Saturday 13th June 2020
Refugee Camps in Lebanon: The Forgotten Palestinians
Speaker: Andy Simons
Lebanon, a fractured country, perhaps the axis on which the whole Middle East turns, has a form of government going beyond political parties as we know them in the UK. It has become a tolerant, liberal Arab country, embracing a wide variety of cultures. But Palestinians don’t fit in. Their 12 refugee camps have grown since those families were exiled when Israel was founded and then expanded. Lebanon’s factions fought a long civil war (1975-1990); the Palestinians, whether in refugee camps since 1948 or not, got the worst of it. It’s still the case. Andy, retired British Library curator, is the DJ of Palestinian history. While not a historian, he helps researchers get the materials they seek. He has worked in African-American archives and presented jazz on FM radio in Chicago and New Orleans.
