‘The displacement virus is much stronger than the coronavirus’: Reflections from Burj el-Barajneh and Baqa’a Camps in Lebanon and Jordan

What roles do communal solidarity and sociality play in spaces such as the Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon and Jordan during the COVID-19 pandemic? This question is examined by Samar Maqusi, who draws on conversations with camp residents Abu Mohammad and Abu Ahmad, to reflect on the 'socially conscious' creativity developing and responding to the pandemic.…

Space of Refuge Symposium Report

On Wednesday 15 March 2017, Samar Maqusi, Prof. Murray Fraser (both of UCL-Bartlett School of Architecture) and Dr Elena Fiddian-Qasmiyeh (UCL-Geography and Refugee Hosts PI) convened a symposium on Space of Refuge. The symposium drew heavily on Maqusi's PhD research in Jordan and Lebanon, enabling a conversation around the roles that space and scale play in determining the opportunities and…

Space of Refuge: Opening Night

  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…

Space of Refuge: Installation and Symposium

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…

Photo Gallery: Burj el-Barajneh Camp

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…

Photo Gallery: Baqa’a Camp

Photo Gallery: Baqa'a Camp, Jordan By Samar Maqusi, University College London Baqa’a camp in Jordan is one of six emergency camps established in 1968 to shelter Palestinian refugees fleeing the 1967 Arab-Israeli war; when first established, it sheltered around 18,000 refugees, on an area of 1.4 km2; this makes it the largest camp in Jordan. Today,…