, is not even on the agenda of the agreements. Even if we are not strong enough right now, our struggle will one day be on the rise again. In 50 years they have failed to make us forget our home! One day we shall return," he vowed.

"After 50 years in Lebanon, the 370,000 Palestinians still face severe social discrimination," said Kahtan, another member of the organization. "We are denied basic rights as residents of the country. Palestinians cannot hold over 70 categories of jobs by law and you pay taxes but get none of the social security benefits that other workers are entitled to."

Bassam added, "We are fighting for the civic rights that any human being is entitled to. As long as we are forced by the Israelis to live outside our country, Palestine, we are entitled to live with some dignity. We are not demanding to become Lebanese citizens because we will never give up our own homeland, but these restrictive laws on Palestinian refugees must be lifted."

A small building in the camp houses a school run by the Palestinian women's organization, Najdeh, Arabic for assistance. Nuhail, a camp resident and director of the school, said, "Since the accords the conditions in the camps have gotten substantially worse. UNRWA [United Nations Relief Works Administration] has been cutting back on its services. Just a few years ago they used to have three schools operating here and now it is down to one.

"We had demonstrations in front of the UNRWA headquarters in Beirut against deteriorating school conditions as well as a decision to make refugees pay for notebooks, pencils, and a small tuition. In addition to that the PLO institutions and funds have been pulled out. We have been totally left to fend for ourselves," she said.

Khoder says he thinks the prospect of a Palestinian state being set up in at least parts of the West Bank and Gaza Strip is "not a solution for us here. It will still be too weak to do anything." Nuhail adds, "We are not opposed to it though. It will give a boost to our identity as Palestinians, such as a passport and embassies. This is a big thing for a stateless people."

The Palestinian youth center Ajial, or Generations, is newly set up in the middle of Beirut. Palestinian youth from several camps are involved there, including Ain El Helwe, the largest in south Lebanon. It is not unusual for several dozen Palestinian and Lebanese youth to be meeting there, holding classes and discussions.

The walls are full of maps of historic Palestine and the villages that were cleared of their Palestinian population by the Zionist settlers in 1948.

Bashar is a young Palestinian, a member of Ajial, and a member of the Palestinian Campaign for the Right To Return. The group has organized a festival attended by 4,000, as well as put on film showings and distributed informational material such as a newly released CD Rom, entitled "We Shall Return."

"One of our main aims here is to keep the memory of Palestine alive among the new generation," Bashar said. "We must know where we come from and the long history of our people's struggle to return." The group is "neither for nor against [Palestine Liberation Organization Chairman Yasser] Arafat or any of the other Palestinian parties. The Palestinian cause is not tied to any individuals; it is a people's movement," he said.

As the possibility of an Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon is posed, Lebanese government officials are seeking to insure a vacuum is not created for Lebanese fighters for national sovereignty or Palestinians struggling for self-determination to press forward their demands.

For example, Michel Murr, the Lebanese minister of interior, issued a warning to all Palestinians — especially those in the south — in response to an Israeli government announcement it would unilaterally withdraw its military occupation force from southern Lebanon. Murr stated that Palestinians "could foment troubles in south Lebanon in case of an Israeli withdrawal." He said appropriate security measures would be taken in response.

In the south of Lebanon the atmosphere is tense around the Ain El Helwe camp. Every-one entering must pass through Lebanese army roadblocks and the entire camp is surrounded by army troops. Cannons can be seen on the hill just outside the camp. Security inside the camp is in the hands of the Fatah members of PLO Chairman Arafat.

"All the camps in the south are surrounded by the army," said Salah, a young plaster worker and member of Ajial. "The three camps further south are practically under army siege. If you drive into the camp with a water faucet it gets confiscated under the pretext that it is a permanent building material. The situation is very hard. They want to force people to leave. Now that negotiations [between Israel and the Palestinian Authority] have entered the final status stage, the Lebanese government is worried that it will get stuck with the Palestinian refugees here."

On November 22 more than 500 Palestinians in Ain El Helwe held a protest at the army checkpoint against the siege of the camps. A scuffle with the Lebanese army led to a soldier being slightly wounded.

A recent concert in Beirut is another example of the spirit of many Palestinians and Lebanese. Hundreds of young people lined up hours ahead of the opening to hear Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish and Lebanese singer and composer Marcel Khalife. Darwish left Lebanon in 1982 with the PLO fighters when they evacuated Beirut. This was the first time he was allowed to return. By the time the program began, more than 4,000 people packed the theater and the crowd overflowed into the courtyard where a big screen was set up.

Maria Plessa and Natasha Terlexis contributed to this article.  
 
 
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