The fact that the divided Palestinian political leadership is silent about the mistreatment of the refugees by Arab states does not make such behaviour any less reprehensible – or less dangerous. Some 250,000 Palestinians were chased out of Kuwait and other Gulf States to punish the Palestinian political leadership for supporting Saddam Hussein. Tens of thousands of Palestinian residents of Iraq were similarly dispossessed after the second Gulf war.

In 2001, Palestinians in Lebanon were stripped of the right to own property, or to pass on the property that they already owned to their children – and banned from working as doctors, lawyers, pharmacists or in 20 other professions. Even the Palestinian refugee community in Jordan, historically the most welcoming Arab state, has reason to feel insecure in the face of official threats to revoke their citizenship. The systematic refusal of Arab governments to grant basic human rights to Palestinians who are born and die in their countries – combined with periodic mass expulsions of entire Palestinian communities – recalls the treatment of Jews in medieval Europe. (full article…)

The UNHCR says that 4.7 million Iraqis have left their homes since the war began, up from 3.8 million two years ago. Iraqis are the leading nationality seeking asylum in Europe. (more…)

Yesterday, I formally began my internship at the UNHCR in London. Overall it was a decent experience – albeit a very busy and immediate introduction to their work. Essentially, I am required to come in around 9.30 each morning to read every major British newspaper and newsmagazine… Yes, that’s right… I’ll be sitting down with a cup of coffee each morning, flipping my way through the Guardian, the Times, the Telegraph, the Independent, the New Statesmen, the Economist, Prospect, etc. etc. Of course, there is a reason for this – I am meant to find any articles relevant to UNHCR’s work, i.e. about refugees, displaced peoples, and any UN officials or immediate references to UNHCR.

Once I am finished with the news every morning, we send out a condensed “update” to everyone on the mailing list and then get to any other business. I must say that I am pleased with this internship, especially considering all of the negative things I have heard about interning with the UN (apparently most interns master the art of making coffee and folding origami swans). All of the people in the office have very interesting (and international) backgrounds – a common feature of IO/NGO workers – and I am quite excited to get to know some of them better.

Of course, at the same time, I am supposed to be working both on my book chapter and on my Master’s thesis. The British Library seems to be my best bet for unhindered library access, so I will be going there on Monday to register as a researcher.