Donald Trump’s move to withhold tens of millions of dollars from the UN agency for Palestinian refugees has sent shockwaves around refugee camps in the West Bank, Gaza Strip, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon.
While not yet formerly announced, the financial cuts to the UN Relief and Works Agency are expected to have an immediate impact on the hundreds of thousands of refugees who are entirely dependent on the aid to support their opulent lifestyles. Several major luxury brands have already revealed plans to close their operations in the camps.
In Gaza’s Jabalia Camp, a group of outraged refugees waved anti-US placards outside a branch of Louis Vuitton, thought to be one of the first casualties should demand for designer bags dry up.
“We’re here protesting on behalf of every Palestinian refugee… every refugee now facing the prospect of having to relinquish their domestic staff and cut back on the accumulation of European haute couture” said 27-year-old Ahmed Mohammed, who warned that his family of five were looking at selling off several luxury cars to balance the books.
“One family of refugees forced to share one Bentley? It’s just not right,” he explained tearfully.
A similar scene erupted in Lebanon’s exclusive Ein El Hilweh Camp, where an angry crowd gathered outside one of six Lamborghini showrooms. Several protestors waved their Swiss watches aloft and chanted slogans aimed at the US president.
“I worry that we’ve only got ourselves to blame,” lamented 17-year-old Taha Ali, behind the widely popular ‘Rich Kids of Gaza’ Instagram account.
“If only we’ve been more like Israel and used the money sent by America to look for a viable peace plan, maybe we wouldn’t be in this mess.”
