From Baghdad to Beirut:Iraqi Refugees’ Voices for

Equity in Transit

Jihad Makhoul, Lena Torossian, Dima Dandachi and Yara QutteinaAmerican University of Beirut, Lebanon

Study Aims

To explore Iraqi refugees’• Experiences and living conditions • Coping mechanisms

Background

What should we know about Lebanon to help us understand the study?

Lebanon Post civil war economic decline, Beirut divided

along religious sectarian lines [eastern, southern] 1951 Geneva Convention on protection of refugees

declaration [not signed]

Not ready to host more refugees Inadequate resources No domestic laws dealing with refugees & asylum

seekers

UNHCR: ◦ refugee status determination ◦ seeks solutions to resettlement papers

How did we collect and analyze our data?

Qualitative Approach:• Informal interviews with welfare agencies• 38 in-depth interviews, 5 focus groups, observations• Conducted in colloquial Lebanese Arabic• Thematic analysis: transcribed verbatim, coded,

transferred onto spreadsheets, recurring themes..

Participants:• Representatives of agencies serving Iraqi refugees• Iraqi families and children [months-12 years in Leb] • eastern and southern suburbs of Beirut

Research Approach

What aspects of the findings are presented today?

Findings..

Trail Life in Beirut◦ Social Conditions◦ Paperwork◦Emotional turmoil

Social Support

Trail: from Baghdad to Beirut

Legally Baghdad Plane Eastern Suburbs of Beirut

Illegally Baghdad Syria Southern suburbs Beirut

Small unhealthy apartments, expensive rent, multiple moves

“I swear to God, this is not the first apartment that we reside in. This is the fourth or fifth apartment, because we are many. The landlord

doesn’t accept large families, he puts them out” (An Iraqi mother)

Exploitation, Stigmatization, Discrimination“There are no good jobs, I worked in many jobs but they didn’t treat

me well, they didn’t give me good money, they didn’t give me. I mean I worked in a job close by for 13 days and they didn’t give me money… I mean that dessert shop and he didn’t give me anything” (An 18 year old Iraqi woman)

Suffering exacerbated by persecution

“I am scared they would arrest us one day, I mean I am afraid that one day we will go on an outing, and then the police would arrest us and then make us go back to Iraq” (A father of six)

Life in Beirut:

pics

1. UNHCR paper:• Not recognized by the State• Important for settlement• Humiliating • Does not ensure human rights in Lebanon

2. Residency papers:• Expensive work permit• Require a Lebanese guarantor

Paperwork

L

3. Resettlement papers:◦False hope, delays, frustration and ambiguity• Slack global process • Unclear immigration policies• Contribute to family disintegration

“I have been here for 12 years, how is it still being studied? 20 years to study a file?! This is ridiculous, I mean 70 staff in the agency need 20 years to study a file, if each one of them took a letter, the file would be completed in one week!” (A father who spend 12 years in Lebanon)

“Once I went to ask about my file, and she told me to forget! I have a difficult psychological condition and she tells me to forget!” (A 42 year old father)

Way Out

Anxiety, depression, hopelessness, suicidal attempts

“I am a diabetic; honestly this is due to all the work. I have a depression now. My son and I used to consult with the physician in ReStart. I would become very angry at them. I would become angry at the smallest thing and because I feel that I am the reason behind the file delay because I said the truth; I told them I was a military … Apparently the paperwork of a military is delayed… I never held a weapon in my life… I was calligrapher in the army” (60 year old head of household)

Husband: “One day I woke up at 1:30 am and found that she had opened the curtains and had swollen all the pills”.

Wife: “I woke up and poisoned myself, I took out the pills and swallowed them all… This life- I don’t want it”!

Husband: “So if I didn’t wake up and I didn’t see her, if I didn’t do

something about it, she would have been gone ”.

Psychosocial Well-being

What is striking in these findings?

Differences in Social

Support and Coping between suburbs

Household Proximity

Social SupportCopingAgencies Outings Family

SupportFormal Informal

Eastern Suburbs

yes yes yes yes yes High

Southern Suburbs

no yes no no no Low

FOREIGN POLICIES / MIGRATION POLICIES

UNHCR Paperwork

IRAQI REFUGEES PSYCHOSOCIAL

WELL-BEING

INFORMAL SOCIAL SUPPORT

PROXIMITY

SUBURB CHARACTERISTICS

LEBANESE POLITICAL SITUATION Laws Sectarianism

SOCIAL ACTIVITIES

NGOs

RELIEF ITEMS

SOCIAL SUPPORT / WELL-BEING FRAMEWORK

STAFF INTERACTION

What needs to be done to improve the well-being of the Iraqi refugees while in transit countries?

NGOs:• Use participatory research to evaluate services• Train staff on interpersonal communication skills

• Offer rent assistance • Facilitate creation of meeting spaces • Increase social events/gatherings

State:• Integrate State services with NGO services • Differentiate between war affected Iraqi refugees

and illegal immigrants• End detention and persecution of Iraqi refugees• Allow temporary work permits

Implications…

“Where is the respectful aid? The coupon has nothing to do with it, I don’t want the coupon. I want a house, give me a house to live in, give me residency and I would work and earn a living for my children, I would live my happiness, I would live free!” (45 year old father of 4)

Iraqi refugee families and youth Non-governmental agencies IDRC, Ford Foundation Members of the Arab Families Working

Group Ms Cristel Baasiri, Ms Fadia Shoucair, Ms

Samia Kallas

Thanks to..

Work in progress-comments