Early in the morning, between 5 and 6am, a wave of footsteps and whispering voices can be heard in the narrow alleys of Bourj ash-Shamali Refugee Camp [Sabbah: Palestinian Refugee Camp] in South Lebanon. It is in the darkness of the early morning hours that hundreds of Palestinian day laborers leave their homes, gather in the streets and then head to their work in the fields and plantations of the region. More than two-thirds of the camp's labor force work at least part-time in agriculture.

Lebanese law treats the more than 400,000 Palestinian refugees in the country as foreigners. Therefore they are not allowed to own land, they are forbidden to work in dozens of jobs, they aren't guaranteed a minimum wage and they aren't integrated into the Lebanese social and medical insurance system. These various forms of exclusion make them vulnerable and exploitable in many ways.

This 17-minute film is the result of a video workshop in Bourj ash-Shamali Camp. It deals with various aspects of the work and life of Palestinian day laborers in the plantations of South Lebanon.

Bourj ash-Shamali Camp: Harvesting Oranges (part 1)

Bourj ash-Shamali Camp: Harvesting Oranges (part 2)

Full quality versions of this clip are available at:
http://a-films.blogspot.com/2008/10/video-harvesting-oranges.html

Please check the collective's website for further videos on Palestinian refugees in Lebanon:
http://a-films.blogspot.com

[Hat tip: Nadia Hasan - Palestine Think Tank]

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