On the Temporality & Isolation of Refugee Spaces in Beirut (Lebanon)
Topics:
Keywords: Forced displacement; urban refugees; spaces of refuge; temporality; spatial isolation; Beirut.
Abstract Type: Paper Abstract
Authors:
Maureen Abi-Ghanem, Columbia University
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Abstract
Forced displacement is one of the most urgent issues of our time. Until recently, the UN Refugee agency viewed camps as an effective mechanism to provide protection to refugees. Specifically, the tenuous materiality of camp structures signaled that situations of forced displacement were temporary, and the spatial isolation of refugees to controlled geographies signaled that this temporary situation was being managed. However, as conditions of forced displacement become more protracted, the UN is now reacting to clear evidence that camps are harmful for the well-being of refugees. This paper focuses on the Syrian refugee population in Beirut. Hosted by a weak state, the displaced have sought informal ways to access – even produce – spaces of refuge in the city. However, a pattern of continuous eviction is apparent. This research questions: Why are urban refugees at a constant risk of eviction from spaces of refuge that were created for, or by, them? How are they resisting this insecurity? And what are the necessary conditions for urban refugees to achieve long(er)-term tenure security in the city? Through a content analysis of UN reports in addition to in-depth and unstructured interviews with over thirty urban refugee households as well as with experts in the shelter sector in Lebanon, this research traces the complex and informal channels that urban refugees navigate in order to resist the temporality, spatial isolation and insecurity of their spaces of refuge. Finally, the research recognizes urban refugees as politically active entities in sometimes reshaping policies that impact them.
On the Temporality & Isolation of Refugee Spaces in Beirut (Lebanon)
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Paper Abstract