Ain al-Hilweh residents fall ill from polluted water

Several residents of Ain al-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp became ill over the weekend after drinking water suspected to have been contaminated by sewage. Among those who fell ill – experiencing vomiting, diarrhea and fever – were four siblings from the Shaker family. “I urge UNRWA and donor states to accelerate their efforts to renew the camp’s infrastructure because we cannot tolerate this situation anymore,” said Fouad Othman, a member of the camp’s popular committee. Ahmad Yassin, a pharmacist in the camp, said that he had provided medicine for a number of residents who drank contaminated water. According to Yassin, even though the problem of water pollution is not recent, no serious action has been taken to resolve it.