Finding (a) Home in Beirut: Palestinian Refugees from Syria Negotiating Unfamiliar Spaces of Exile in Lebanon

Abstract

The displacements caused by the Syrian conflict have highlighted the fact that refugees across the Middle East are increasingly taking shelter in cities rather than in geographically isolated and clearly demarcated refugee camps. This rise in urban refugee populations raises the question of how these recently displaced people find a place to live and acquire the means to maintain it despite often lacking legal residency or the right to work. This paper analyzes this question in the context of Palestinian refugees from Syria currently living in Beirut's urban Palestinian refugee camps. Based on interviews and participant-observation with Palestinians from Syria in Beirut's camps, this paper argues that understanding the various factors that have shaped refugee efforts at finding housing can illuminate the broader social, political and material conditions of displacement they face in Lebanon. In particular, it reveals how these refugees negotiate the insecurity represented by the camps' deteriorating infrastructure and antagonistic governance structures, how they build social relations with members of the Palestinian refugee from Lebanon host community, and how they make claims on development and humanitarian NGOs for assistance with rent and shelter rehabilitation. In doing so, this paper provides important insight into daily struggles faced by urban refugees in the region and the strategies they employ to accommodate these challenging circumstances.