'Popular Social Work' In The Palestinian West Bank: Dispatches From The Front Line

The Palestinians of the West Bank have been living a life of poverty, oppression and occupation. Yet amid this maelstrom, they have managed to organise a range of grassroots welfare projects that meet some of the complex needs of the communities they serve. Drawing on interviews with Palestinian young people about their experiences of life under occupation, this chapter describes some magnificent welfare projects in the West Bank. The majority of those the authors spoke to had no formal qualifications in social work, yet the quality of the work they undertook holds lessons for social workers everywhere. This chapter is based on interview material with six workers at the Yaffa Centre, Balata, with three workers at the Jenin Disability Centre, and with three workers at the Am'ari Children's Centre. All three projects are in refugee camps.