It is a camp despite the name by Yousif M. Qasmiyeh and Elena Fiddian-Qasmiyeh, Refugee Hosts Existence, as it is, happens in the intentions of things. A sign or signs piled on top of one another, barely separated by air and the narrowest of voids: white on blue or blue on white. There is a background … Continue reading It is a camp despite the name
Refugee Hosts local researcher, Leonie Harsch, has encountered an archive of photos during her extensive mapping of the Hamra neighbourhood in Beirut. In this piece, Leonie reflects on some of these photos, which form the archive of Mukhtar Michel Bekhazi, as a way of approaching questions of hospitality, refugee-host encounters and 'the local'. In particular, … Continue reading Historical Photos of Hamra, Beirut
The Hands are Hers Yousif M. Qasmiyeh - University of Oxford The hands are hers – fractured urns of intimacy and anticipation. They would cut, mend, darn, comb, bathe, clean, feel and above all submit themselves as seals of presence at the UNRWA distribution centres. In this photograph, the face is outside the frame but … Continue reading The Hands are Hers
To the Plants is Her Face Yousif M. Qasmiyeh and Elena Fiddian-Qasmiyeh (Refugee Hosts) The plants which appear in this picture hinge partly on a short wall and partly on a used wooden chest of drawers primarily staged to encircle the entrance to the house and protect it from the curious eyes of passers-by. Or … Continue reading To the Plants is Her Face
The Wall Yousif M. Qasmiyeh (University of Oxford) and Elena Fiddian-Qasmiyeh (Refugee Hosts, UCL) According to my father, this is the original wall of our old house which was erected in Baddawi camp in the mid-50s. The wall is now an additional barrier between our neighbours and us. A distance that has been multiply plastered … Continue reading The Wall
This piece continues a series of poetic responses to photographs taken by Refugee Hosts PI Dr Elena Fiddian-Qasmiyeh during a field-trip to Baddawi refugee camp and the neighbourhood of Jebel al-Baddawi in North Lebanon, and to a range of neighbourhoods in Beirut in March-April 2018. Written by Refugee Hosts Writer-in-Residence Yousif M. Qasmiyeh and PI Dr Elena Fiddian-Qasmiyeh, … Continue reading There will always be a vendor before and after the picture
By Elena Fiddian-Qasmiyeh, Refugee Hosts PI and UCL In the run up to the Lebanese elections on 6 May 2018, national and international media and human rights organisations have denounced the appearance of anti-Syrian banners across Beirut. Reading “The day will come when we tell the Syrians: gather your things and everything you stole, and … Continue reading Anti-Syrian banners and graffiti in context: Racism, counter-racism and solidarity for refugees in Lebanon
This piece continues a series of poetic responses to photographs taken by Refugee Hosts PI Dr Elena Fiddian-Qasmiyeh during a field-trip to Baddawi refugee camp and the neighbourhood of Jebel al-Baddawi in North Lebanon, and to a range of neighbourhoods in Beirut in March-April 2018. Written by Refugee Hosts Writer-in-Residence Yousif M. Qasmiyeh and/or PI Dr Elena Fiddian-Qasmiyeh, … Continue reading A daily rhythm inside which time can grow…
This is the first in a series of poetic responses to photographs taken by Refugee Hosts PI Dr Elena Fiddian-Qasmiyeh during a field-trip to Baddawi refugee camp and the neighbourhood of Jebel al-Baddawi in North Lebanon, and to a range of neighbourhoods in Beirut in March-April 2018. Written by Refugee Hosts Writer-in-Residence Yousif M. Qasmiyeh and/or PI Dr … Continue reading Erasure
by Dr. Elena Fiddian-Qasmiyeh, UCL and PI of Refugee Hosts Invisible (at) night: space, time and photography in a refugee camp If our perceptions of refugees’ experiences of displacement were based on photographs produced and disseminated by the UN, NGOs and the media, we could be forgiven for assuming that refugees’ daytimes are either seemingly … Continue reading Invisible (at) Night: space, time and photography in a refugee camp
