Summary
The Palestinian medical organization whose hospitals in Beirut, Saida and Sur Parkinson describes as among the Palestine Liberation Organization’s social anchors in Lebanon, providing patient services, educational campaigns and employment, and training nurses, technicians and paramedics (Beyond the Lines — Social Networks and Palestinian Militant Organizations in Wartime Lebanon, PDF p.72).
Details
- In 1980 the PRCS managed nine hospitals and twelve clinics, treating 425,682 Palestinian and Lebanese patients (Rubenberg 1983a; Khalidi 1985, 32, as cited); guerrilla factions administered over thirty additional medical and dental clinics (Beyond the Lines — Social Networks and Palestinian Militant Organizations in Wartime Lebanon, PDF p.72).
- PLO employees and their families received medical care for free; all Palestinians and Lebanese could access PRCS services, paying approximately US5 for inpatient hospital care per day and, on average, US$60 for surgery (Rubenberg 1983a, 21, as cited) (Beyond the Lines — Social Networks and Palestinian Militant Organizations in Wartime Lebanon, PDF p.72).
- Several PRCS facilities — often Palestinians’ only source of healthcare — had to close during and following the 1982 invasion; protecting and maintaining medical establishments targeted by the IDF and right-wing Lebanese militias was a military and social priority, and hospital and clinic needs drove logistics and smuggling after the invasion (Beyond the Lines — Social Networks and Palestinian Militant Organizations in Wartime Lebanon, PDF p.72, p.80).
Related pages
Beyond the Lines — Social Networks and Palestinian Militant Organizations in Wartime Lebanon, Palestine Liberation Organization, Social infrastructure, Backstage labor