The Unwanted Refugees: Adolescent refugees and social cohesion in Lebanon
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The document discusses a study on the social cohesion between adolescent refugees and their host communities in Lebanon. The study found that adolescent refugees experience spatial isolation, gendered cultural differences, economic competition, and security issues that hinder their social connectedness. However, some reported positive interactions through mixed-nationality schools, friendships, and community programs. The study recommends improving gender norms, mixed education, community programs, economic stability, and security to enhance social cohesion.
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The Unwanted Refugees: Adolescent refugees and social cohesion in Lebanon
- 1. The Unwanted Refugees: Adolescent refugees and social cohesion in Lebanon IV ISA Forum of Sociology, February 2021 Photo story from Lebanon © Adolescent Syrian girl / GAGE participatory research 2019 Sally Youssef and Agnieszka Małachowska
- 2. Presentation Outline 1 • GAGE overview and study methodology 2 • GAGE findings 3 • Questions
- 3. Married Syrian girl in ITS, Jordan @ Natalie Bertrams / GAGE 2019 Please note that the photographs of adolescents DO NOT capture GAGE research participants and consent was gained from their guardians for the photographs to be used for GAGE for communications purposes. GAGE overview Lebanon © Palestinian adolescent girl from Lebanon / GAGE 2019
- 4. Gender and Adolescence: Global Evidence (GAGE): A longitudinal research programme (2015-2024) By finding out ‘what works,’ for whom, where and why, we can better support adolescent girls and boys to maximise their capabilities now and in the future. We are following 20,000 girls and boys - the largest cohort of adolescents in the Global South https://www.gage.odi.org/
- 5. GAGE 3Cs Conceptual Framework GAGE’s focus on adolescent capabilities and psychosocial wellbeing in particular aligns with Ross et al. (2020) framework on adolescents’ health and wellbeing which has a strong focus on social connectedness and on adolescent agency and resilience.
- 6. GAGE longitudinal research sample 100
- 7. Complex context ‘When we first came here, sectarianism was a problem. My father warned me not to talk or interfere in anything related to sects or politics.’ (18-year-old Syrian boy, collective shelter, Baalbek) Syrian boys in Lebanon © Sally Youssef / GAGE
- 8. Syrian girl in Lebanon © Kate Holt / EU Medair GAGE findings
- 9. Measuring adolescent refugees' social connectedness Findings from evidence synthesis on adolescents’ social connectedness Gendered cultures and cultural differences Spatial isolation Attitudes of Lebanese community and violence Friendships and interactions Economic competition Security situation and policies towards refugees Meaningful and lasting peer-to- peer and social relations Emotions towards the other Perceptions of cultural commonalities Perceptions of belonging and inclusion
- 10. Gendered cultures and cultural differences ‘Here in the camp life is very suffocating. Everyone says ‘it is forbidden’ all the time for everything. We cannot go out … they say ‘it is shameful’. There are many restrictions on us girls.’ (19-year-old Palestinian girl, Ein el-Hilweh camp) Gendered Cultures Cultural differences perceptions Isolation and freedom of movement ‘I do not like Lebanese ... My mother tells me 'Go far away from Lebanese’ … I mean, their [Lebanese] thinking is different … They have a different culture from us … My mother tells me they are mean … She hates the Lebanese.’ (19-year-old Palestinian girl, Ein el-Hilweh camp) ‘I don't like the Lebanese. There is a lot of bullying from their side … I do not know any Lebanese but other people face it … I saw a video like this on social media and since then I started hating them.’ (15-year-old Palestinian refugee from Syria, Ein el-Hilweh camp) ‘There are many things in common between us [with Lebanese girls], but they can have male friends and spend time with each other and this is not allowed for us.’ (16-year-old Palestinian girl, Ein el-Hilweh camp)
- 11. Spatial Isolation ‘The wall makes us feel like we live in a huge prison. But also because we have to show our IDs to the army whenever we enter or leave the camp … They also check our bags and look through our things … this is humiliating.’ (18-year-old Palestinian girl, Ein el-Hilweh camp) ‘They look at us with a strange look and we feel really awkward.’ (17-year-old married Syrian girl, ITS, Baalbek) ‘In the camp, no one belittle the other, we don’t feel this because all of us are Syrians like each other. That is why we prefer not to leave the camp ... We have value among our people.’ (19-year-old married Syrian girl, ITS, Baalbek) Ein el-Hilweh camp in Lebanon © Marcel Saleh / GAGE 2020
- 12. Attitudes of Lebanese community, violence, and economic competition Xenophobia and violence against refugees especially Syrians has been widespread. Palestinian and Syrian youth feel that their communities are targeted and rejected by the Lebanese society – often as the repercussions of the economic tensions. More work restrictions on refugees and the escalating economic crisis, results in Palestinians being pushed away from the Lebanese market and society, even if they were integrated before. ‘Strangers always stop us and talk to us in a bad way ... It happens a lot. When I am with my friends on the street, some bullies come and harass us … they try to hurt you just because you are a Syrian … For several times, they tried to take my clothes off … I saw them taking boys’ clothes off many times.’ (18-year-old Syrian, collective shelter, Baalbek) ‘Once, while I am at work, a woman came and asked me how much I get paid … and she started telling me that we stole their jobs. She said that if I didn’t work there, her son would have the job. She told me things like we stole their home and we didn’t leave anything for them.’ (19-year-old Syrian, collective shelter, Baalbek) ‘Employers are firing people without any reason … They are doing so based on nationality. If he is a Palestinian, they will expel him from his job … Now everything is different, Palestinians are dealt with as if they are depriving the Lebanese from their right to work … They are stricter with the Palestinians now more than the Syrians.’ (16-year-old Palestinian boy, Ein el-Hilweh camp)
- 13. Security situation and policies towards refugees ‘A large percentage of Lebanese people don’t enter the camp. They are scared of entering to it … They fear the clashes here.’ (18-year-old Palestinian boy, Ein el-Hilweh camp) ‘It is scary here. My father doesn’t let me go out in the camp, he gets very scared when problems happen.’ (19-year-old Palestinian girl, Ein el-Hilweh camp) ‘Many people are wanted here [in Baalbek] … They keep fighting each other. There is shooting, and there are cars going and coming with weapons every day and everywhere … I do not interact with people here. I avoid problems as much as possible.’ (17-year-old Syrian boy, collective shelter, Baalbek) Poor security situation has been found a factor that contributes to social isolation and low integration among the refugees. Street violence and clashes are a main reason for restrictions on movement, especially for girls. Adolescents link the state’s inability to address the security situation with their refugee status and related lack of rights.
- 14. Positive outliers ‘My Lebanese friends are the same like my Syrian friends, there is no difference.’ (17-year-old Syrian boy, collective shelter, Baalbek) Group of Syrian and Lebanese girls © Russell Watkins/DFID 2018
- 15. Friendships and positive interactions Understanding the complex context ‘I understand racism from Lebanese people because I know what their problems are. For sure, they will get upset that they are Lebanese and cannot find work, while the Syrians do... But in reality Syrians are taking the jobs that Lebanese won’t take and work for long hours and are paid lower, and the Lebanese do not see it this way.’ (18-year-old Syrian boy, collective shelter, Baalbek) Mixed-nationality schools ‘I have many Lebanese friends from school and I am still friends with them… We still talk all the time and we go out together… I also made many friends at work and from my outings.’ (18-year-old Palestinian boy, Ein el-Hilweh camp) NGO programmes ‘I have only one friend, she is Lebanese. I met her at a course [at a local NGO]. I knew her better when we worked on a project together and we had many conversations back then. Like that we became close friends. She is my best friend now.’ (18-year-old Palestinian boy, Ein el-Hilweh camp) Sports ‘I have many Lebanese friends… We play football together, it does not matter who the players are, whether they are Lebanese or Syrians… They should be good players… Sometimes, I play with a team that is all Lebanese… I find it more useful when I mix with others. I have many Lebanese friends that I have known for about 6 or 7 years. I know them well and they are good people.’ (18-year-old Syrian boy, collective shelter, Baalbek)
- 16. Policy and programming implications Provide social security that covers all vulnerable groups in Lebanon. Either at the state policy level or at the international/UN organizations levels. Working on gender norms with families and refugee communities is essential for girls to be able to gain greater freedom of movement and allow to interact with others. Nationality-mixed education system would improve social cohesion. Nationality-mixed programs at NGOs should work more efficiently on integration of refugee groups. The Lebanese state should work towards a more economically and security-wise stable environment which in effect would decrease the tensions among the different groups.
- 17. Questions Lebanese adolescent girl © Author of adolescent photo story / GAGE 2020
- 18. About GAGE WEBSITE: www.gage.odi.org TWITTER: @GAGE_programme FACEBOOK: GenderandAdolescence Gender and Adolescence: Global Evidence (GAGE) is a nine-year (2015-2024) mixed- methods longitudinal research programme focused on what works to support adolescent girls’ and boys’ capabilities in the second decade of life and beyond. We are following the lives of 20,000 adolescents in six focal countries in Africa, Asia and the Middle East. Download the report: www.gage.odi.org/publications/
Editor's Notes
- Thank you for the kind introduction and hello everyone. In our presentation today, we will be focusing on adolescent refugees and social cohesion in Lebanon.
- We will start first with our methodology and then move to findings
- Gender and Adolescence: Global Evidence or (GAGE) is a nine-year mixed-methods longitudinal research programme exploring the gendered experiences of young people aged 10-19 in 7 countries in the Global South. For more information on our programme, please visit our website shared on the slide.
- GAGE’s conceptual framework is built around six core capability domains which we think are critical for young people to have healthy and empowered lives and become empowered adults. Our conceptual framework recognizes that adolescents’ contexts shape their capabilities as well as the importance of reaching adolescents through a wide variety of change pathways.
- In Lebanon, GAGE is carrying out a longitudinal participatory research with 100 adolescent girls and boys from the Syrian and Palestinian refugee communities and the vulnerable Lebanese host communities, using interactive participatory tools, which include participatory photography.
- Before moving to findings, we want to give you a glance on the complex Lebanese context. The Lebanese society is divided into more than eighteen recognized sects and hosts the largest per capita refugee population in the world including Palestinian refugees since 1948 and Syrian refugees since 2011. The Lebanese society is marked by its poor social cohesion either within the Lebanese community or among the different refugee and host communities. Refugees are considered 'foreigners' under Lebanese law, who do not enjoy any special legal status nor rights. The Palestinian refugees live through multi-generational poverty in 12 slum-like camps and Syrian refugees are incorporated into the Lebanese communities with around a fifth of them living in makeshift informal tented settlements or (ITSs). Most of them have settled in the vulnerable regions which contributed to existing economic and socio-political tensions which was recently exacerbated by the economic crisis in the country and the covid-19 pandemic.
- To analyze our findings on adolescent refugees social cohesion we have systematically looked at different factors that contribute to social cohesion and connectedness in their lives, which will be laid out in this section.
- Due to refugee communities’ cultural practices and gender norms, girls face many restrictions on their freedoms and movement and are often isolated within their own communities and have negligible opportunities to interact with the wider society. As explained by a Palestinian girl in the 1st quote: Adolescents who were the most isolated had the most negative views. Those usually base their perceptions on family and community members perceptions or experiences as shown in the 2nd quote - or they base it on other refugees’ experiences that they are exposed to through media as reflected in the 3rd quote. Refugee adolescents in general perceive the Lebanese society to be more open and girls to enjoy more freedoms which contradicts the gendered norms of the refugee communities. This makes it hard for adolescents to interact or build friendships with Lebanese peers, especially when such differences are not accepted by their families and communities, as shown in the 4th quote.
- Living in a walled-off camp that has entries controlled by the Lebanese army, Palestinian refugees from Ein el-Hilweh camp are spatially and socially isolated from the wider society, which renders the camp a ‘prison’ for them as described by an adolescent girl in the 1st quote. Married Syrian girls, who live in ITSs which are built in agricultural lands away from the populated areas, face similar spatial and social isolation. Nonetheless, unlike the Palestinians, Syrians, especially males, have more interactions with the Lebanese on the roads, markets, service facilities, etc. Although the Syrian adolescents have mixed interactions with the Lebanese residents, negative experiences have the greatest impact on their attitudes and perceptions, as described in the 2nd quote. And these negative interactions reinforce the feelings of belonging to their direct community. However, it also fortifies their isolation as shown in the 3rd quote.
- With the crises in Lebanon, restrictive policies against refugees have been increasing as well as the xenophobic rhetoric from influential politicians. In parallel, inter-community tensions and violence have been increasing as well. Refugee boys are more likely to face xenophobia, violence and the repercussions of economic tensions, especially the Syrian boys. As a Syrian boy explained in the 1st quote. The economic competition over low-skilled and scarce jobs, remains a major factor leading to increasing tensions mainly with Syrians, as explained in the 2nd quote. On the other hand with the introduction of additional work restrictions on refugees, Palestinians feel that they are being forced out of the Lebanese market and society as a Palestinian boy explained in the 3rd quote.
- Poor security situation contributes to social isolation and low integration among the refugees, be it in Ein el-Hilweh camp that is infamous for the armed clashes or the clashes between the Lebanese clans in Baalbek region. The Palestinian adolescents consider the clashes to be a main reason for restrictions on girls movement and halt of normalcy within the camp and it creates fear toward the camp and its residents as reflected in the 1st two quotes. On the other hand, due to the clashes in Baalbek, and the use of arms among Lebanese adolescents, Syrian boys report that their families often restrict their movement, especially at night. This in effect, prevents them from forming healthy relationships within the wider society as reflected in the 3rd quote. Adolescent refugees, most often relate all their challenges, including their isolation and inability to integrate into the Lebanese life, to the state’s discriminatory policies and the lack of rights, in addition to its failure to address the security situation either within the Palestinian camps or the Lebanese communities.
- Although overall the findings might seem gruesome, there are some avenues that allow adolescents to have positive experiences and build meaningful and maybe lasting relations with members of the wider society.
- To start with, when adolescents show a deeper understanding of their context either within their communities or the wider society and an understating of the history, politics and economics involved, they seemed to have a better attitude towards the Lebanese community. Also, while studying in nationality-mixed schools with the support of teachers, some adolescents integrate well into their schools and form long-lasting relationships. The main factor that contributed to an overall positive or negative experience is the attitude of the teachers. Positive experiences at early age can also lead adolescents to have more positive interactions and relations beyond school friendships. Similarly, programs at NGOs are a great pathway for building better social cohesion among the different adolescent groups, especially that these are the only spaces for some adolescents to meet Lebanese peers. Similar to schools, adolescents were able to build friendships and have positive interactions when the facilitators or teachers were supportive and did not discriminate against them. Finally, sports activities among boys seems to be a great way for them to interact and make friends beyond their immediate communities. Boys engaging in sports activities had better attitudes and larger networks with Lebanese peers compared to others. However, sports activities are lacking for adolescent girls.
- The most urgent need for refugees as well as vulnerable host community is to provide social security that covers all vulnerable groups in Lebanon. Either at the state policy level or at the international/UN organizations levels. This will help to reduce tensions among the different groups and can set ground for better social cohesion. Working on gender norms with families and refugee communities is essential for girls to be able to gain greater freedom of movement which will allow them to interact with peers within and beyond their communities. Nationality-mixed education can be a great resource for social cohesion – given that the teachers are well trained and equipped to help integrate the refugee students and get positive learning and friendships experiences. Nationality-mixed programs at NGOs should work more efficiently on the social cohesion element and the lack of training of facilitators on this matter can result in lost opportunities between refugee adolescents and their peers. The Lebanese state should work towards a more economically and security-wise stable environment which in effect would decrease the tensions among the different groups.