Local Community Experiences of Displacement from Syria: Views from Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey
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…
Syrian Refugees in Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon Face an Uncertain 2017 By Elena Fiddian-Qasmiyeh, University College London As 2016 drew to a bloody close in Syria and the government took back control over eastern Aleppo, over 4.8m Syrian refugees continued to seek safety and a means of living a dignified life across the Middle East. There…
In a recent piece published by the International Journal of Urban and Regional Research (IJUUR) as part of an Open Access 'Spotlight On' The Urban Refugee "Crisis", Elena Fiddian-Qasmiyeh highlights the urgency of examining refugees' positions, identities, beliefs and behaviours in relation to other groups of refugees. In essence, she argues that it is necessary to complement…
Photo Gallery: Burj el-Barajneh Camp, Lebanon (established in 1950) By Samar Maqusi, University College London Since the Syrian conflict erupted, Lebanon has experienced a large influx of Syrian refugees (circa 1.5 million people), as well as Palestinian refugees from Syria. Unlike Jordan and Turkey, Lebanon refused to build official refugee camps for Syrian refugees. This…
Vis-à-vis or a Camp by Yousif M. Qasmiyeh, University of Oxford “To experience is to advance by navigating, to walk by traversing.” Derrida, Points..., p.373 I What makes a camp a camp? And what is the beginning of a camp if there is any? And do camps exist in order to die or exist forever?…
In an article published today in a special issue of Forced Migration Review on 'Local Communities: first and last providers of protection' (issue 53), Elena Fiddian-Qasmiyeh draws on her ongoing research into the experiences of local communities hosting refugees in the Middle East to interrogate the widespread assumption that the local communities hosting refugees are composed of settled and established groups of citizens.
It is often assumed that refugees are vulnerable and passive people who are dependent upon the assistance provided by states, NGOs and citizens. In contrast, my on-going research is examining how established Palestinian refugees and their refugee camp homes are adapting and responding to the arrival of thousands of refugees from Syria. Amongst other things, this demonstrates the agency of refugees as both recipients and providers of support in complex displacement contexts.
Refugee Hosts 
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