The image of the Syrian in post 2011 novels from neighbouring countries: a comparative study of Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan

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ABSTRACT A large-scale exodus of Syrians to neighbouring states (Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey) has accompanied the bloody events in Syria which began in 2011. A body of research has examined the depiction of Syrian refugees in the societies of these countries by tracking attitudes on social media and in the traditional media and through field studies. Yet there is a lack of research on the image of the Syrian refugee in the literature of neighbouring states, especially in the contemporary novel. The subject of this study, therefore, is the image of the Syrian in novels from the neighbouring states, Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan, written post-2011. Using the concepts and methodology of the French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu, including the concept of habitus and the dynamics of power in society, this article scrutinises the image of the Syrian, looking to novels’ depiction and presentation to the reader as a representation of the general attitude of the novelist toward the refugee phenomenon. The study demonstrates that the image of the Syrian refugee in these novels differs from the general, more ambivalent perception of Syrians in these societies. The writers appear to be sympathetic towards Syrian refugees as human beings who have experienced oppression. In this way, novelists in the neighbouring states have contributed to humanising the image of the Syrian refugee in their societies.