Narrow alleys, simple and crude buildings... at the first glance, the Duheisheh refugee camp does not look special, compared with other Palestinian refugee camps. But affected by emerging water pollution, the residents here will probably face the most severe water shortage in their lives.

The family of Ali Shafout has been living in Duheisheh for more than 50 years. Shafout said they had been always suffering from lack of water, but the recent water pollution has made things worse than ever.

"When it (water pollution) reached this area, we felt the disaster, because we open the pipes, and it was the polluted water, the smell, the color. It was a horrible thing for us. We are shocked because we want to know how we can manage to do with this, because we have children, we have families," 38-year-old Shafout recalled, holding his youngest son in arms.

The pollution was first detected more than a month ago, when sewage soaked into the camp's two drinking water system, both old and in disrepair.

Shafout's house is located in one of the most affected areas in the camp. But even the polluted water was kept by the family for other uses.

In the kitchen, Shafout's mother is washing dishes with clean water they preserved in tanks on top of their building, and part of the water in the tanks was borrowed from their neighbors. Shafout's mother said they can not waste even one drop of the water, and the water they used for washing dishes will also be kept.

Shafout said in order to deal with the situation, they also have to buy mineral waters, which are not always affordable for them. Because their neighbors are facing water shortage too, they can not always borrow water from others. Under current situation, the whole Shafout family can use only about 20 litres of water each day.

"I have a family, my father has a family, my brother also has a family, and we have to use this 20 litres of water per day. I know it isn't easy to believe, but really it was happening," said Shafout.

Shafout is among nearly a quarter of the population in the camp who have been deeply affected by the pollution, according to Mustafa Khalil Younes, director of Camp Service Office of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).

Now, dealing with the water pollution is Khalil Younes' priority.

"We are closely monitoring the situation since the beginning of this pollution," said Khalil Younes, adding that they are taking 40 samples from different locations in the camp everyday to know where the pollution has reached. They are also urging the residents not to drink the polluted water and installing new water pipes in the camp.

Khalil Younes said UNRWA and the Palestinian Water Authority are doing their best to solve the problem, but it isn't easy.

"One of the drinking water system in the camp has been used for35 years, and the other has been used for 27 years. Many of the pipes have been worn away. We have to change a big number of under-ground water pipes, but since the water systems were originally built by Israel, and we don't have the map for the system, it's hard for us to locate the worn-out pipes," said Khalil Younes.

Duheisheh refugee camp was officially established in 1953 by about 4,500 Palestinians who were driven out of their homes, following the creation of the state of Israel in 1948. It's the most famous refugee camp in the West Bank city of Bethlehem.

Khalil Younes said although there are difficulties, it won't take them too long to fix the pollution problem, and what is going to keep plaguing them is the water shortage issue in general.

The division of the water resources between Israelis and the Palestinians is one of the most sensitive issues in the prolonged Middle East peace process. A report published recently by the World Bank claimed that there are huge disparities between Israelis and Palestinians in water use, although they share the mountain aquifer that runs the length of the occupied West Bank.

The World Bank report said Palestinians have access to only a fifth of the water supply, while Israel, which controls the area, takes the rest. The report drew sharp criticism from Israel, but others have welcomed the study and its findings.

"No doubt the pollution is not the only problem we are suffering from. Every summer we face the same problem of water shortage. The water we receive is limited and we don't get enough amount of water from the Israelis," said Khalil Younes.

With the population rising to around 13,000, the two-square kilometer Duheisheh camp is facing shortage of resources in almost every aspect, but water shortage is the most imminent one for this summer.

(Xinhua News Agency June 20, 2009)