Surviving Seemingly Endless Refugeeship—Social Representations and Strategies of Palestinian Refugees in Ein El Hilweh

Abstract

Abstract Today, about 470,000 Palestinian refugees are registered with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East in Lebanon, with 45 per cent of them living in the 12 official Palestinian refugee camps. Previous research identified several socio-economic problems facing the Palestinian refugees in Lebanon. The refugee camps have generally been very poor and relatively dangerous places to live. Moreover, all the Palestinian camps suffer from overcrowding, unemployment, poor housing conditions, inadequate infrastructure, as well as a lack of access to justice. Although previous research has identified several difficulties with living in a Palestinian refugee camp, this study takes a fresh look at life in the largest camp in Lebanon—Ein El Hilweh. In addition to identifying such problems and difficulties, it also explores the various strategies adopted by Palestinian refugees to handle them. While acknowledging that not all problems can be resolved, these problem-solving strategies of refugees is a significant gap in the literature on refugees that warrants further investigation. The study is grounded in Serge Moscovici’s theory of social representations, analyzing Palestinian refugees’ shared experiences in facing difficult situations as well as their strategies for solving them.