Another group of men was waiting for me in a darkened room. To the eerie ticking of a ceiling fan Ghazi Assadi, the only independent member of the camp's Popular Committee, approached nervously but, like Shabaytah, was eager to describe the day-to-day sufferings, which he says are spiralling out of control.
"Poor medical care is the biggest problem here," he says. "UNRWA is the only source which provides services for the Palestinians, but it has been in budget deficit for a long time now, especially after the Oslo agreement. When we need hospitalisation they give referrals to private hospitals in Lebanon. However, there are limited beds for Palestinians - the number of beds is not enough for the number of patients. The other problem is that when they give a referral they only give a certain number of nights. UNRWA does not even cover all the expenses if a patient having an operation needs more nights."
Indeed, forbidden to use government hospitals in Lebanon, Palestinian patients are often forced to make up the balance, which is sometimes more than what UNRWA pays.
"The people have no money," he says. "The majority are just left to suffer. Palestinians needing heart operations, and who are over 60, are denied treatment. We are in desperate need of support from the international community."
"Poor medical care is the biggest problem here," he says. "UNRWA is the only source which provides services for the Palestinians, but it has been in budget deficit for a long time now, especially after the Oslo agreement. When we need hospitalisation they give referrals to private hospitals in Lebanon. However, there are limited beds for Palestinians - the number of beds is not enough for the number of patients. The other problem is that when they give a referral they only give a certain number of nights. UNRWA does not even cover all the expenses if a patient having an operation needs more nights."
Indeed, forbidden to use government hospitals in Lebanon, Palestinian patients are often forced to make up the balance, which is sometimes more than what UNRWA pays.
"The people have no money," he says. "The majority are just left to suffer. Palestinians needing heart operations, and who are over 60, are denied treatment. We are in desperate need of support from the international community."