Palestine refugees from Syria in Lebanon : dynamics of secondary forced displacement

Abstract

The protracted conflict in Syria, which began in March 2011, has caused a mass refugee movement as well as internal displacement of millions of Syrians and is largely considered as one of the most catastrophic humanitarian crises since World War II. Lebanon, being one of the last countries in the region imposing strict regulations on entry, has received a disproportional number of Syrian refugees. As of March 2016, the number of Syrian refugees in Lebanon counts nearly 1.5 million people. An overlooked minority in the current crisis are Palestine refugees from Syria and their inherent vulnerability when it comes to secondary forced displacement. They face many similar challenges to their Syrian counterparts but also dissimilarities connected to their Palestinian identity and refugee status. The asymmetry in treatment and experience stems from a specific regional historic and political context that since 1948 has shaped the relationship between Palestine refugee communities and their host countries; this becomes evident when examining the Lebanese context. The dynamics of secondary forced displacement in the case of Palestine refugees from Syria in Lebanon can be analysed by applying a theoretical framework of Giorgio Agamben and Liisa Malkki. However this theoretical framework has to be challenged and qualified by exploring the actual lived experience of everyday life of Palestine refugees from Syrian in Lebanon in order to provide a more full, elaborative and dynamic depiction of the situation they are facing.