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Engaging with religion at the local level for mental health and psychosocial wellbeing following humanitarian crises

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People affected by forced displacement and humanitarian disasters often consider that their psychosocial wellbeing and spiritual needs are as significant as their physical survival. Through supporting mental health and psychosocial wellbeing, religious communities, narratives, beliefs and practices can play an important role in supporting the abilities of individuals and communities to manage trauma and crises. … Continue reading Engaging with religion at the local level for mental health and psychosocial wellbeing following humanitarian crises

Translation workshop on contemporary Arabic poetry produced by Palestinian, Iraqi and Syrian refugees.

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On Monday, 4th February, Refugee Hosts' writer-in-residence, Yousif M. Qasmiyeh, will facilitate a translation workshop focusing on contemporary Arabic poetry produced by Palestinian, Iraqi and Syrian refugees as part of the Refugee Hosts' creative writing workshops convened by Prof. Lyndsey Stonebridge and Yousif in Lebanon (Baddawi Camp and Hamra) and Jordan (Jerash and Al-Zarqa) in 2018. Held as part of the Oxford Comparative Criticism Translation (OCCT) Discussion Group … Continue reading Translation workshop on contemporary Arabic poetry produced by Palestinian, Iraqi and Syrian refugees.

Learning from the Local in Greece

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Making localisation work is about much more than ensuring local actors receive a greater share of the funding pie, argues Tina Mason (founder of re:viewed). In fact, the disconnect between the 'local' and the 'international' pervades all aspects of the humanitarian response: addressing this, and learning from the local, is therefore essential if localisation is to be meaningful … Continue reading Learning from the Local in Greece

Local Communities and the Localisation of Aid Agenda: Series Introduction

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Local Communities and Contextualising the Localisation of Aid Agenda Series Introduction by Dr Elena Fiddian-Qasmiyeh, Refugee Hosts PI and UCL In recent years, and especially since the 2016 World Humanitarian Summit, the ‘localisation of aid agenda’ has become prominent in discussions about responses to displacement. This agenda starts by recognising that ‘local actors’ play key … Continue reading Local Communities and the Localisation of Aid Agenda: Series Introduction

The Camp is the Reject of the Reject Par Excellence

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The Camp is the Reject of the Reject Par Excellence by Yousif M. Qasmiyeh, University of Oxford and Refugee Hosts Writer in Residence   I It bears multiple meanings, depending on how it is said. For my mother, however, the meaning was clear enough to be taken from my father’s mouth to God’s and vice … Continue reading The Camp is the Reject of the Reject Par Excellence

Refugee-Refugee Solidarity in Death and Dying

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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

Alice’s Alternative Wonderland: Chapter Three

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READ CHAPTER ONE AND TWO.  This is the final part of Tahmineh Hooshyar Emami‘s three part re-imagination of the classic children’s story Alice in Wonderland, told from the perspective of Alice the refugee. In this chapter, we learn what has happened to Alice after her journey across the Aegean: this is a moment of confusion and im/mobility. Tahmineh’s piece demonstrates … Continue reading Alice’s Alternative Wonderland: Chapter Three

Space of Refuge: Installation and Symposium

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Between 10th - 15th  March, the P21 Gallery in Somers Town, London will be hosting a spatial installation, Space of Refuge, which has emerged out of extensive fieldwork by Samar Maqusi, a PhD student at the Bartlett School of Architecture (UCL), who has also contributed to the Refugee Hosts blog (see here and here). Samar's research in Lebanon and Jordan investigates … Continue reading Space of Refuge: Installation and Symposium

Who Will Resettle Single Syrian Men?

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It is often assumed that local community responses to displacement are characterised by the exclusion of certain groups of refugees from assistance, an assumption that our Refugee Hosts is examining through research with refugees and hosts in 9 local communities in Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey. Such processes of inclusion and exclusion are also, of course, a central feature of … Continue reading Who Will Resettle Single Syrian Men?

Syrians in Akkar: Refugees or Neighbours?

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Rethinking Hospitality towards Syrian Refugees in Lebanon by Estella Carpi, University College London-Development Planning Unit & Save the Children-Humanitarian Affairs Team The discourse of ‘hospitality’ has both informed and reinforced the international response to the mass influx of Syrian refugees into Lebanon since the outbreak of the Syrian conflict. However, while unprecedented in scale – by the end … Continue reading Syrians in Akkar: Refugees or Neighbours?