Drug Use In The Shufat Refugee Sociology Essay Example

Israeli military forces adopted `` shoot to kill '' policies alongside of the cease-fire boundary line. Palestinian refugees have the premise that they will travel back place after the terminal of the struggle, as a consequence they have ever tried to remain every bit near as possible to their places and small towns ( Badil Resource Center for Palestinian Residency and Refugee Rights 2010 ) .

Drug dependence is widespread in East Jerusalem, particularly in Shufat refugee cantonment ( RC ) . Shufat Refugee cantonment is the lone Palestinian Refugee cantonment in Jerusalem ( Friedman 2006: 1 ) . Everyone in this cantonment knows what Coco ( the slang pronouncing of Heroin ) , Marawana ( Marijuana ) and Hashish mean. It is easier in this cantonment to happen drugs than raising. The political world and the societal suppression inside the cantonment have besides prevented person from speaking about this startling phenomenon ( Abu shams 2005 ) .

The purpose of this survey is to exemplify the job of drug dependence and substance 's maltreatment among refugees in Shufat Refugee Camp. The research inquiry is what is the ground behind the dependence in this cantonment and I try to specify that based on the psychological theory of unequal personality, through which drug dependence can be analysed. As such, the 2nd chapter trades with presenting Palestinian refugees and Shufat refugee cantonment, in order to construct a general image of the conditions and the life of the refugees. The first portion of the 3rd chapter defines the unequal personality theory. The 2nd portion of the thirs chapter trades with the research inquiry. The grounds behind drug dependence among the

refugees in this cantonment will be discussed. It is to advert here that the research done on this subject specifically on Shufat cantonment is really deficient and the informations used in this short paper are chiefly based on the internally literature and studies and beginnings that I reached to during my internship by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime while working on the Palestinian Refugees Project. The last chapter will be the amount of the work.

Background information

2.1 Palestinian refugees

Palestinian refugees, harmonizing to UNRWA[ 1 ]'s operational definition, are those who are externally displaced from their state of nationality between June 1946 and May 1948, and besides those who lost their places and agencies of support because of the 1948 Arab-Israel war.

There are 58 recognized refugee cantonments in Jordan, Lebanon, the Syrian Arab Repulic, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem that accommodate more than 1.4 million Palestinian refugees ( One-third of the registered Palestinian refugees ) .

As per the UNRWA 's working definition, a cantonment, is a piece of land given to UNRWA by the host authorities to suit refugees and to put up installations to provide their basic needs.However, UNRWA has besides established schools, wellness Centres and distribution Centres outside the cantonments where Palestinian refugees are concentrated, such as Yarmouk near Damascus, in Syria.

The lands given to UNRWA for puting up the cantonments either belong to the host authoritiess or are leased by the host authoritiess from the land proprietor. Therefore, the refugees do non have the shelters they live in. The shelters are merely built up to be used by refugees without any right of ownership. By

and large, the population denseness in the cantonments are high, socio-economic conditions are hapless and basic substructure such as roads and cloacas are deficient.

UNRWA 's duty in the cantonments is limited to supplying and administrating basic services. The host governments are responsible to administrate and keep stableness and order of the cantonments. UNRWA has a cantonment services office with the cantonment services officer ( CSO ) in each cantonment with the authorization to retain updated records of the refugees shacking in the cantonment and besides react to their inquiries refering the services they are entitled to have. The CSO, in bend, refers refugee concerns and requests to the concerned disposal office of the UNRWA

Following the war of June 1967 and the Israeli business of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, ten more cantonments were built to suit a new group of displaced individuals, both refugees and non-refugees ( UNRWA website, Palestine refugees ) .

Shu'fat Refugee Camp

In 1965, more than a decennary after the official cantonments in the West Bank were set up, Shu'fat cantonment was established. This cantonment is located on a 0.2 square kilometers north of Jerusalem. Shu'fat was set up after the Mascar cantonment in Jerusalem 's Old City was closed because of its dirty and unhygienic environment. Refugees in the Mascar cantonment who were relocated to Shu'fat had ab initio come from 55 small towns in the Jerusalem, Lydd, Jaffa and Ramleh countries. Shu'fat cantonment, like all other West Bank cantonments, was established on a leased piece of land given to UNRWA by the authorities of Jordan ( UNRWA website, shafat refugee cantonment ) . The cantonment was established by UNRWA

on 203 dunums[ 2 ]incorporating 500 suites ( each room was about 12m2 and annexed to 90m2 of land ) ( Abu Znied 2005 ) . UNRWA has announced 11,000 refugees as official figure, but it seems that the existent figure of refugees is more than 18,000. Not to lose Jerusalem residence right, in the past several old ages, some4,000 refugees moved into the camp Seventy per cent of the cantonment 's occupants work in the Israeli private sectors. Overcrowding is a major job of the cantonment, furthermore, proficient and safety edifice regulations of the UNRWA have been unnoticed. Increasing figure of refugees has made the governments to hold constructed three or four narrative shelters on the foundations that originally were meant to keep one or two narrative constructions ( UNRWA website, shafat refugee cantonment ) .

This cantonment is the individual cantonment in Jerusalem that is bounded by some Israeli colonies. Israelis see the cantonment location `` debatable '' as it does n't allow continuance of the concatenation of colony. On the other manus, the unsought geographical and political location of the cantonment by Israel has exposed the refugees to unrestricted quandary, such as cutting off the potable H2O supplies since 1987 up to show, lasting foraies to the cantonment, pulverizing houses and enforcing revenue enhancements on commercial stores and merchandisers.

Though the cantonment is located within the boundaries of Jerusalem, Israeli governments do non let the refugees to profit from the available municipality services. This, in add-on to fiscal restraints, has made UNRWA to cut down its services offered to registered refugees ( Abu Znied 2005 ) .

Besides the refugees shacking in the cantonment

face endless jobs related to, instruction, wellness, environmental, societal and psychological issues. UNRWA, in an attempt to supply wellness and instruction installations for the refugees shacking in the Shu'fat cantonment has so far accomplished the followers:

4 schools, including 2 private schools ;

1 Health Centre ;

1 Physiotherapy Centre ;

1 country-based Rehabilitation Centre ;

1 Women 's Programme Centre.

Drug dependence, the major societal and psychological job, unluckily is dramatically intensifying among the cantonment 's dwellers and major Palestinian metropoliss since the beginning of the Israeli business. Since ancient clip, drug dependence ( Opium and Hash ) is known in Palestine. Chemical drugs, e.g. diacetylmorphine, are besides introduced. A little walk in Jerusalem 's streets will uncover an alarming drug dependence upset. Shu'fat cantonment is the highest concentration point for drug dealing and drug maltreatment, where the drug traders freely supply the cantonment dwellers and the Arab people who live around the cantonment ( Abu Shams 2005 ) .

The lone survey that has been carried out on drug usage among refugees in Shu'fat cantonment was conducted by Firas Abu shams with the cooperation of the Women 's Center and the support of the Progetto Sviluppo and arci research centersdi. As per this survey, Heroin, Cocaine, Hash, Marijuana, Opium, Crack, Codeine, Qat, peyote are in order of importance/use.and The bulk of drug nuts use drugs through inhaling. The bulk of the drug users have neither tried to discontinue nor hold entered any curative centres.

Drug usage in the Camp

Theoretical position, Inadequate personality

Knowing the causes of drug usage has a particular function in this work. A scope of theories do be for explicating the cause of this phenomenon. The theory of unequal

personality will be defined in this portion, as it will be used to reply the research inquiry in the 2nd portion of this chapter.

Several psychological theories of drug usage are based on rely on this thought that there is a trouble in the emotion or psychological science of the person which motivates them to utilize drugs. Escaping from world, avoiding the life 's issues and traveling back to pleasance and enjoyment are motives behind drug usage. Using drug masks some of life force per unit area and negative worlds and is adaptative for faulty personality but merely in a entirely negative mode. The jobs will merely be covered for a short period of clip but will ne'er be solved. Besides that, drug usage leads to other jobs itself. It is obvious that for single without this insufficiency, drugs are non appealing. It is to bespeak that non all drug users use drugs because of personality insufficiency. Experimenting the usage of drug and societal force per unit area or handiness of drugs can besides be the grounds for utilizing drugs. The opportunity of being an active drug user is high among those with more unequal personality. Among these people drug usage becomes drug maltreatment and in conclusion dependence. In general, for unequal personality theoreticians, drug maltreatment is an version or a defence mechanism, a agency of killing feelings of lower status ( Wurmser, 1980, pp. 71-72 ) . Self esteem or self rejecting theory is one mixture of the unequal personality attack. In this theory drug usage and maltreatment are the reactions towards self rejecting attitudes ( Kaplan, 1975 ) . `` Peer rejection, parental disregard,

high outlooks for accomplishment, school failure, physical stigmata, societal stigmata ( e.g. , disvalued group ranks ) , impaired sex-role individuality, self-importance lacks, low get bying abilities, and ( by and large ) get bying mechanisms that are socially disvalued and/or are otherwise self-defeating '' are some illustrations that might take to self rejecting. ( hypertext transfer protocol: //highered.mcgraw hill.com/sites/dl/free/0073401498/506358/Goode7_Sample_ch03.pdf ) .

Reasons behind the dependence

Before discoursing the grounds behind drug dependence among Shufat Camp 's dwellers, concentrating on the unsought world of the business will be utile, as this itself will makes the issue clear. As it was mentioned before, Palestine is a state which has been occupied by the Israelis since 1948. The Israeli business has lead to political, economic, societal and psychological wretchednesss and discontents for Palestinian people. Drug dependence, which is concentrated in precise countries, is considered as one of the jobs that were inflicted against the Palestinians. Since the war clip, drug trading and mistreating have increased radically. The largest population of drug users is concentrated in the cardinal metropoliss, such as Jerusalem, which is known as the centre of cognition and civilisation all through the history. It is easier to happen drugs in these metropoliss than acquiring raising. The Israelis use their jurisprudence in different ways for different people: for illustration in West Jerusalem, the Jews will meet a rough penalty harmonizing covering and/or utilizing drugs. Whereas the jurisprudence is non against the Arab traders and they are someway allowed to set up their drug concern. Though, if they try to spread out their concern to the Israeili countries they will be captured every bit rapidly as possible ( Abu

Shams 2005 ) .

Harmonizing to Shain, who has created a non-governmental organisation ( NGO ) to assist Palestinian overcome drug dependence, `` we are seeking to win the battle against dependence, but the Israeli military does nil to halt drug covering ; merely take a walk around and you will see. The armed forces does non believe twice about collaring the male parent of a household whose documents are illegal or a child who throws rocks, but they do non make a thing to hold the drug trade '' ( Shain, cited by Christian 2005: ) . Besides the UNRWA limited services, the cantonment 's population are supposed to acquire societal services from the authorities as they do belong to the Israeli wellness societal system. The job is that although the cantonment 's dwellers all pay Israeli revenue enhancements, they seldom obtain services, even the lower limit services such as instruction and wellness, as the Israeli Government does non pass it for societal substructure in Shufat Refugee Camp. In east Jerusalem in general and in Shufat Camp specifically, merely deficient installations are available for drug maltreatment intervention and the individual unit in the Israeli Welfare Department, is non plenty for the increasing demands of the occupants. Drug users in the east portion of the metropolis and the Camp 's dwellers do non acquire proper services and have to wait for a long clip and on the other side the curative state of affairs in West Jerusalem in non comparable at all. Nevertheless the world of the being of this section seems non giving services but merely distorting the unattractive side of business, in other words,

political propaganda.

The explained state of affairs of drug maltreatment and drug intervention in the cantonment can be reasoned through this fact that the phenomenon of drug dependence has a political background. Drugs make the society 's construction weak and enslave people. The drugs have been used throughout the history as an utile arm against guiltless states, particularly after the Mongol 's Invasion of the Arabic civilisation ( Nahas 1975 ) and the creative activity of the new European settlements in Asia such as India and China ( Own 1934 ) . This can besides be recognized today after the American invasion of Iraq ( Hamden 2004 ) . This state of affairs can besides be clearly observed in Shufat Refugee Camp as the drug extend and trade can be a successful manner of implementing the short and long term business ends ( Abu Shams 2005 ) .

The ground that base behind drug trade and maltreatment in Shufa Refugee Camp can besides be explained through Rado 's position of drug maltreatment. It is believed that the highest rate of drug dependence is amongst populations of states who suffer from war, societal and spiritual struggle and economic quandary. This means that these people are in danger of depression and defeat ten times more. Drug nuts achieve their felicity through the assistance of drugs and accordingly their ego respect. This can be generalized to the state of affairs in the Shufat Camp ( Rado 1984 ) .

Beside the political ground behind the issue of drug usage in the refugee cantonment, the unequal personality/psychological theory which was discussed in the first portion of this chapter links the phenomenon of

drug usage and the bing state of affairs in the Palestinian refugees in a good mode.

Based on the discussed state of affairs of the Palestinian, particularly refugees, it is clear that these people experience uninterrupted wretchedness and emphasis, exclusion, slaughters and backdown of their basic human rights in their lives. The refugees have to populate in little topographic points that are convenient for one individual and non for a household, as they need to be concerned about maintaining their physical being. The position of refugee has negatively affected the resources of their income, as they have lost their land, their major agencies of life subsistence. However, it is clear that for lasting they are obliged to make any work ( Abu Shams 2005 ) . The Palestinian refugees, in general and Shufat cantonment 's refugees in peculiar face inter Palestinian stigmatisation and favoritism. They are a constituent of the Palestinian negative expressions such as your face looks like the refugee 's face `` which means that you are suffering and unhappy. The purpose is to stigmatise refugees and to halt their desires. Besides that, they are non welcomed in the Palestinian life. Many refugees, merely based on their refugee position wo n't be able to get married to normal Palestinian. In Sum, they are judged harmonizing to a offense that they have non committed. These are some emotional and psychological troubles that the refugees face which based on the unequal personality theory activates the purposes of ego devastation and drug maltreatment.

The undermentioned consequences of the survey done on this cantonment indicate the above claim.

The motive for drug dependence concerned imitation for 23.6 % of the

drug nuts, while it was due to wonder for 13.9 % . Escaping the life tenseness was the ground for 36.9 % , loss of self assurance was the motive for 8.3 % and medical intervention was the motivation force for 2.8 % . Finally, for 9.7 % the motive of drug maltreatment was different ( page 33 ) . 27.3 % of drug nuts have assured that they will utilize drugs if the clip turns back, while 72.7 % of nuts have disagreed.

Decision

The purpose of this survey was to exemplify the grounds behind drug dependence in the Shufat Refugee Camp in east Jerusalem. It has been shown that drug maltreatment in this cantonment is really common and different types of drugs such as ; diacetylmorphine, opium, cocaine, marijuana, cleft andaˆ¦ are spread in the cantonment. Two chief groups of grounds have been named in this work as a ground behind the dependence in the cantonment. The first ground is a political ground. It has been demonstrated that drug trade and maltreatment have been used as a arm by Israelis against the refugees in order to accomplish political additions. Drug traders are really supported by governments alternatively of being arrested. The Israeli favoritism policy that exists in the curative services and drug policies emphasizes this. Afterwards it has been tired to explicate this phenomenon through the psychological theory of unequal personality, which sees drug usage as a mean of get awaying world and avoiding life jobs. The difficult state of affairs of refugees in the cantonment has been discussed in item in this work. It has been cleared that the dwellers are badly under psychological,

societal, political and economical force per unit area, as they suffer from military business and societal want. Their state of affairs in the cantonment, pess precisely in the theory that the high rate of drug dependence among refugees in the cantonment is a consequence of refugees attempt to run off from the world of their life.

As drug dependence is a job with societal, economical, political and psychological constituents, aiming it can non be achieved at one degree. Cooperation and a great squad work is needed in order to undertake this job in the Shufat Refugee Camp. A batch of alterations in jurisprudence and policies and a great development in economic sciences and psychological interventions need to be taken into consideration, as speaking about drug decrease in a society with hapless political, economical and psychological state of affairs is meaningless.