Since 1991 I have been living and working with Palestinian families throughout the Middle East. The work is concerned with the lives of refugees in the camps throughout Lebanon and Palestine and with the Palestinians living in ‘The Unrecognised Villages’ in The Galilee and The Naqob Desert.

It is now over 50 years since the tragedy of the 5 months in 1948 when Palestinians were forced out of their homes and country, lost their friends and extended families and became stateless refugees, denied social and political rights. In fear of their lives they made their way across the border into overcrowded refugee camps in Jordan, Syria and Lebanon. Today there are over 3.4million Palestinian refugees across the Middle East; half of them are children under 15 years old.

Now in the 4th generation, those people, born in Lebanon, are still classed as ‘foreigners’ and have minimum political and civil rights even after 56 years. Unable to get skilled or professional work they are trapped in the poverty inherent in the refugee camps. Ownership of property is not possible for many people and further construction is illegal in many of the camps.

Often the children of the camps remember Palestine through the memories and dreams of their grandparents, although this older generation is fast disappearing.