ALHAWIAT

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Lebanon's migratory policy

 

This sentence reveals the migratory policy inconsistency across the region. When Souad pronounce these words, she underlines an untenable situation. There is almost 1.5 million of Syrian refugees in Lebanon thus 25% of the lebanese population.More than half of them living in grinding poverty. The land of Cedars has never signed the 1951 Convention on the status of Refugees. Mostly of these prone persons hold an effective resident permit. However, do not be fooled by appearances, they cope with a plethora of bans and a drastic decrease in HRC and World Food Program international assistance. The healthcare and employment access is disastrous and women are facing multiple security risks like sexual harassment and early mariage.

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Souad comes from Soultaniyah near Homs in Syria. She was pregnant since seven months when exil has fallen upon her. After a short time in a garage with a survival supplie of 250 000 lebanese pounds (approximately 135€), Souad and her family move in a refugee camp. They’re stucked here since then. «We lost the sens of time so much that all days are similar ». Moreover, deep rational fears blights her mind such as short circuits or sparks due to the failing electric system, fire and uncertain housing collapse.

But beyond the facts, a persistent resentment surrounds the Refugee's Body Through evidenced testimony: «lebanese refugees in Syria did not live in camps and garage during the civil war ». It’s necessary to provide a context to the contemporary events. Today in Lebanon, the palestinian question is running into the sand and the chia Hezbollah is significantly granting. The army and the state have globally lost confidence of inhabitants. These are the symptoms of the civil war which has partially destroyed the country and given place to an electoral contest between confessional lines. It perfectly embodies political inequalities about refugee return which divises governing authorities because it’s linked to the demographic weight of each community.

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For christians, the Syrian return is a priority cause if they stay they’ll contribute to enhance sunni presence in the country. Nevertheless, Michel Aoun (the current president of Lebanon affiliated to the Free Patriotic Movement) and the Prime Minister Saad Hariri ( The Future Movement Party) are seeking for a cooperation with Damas. Of course, Hezbollah too since it supports Syrian Government on the Syrian ground. On the contrary, the Druze leader Walid Joumblat and the christian chief Samir Geagea are both to the open negotiations with Syrian authorities. So, this is an explosive situation and refugees are squeezed between two social stigma. They flee war and oppression but recover a similar confusion in their host country.

Souad talks about this double fate: «we pertinently know that it’s dead for us (...) It was more than myself, more than all of us». They are considered as strangers whatever they do and wherever they go. Discrimination and racism are stepping up in a tired society. Regardless the lack of freedom and the judgement she deals with because she’s a widow, she’s standing up through resilient vectors. She’s the proof of the possible co-existence between progress and extensive damages and she’s not an exception. The man’s decease entails empowerment for women. First, she proceeds to a prompt disruption with her own trauma and child’s memories: « my children know nothing about Syria». Second, she affiliates traditions, customs and religion as a consciousness blockade for emancipation. Third, she convenes primary ambitions as a ridge line for family reconstruction. It’s not a «coping» which makes resilience ubiquitous in Syrian refugees life but a concrete creation process leading to the suffering feeling. Souad and other women interviews show the clear sightedness on the danger of exposed vulnerability. They understand how body and experiences are constantly instrumentalizing by migratory policy and risk to prevent the grant of refugee statue in Europe and a less insecure situation in Lebanon.

It’s very well explain by the PhD Elise Pestre in «Recherches in Psychanalyse »1 and her text «Instrumentalizing the Refugee's Body Through Evidence».

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«Thus, it seems to us that it is essential to underline here just to what extent the biological body of the refugee appears to be caught, even penetrated by the political sovereignty and becomes an object of power. Souad has one step ahead of those cynical perspectives and refused to be the victim of what Foucault names «biopower» and disciplinarisation of bodies. Her internalisation ability and subjectification of pain are the major axes of resilience and probably the most commonly ignored factor by stakeholders of migration crisis.

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The struggle for recognition

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We feel quiet confident about perceived psychological and psychosocial causes of migrations but only few specialist are concerned about positive approaches of refugees topic. If we concentrate on rational factors as structural tightness weigh on migrants, it's understandable that they deal with many constraints. They trying to set up several avoidance strategies and facilitating daily life. Axel Honneth's theory called “the struggle for recongnition” obeserved in significatant distress takes place in Pakistan, Somialia and Nepal. He stresses how humanitarians and governments working with refugees could turn his theory in practice: “Understanding how urban refugees cope by negotiating access to various form of recognition in the absence of legal-recognition will enable organisations working with them to leverage such strenghts and develop relevant programmes”.

Gwynyth Overland, Senior Advisor at Regional Trauma Centre in Southern Norway explains: “ Most refugees have a background from families and cultures with centuries of experience in surviving. Instead of forgetting this, we should capitalise on it”2. But formerly, a fundamental aspect needs to be addressed: we must open the “pandora box” and get acquainted with refugee's war experiences. As a tool box with many resources mixed with a strong social support, they could pick up familiar process and access to additionnal incremental levels.

Some authors wrote scholars from different viewing angles like Sarah Bailey and Veronique Barbelet. 

They studied the syrian refugee crisis through a resilience based response with a critical review of vulnerability criteria and frameworks. The paper concerns only refugee population in Jordan and Lebanon. They remarks three key variables:

1. The inclusion of criteria related to poverty and social tensions moves away from the strict focus on ‘host’ communities, to a broader recognition that refugee presence is not the sole indicator of vulnerability.

 

2. This necessary shift became implemented in both countries through, respectively, the National Resilience Plan and the Lebanon Stabilisation Roadmap.

 

3. But resilience has to be promoted and popularized on the ground because it remains sub-regional and national strategy.

Those three steps permit to change progressively minds in host communities and improve significantly Refugees conditions.

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Diane Semerdjian

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1. Pestre Élise, «Instrumentalizing the Refugee's Body Through Evidence», Recherches en psychanalyse, 2012/2 (n° 14), p. 147a-154a. DOI : 10.3917/rep.014.0147a. URL : https://www.cairn.info/revue-recherches-en- psychanalyse-2012-2-page-147a.htm

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2. Focus on Refugees Resilience and not trauma on Science Nordic, Nov. 22, 2012

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3 Bailey Sarah and Barbelet Veronique (UNDP staff), Towards a resilience based response to the syrian refugee crisis, a critical review of vulnerability criteria and frameworks, May 2014, for a complete access in PDF here : https://bit.ly/2FiTZqM