Conflicts, abuses, repression, and human rights violations always leave a bitter taste when proper mourning to achieve personal or communal healing is cutoff by indifference, and politics of amnesia.
Human trafficking and its link to migrant domestic labor in Lebanon is a complex, sensitive, and challenging issue. It raises numerous questions and demands further exploration.
سلسلة أوراق عمل #1 | تشرين الأول 2010
إدارة مخيمات اللاجئين الفلسطينيين في المشرق العربي: حوكمات تبحث عن الشرعيةساري حنفي
"يوما بعد يوم، تصبح كثافة المخيم لا تطاق. يتنامى حجم العائلة الفلسطينية بلا هوادة، يجتاح المهاجرون العراقيون أمكنتنا. لا مساحات خضراء، ولا أماكن للهو الاطفال. نعم هذا مؤلم... على الرغم من ذلك، فأنا أحب أن أكون هنا مع عائلتي وبين الناس الذين أعرفهم. هنا أشعر بالامن." بهذه الكلمات وصف لاجئ فلسطيني من الطبقة الوسطى أجريت معه مقابلة التجربة المتناقضة التي يعيشها في مخيم جرمانا (دمشق)؛ إحساسًا بوضع حضري موجع، وفي الوقت ذاته إحساسًا بالراحة ولانتماء لمجتمع. صحيح أن محيط المخيم...
Working Paper Series #1 | October 2010
Palestinian Refugee Camps in the Arab East: Governmentalities in Search of LegitimacySari Hanafi
“Camp crowdedness becomes unbearable. The size of Palestinian families is increasing relentlessly, and Iraqi migrants are invading our space. There are no green areas, or any playgrounds for kids. Yes this is painful … but nevertheless I like being here amongst my family and people. Here, I feel safe.” This is how one interviewee, a middle class Palestinian refugee, portrayed his paradoxical experience in Jaramana camp, Damascus. He describes its painful urban...
On December 9, 2009, a Lebanese criminal court sentenced a Lebanese woman to 15 days in jail for repeatedly beating Jonalin Malibago, her Filipina maid, three years earlier. Lebanese newspapers hailed the case a landmark victory for the country’s estimated 200,000 migrant domestic workers (MDWs), many of whom report abuse at the hands of their employers. The case illustrated the positive role that the judiciary can play in protecting MDWs, even though the sentence was lenient given the violation. But it also raised at least one significant question: was the Malibago verdict a rare instance of...
IFI Working Paper Series #4 | July 2010
Media Habits of MENA Youth: A Three-Country SurveyJad Melki
This pilot study surveyed 2,744 university and high school students in Jordan, Lebanon, and the United Arab Emirates. It asked about their media consumption and production habits, and about their attitudes towards certain media.
Among the significant findings, the survey found the participants highly adept at using new media. They spent considerable time consuming new and traditional media, but much less time producing media content. For instance, the vast majority of participants indicated...
Working Paper Series #3 | July 2010
Describing the Lebanese Youth: A National and Psycho-Social SurveyCharles Harb
The present research investigates socio-demographic, socio-cultural and social-psychological profiles of a representative sample of Lebanese youth. The study thus provides a first assessment of youth in Lebanon, with a clear hope to replicate this research in other parts of the Arab world. This report does not aim to provide a comprehensive model testing between levels of analyses, but rather focuses on a more descriptive profiling of such variables in a way that may be useful to...
ورقة خلفية | حزيران 2010
الشباب البحريني والهويةفاطمة علي
في عامنا هذا (2010) يكمل مصطلح ”الهوية“ ستين عامًا منذ بدء المحاولات الاولى لتوظيفه في المجال التداولي كمصطلح يدل على نوع من فهم الخصوصية لدى الفرد عن نفسه أو الجماعة عن نفسها في مقابل خصوصية الآخر (أبيه، 2004،صفحة 65). غير أن اللافت أن كل هذا الوقت لم يكن كفيلا بمعالجة الغموض الذي يشوب مسألة الهوية ومعانيها المختلفة
وإذا كان خطاب الهوية قد شغل العالم الغربي منذ انتهاء الحرب العالمية الثانية فإن العالم العربي لم ينشغل بهذا الخطاب إلا حديثا، أو فلنقل فقد غزت خطابات الهوية المكتبة العربية، بدءا من التسعينات وحتى الألفينات غزوا، حيث جرى...
Background Paper | June 2010
Dilemmas of Identity and Cultural Diversity among Ammani YouthYazan Doughan
This report is an overview of the research conducted as part of Takween’s project on Identity & Cultural Diversity in the city of Amman. Using the method of discourse analysis, it investigates the politics of identity among Ammani youth, particularly those from marginalized ethnic and cultural backgrounds. Our research focuses on anxieties around issues of ethnic and national identity among this group and detects shifts in identity politics from older to younger generations in the city...
Background Paper | June 2010
Dilemmas of Identity and Cultural Diversity among Ammani YouthYazan Doughan
This report is an overview of the research conducted as part of Takween’s project on Identity & Cultural Diversity in the city of Amman. Using the method of discourse analysis, it investigates the politics of identity among Ammani youth, particularly those from marginalized ethnic and cultural backgrounds. Our research focuses on anxieties around issues of ethnic and national identity among this group and detects shifts in identity politics from older to younger generations in the city...
Background Paper | May 2010
“Scratch the Past – This is OUR Soundtrack: Hip Hop in Lebanon”Angie Nassar
In Lebanon’s cultural politics of music, hip hop emerges as an instrument for contesting inherited forms of meaning by socializing alternative discourse - with its own ideological terms, creative yearnings and lexicon of ideas - into the public sphere. Perhaps only a small interruption against the repetitive, exacting beats of the social order, but this is not about volume or even flow. It is about testing the limits and pushing the boundaries of what is considered acceptable. Hip hop in...
Background Paper - May 2010
Youth Mobilization in Egypt: New Trends and OpportunitiesDina Shehata
Civic participation among youth in Egypt is alarmingly low. According to a recent survey, which confirms the findings of various earlier surveys, only 2% of youth are participating in volunteer work, only 5% participate in youth centers and sports clubs, political parties, unions and associations and housing and school boards, and only 16% of all eligible young voters voted in a previous election (The Population Council, 2010).
In spite of these grim statistics, there are some indications that...
Research and Policy Memo #4 | April 2010
Addressing Poor Living Conditions to Improve Health in Palestinian Camps in LebanonRima R. Habib
According to research carried out at the American University of Beirut, the living environment of Palestinian refugees residing in Bourj el Barajneh camp in Beirut lacks the basic services and infrastructure necessary to safeguard the health of community residents. Established in 1948 by the International League of Red Cross Societies, Bourj el Barajneh camp is one of the largest and oldest refugee camps in Lebanon. Housing more than 20,000 refugees, the...
مذكرات للباحثين و صناع القرار #1 | آب 2010
التصدي للظروف المعيشية السيئة لتحسين الصحة في المخيمات الفلسطينية في لبنانريما ر. حبيب
وفقاً لبحث أجرته الجامعة الاميركية في بيروت، تفتقر البيئة المعيشية للاجئين الفلسطينين المقيمين في مخيم برج البراجنة في بيروت إلى الخدمات الاساسية والبنية التحتية اللازمة للحفاظ على صحة سكان المجتمع المحلي
أنشأت الرابطة الدولية لجمعيات الصليب الاحمر مخيم برج البراجنة في سنة 1948 ،وهو من أكبر وأقدم مخيمات اللاجئين في لبنان. ووفقا للمعايير الانسانية، يعتبر المخيم مزدحماً بالسكان إذ يسكنه أكثر من 20000 لاجئ
Key Findings of Research Paper Produced as Part of the AUB Tobacco Control Research Group | April 2010
The Economics of Tobacco in Lebanon: An Estimation of the Social Costs of Tobacco Consumption (Key Findings)Jad Chaaban, Nadia Naamani, and Nisreen Salti
This document presents the key findings of the social costs of tobacco consumption in Lebanon.
Paper Produced as Part of the AUB Tobacco Control Research Group | April 2010
The Economics of Tobacco in Lebanon: An Estimation of the Social Costs of Tobacco Consumption (Full Report)Jad Chaaban, Nadia Naamani, and Nisreen Salti
Tobacco Control is currently being implemented in various countries worldwide. This is a result of the direct effect of tobacco smoking on health. Broadly speaking, Tobacco Control entails a ban on tobacco advertising both below and above the line,1 a ban on smoking in public areas, an increase in the tax on cigarette packs, and the placement of health warnings on...
Summary of Paper Produced as Part of the AUB Tobacco Control Research Group - April 2010
The Economics of Tobacco in Lebanon: An Estimation of the Social Costs of Tobacco Consumption (Executive Summary) Jad Chaaban, Nadia Naamani, and Nisreen Salti
Tobacco Control is currently being implemented in various countries worldwide, as a result of the direct effect of tobacco smoking on health. Lebanon has several pending laws for tobacco control however none is yet ratified and implemented. This paper aims to understand the Lebanese tobacco market and assess whether this market creates an overall...
