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
Exhibited as part of the 2017 Venice Biennale, Dr Elena Fiddian-Qasmiyeh (Refugee Hosts' PI) and Yousif M. Qasmiyeh (Refugee Hosts' Writer in Residence) were commissioned to co-author this photo-essay for the Tunisian Pavillion's exhibition space, The Absence of Paths. You can see the original publication on The Absence of Paths here, and read Yousif's poem, 'In arrival, feet flutter … Continue reading Refugee-Refugee Solidarity in Death and Dying
On 10th March, the P21 Gallery hosted the Opening Night of Samar Maqusi's remarkable spatial installation, Space of Refuge. Samar is a PhD student at the Bartlett School of Architecture (UCL), whose research in Lebanon and Jordan investigates the spatial production and evolution of Palestinian refugee camps since the 1940s. The installation implements a series of spatial interventions … Continue reading Space of Refuge: Opening Night
