U.S. Ambassador Participates in Nahr al-Barid Ceremony

March 10, 2009

Ambassador Michele J. Sison participated in the Lebanese government’s groundbreaking ceremony for the reconstruction of the Nahr al-Barid Palestinian Refugee Camp on March 9. 

The United States Government is the largest bilateral donor to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) for Palestinian refugees.  In 2008, the United States contributed $23.5 million to UNRWA for the reconstruction of the camp.  In February, Ambassador Sison opened a new health clinic in the camp which was funded with an additional $556,000. 

The United States Government has also contributed $12.5 million to the Lebanese communities surrounding the Nahr al-Barid camp.  The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) will revitalize the surrounding communities, including economic growth, repairing of infrastructure and rebuilding the capacity of local governments. 

The United States will also contribute five million dollars in capacity building and technical assistance to the Internal Security Force (ISF) to introduce community policing in Nahr al-Barid and surrounding areas.  The United States will provide additional equipment including vehicles, bicycles and communication equipment and will outfit the ISF with basic duty gear.  An additional $1.5 million will be dedicated to build a community-focused ISF police station inside the camp.