UN Card:

Everyone has got a name, but we, as Palestinians, we also have numbers.
Me, Yasser, for example, who was born in a refugee family in the Deheishe camp. I have a UN card with the number .. !
This card proves that I am a refugee and will hopefully be a means to give us our rights and solve the Palestinian refugee issue.
The UN card started to be distributed by the early 50's to some of the about 800,000 Palestinians that fled from their homes at the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948.
The UNRWA, which is the UN organ formed to assist Palestinian refugees, got the idea from the Red Cross that had started with similar cards to make sure that refugees did not get more than the estimated supplies for each family.
It were mainly the refugees that were collected in camps that got these cards.
The cards and with them the status as an UN-registered refugee gave Palestinian refugees the right to help with basic housing, education, medical service and food supplies. In the beginning, the cards were marked with holes - then a specific family had their part of supplies from the UNRWA.
In recent times, when the distribution of food supplies has become rare, new cards have been given to the refugees that divided them into a kind of first and second class Palestinian refugees.
The "first class" constitutes refugees still living in camps.
The "second class" is made up by refugees that moved out of the camps due to lack of space to build new houses. It is doubtful if the latter ones can expect the same help from the UNRWA as the refugees living in camps.
The UNRWA claims to have less and less resources and are therefore cutting their services for Palestinian refugees.
The organization has also recently choosen to work for other Palestinians than refugees, for instance, by establishing mobile medical teams to villages in remote areas.
Even if such projects are needed, it still puts into question the UNRWAs willingness and ability to help the people it was established to assist.
It has also been clear over the years that the organization does not have the capacity to raise awareness about the Palestinian refugees' difficult situation and to promote a just solution in this issue.
As long as the refugee issue remains unsolved, as long as the right of return is not accomplished, we Palestinian refugees still need our UN cards.