by Filippo Dionigi

#LSERefugees

The Syrian conflict has forcibly displaced more than 11 million people – half of the country’s population. 6.5 million are internally displaced, while 5 million have crossed the border to find refuge abroad, in neighbouring countries such as Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt, and elsewhere both regionally and globally. Both refugees and host communities have thus far shown astonishing levels of resilience and patience. However, their endurance is not without limits. Efforts towards conflict resolution have made little progress, and 6 years on, the conflict has become protracted. The most effective way of tackling the Syrian refugee emergency is, first and foremost, by ending the conflict in Syria. Yet, while the crisis continues, it is crucial to explore new perspectives and stimulate debate on how to enhance the lives and conditions of refugees and host communities alike.

In a workshop held on 17–18 June 2016, the LSE Middle East Centre brought together a diverse group of people (policymakers from host states, representatives from international organisations, academics and NGOs practitioners) to explore the effects of the Syrian refugee emergency on Arab host states such as Lebanon, Jordan, and Iraq. Below are papers presented at the workshop. These were published, in English and Arabic, as part of a collected volume also presenting a list of key recommendations relevant for all stakeholders and agreed upon by participants.

Download the papers in English | Download the papers in Arabic

Papers

• Syrian Refugees in Lebanon: A Turning Point?
  Mireille Girard

• Syrian Refugees and the Kurdistan Region of Iraq
  Hayder Mustafa Saaid

• Refugees’ Contentious Politics and the Case of Syrian Activists in Jordan
• Rana B. Khoury

• Iraqi and Syrian Refugees in Jordan Adjusting to Displacement: Comparing their Expectations towards UNHCR and their Capacities to use their Educational Assets
  Géraldine Chatelard

• The Informal Adaptive Mechanisms among Syrian Refugees and Marginalised Host Communities in Lebanon
  Nasser Yassin & Jana Chammaa

• Host State Responsibility and Capacity in Egypt, Morocco and Turkey
  Kelsey Norman

• Relations Between UNHCR and Arab Governments: Memoranda of Understanding in Lebanon and Jordan
  Ghida Frangieh

• Syrian Refugee or Stateless Refugee: The Challenges of Statelessness in Exile
  Zahra Albarazi

• Gendered Vulnerability and Forced Conscription in the War in Syria
  Rochelle Davis

• The Syrian Humanitarian Disaster: Understanding Perceptions and Aspirations in Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey
  Dawn Chatty

• The Syrian Refugee Crisis: A Global and Regional Perspective
  François Reybet-Degat