Nationalist narratives, boundaries and social inclusion/exclusion in Palestinian camps in South Lebanon

Abstract

This article explores how in the contexts of exile and statelessness and in the absence of Palestinian institutions, such as schools, Palestinian youth in south Lebanon construct their identities through nationalist narratives of shared history, kinship, culture and religion. Although these narratives help to construct shared notions of ‘Palestinianess’ for the youth, they also help to produce contestations and internal ‘others’. This has important implications for the lives of Palestinian youth, as group membership gives them a sense of belonging and regulates their access to resources, information, opportunities and power. Moreover, the production of internal ‘others’ also has serious implications for social cohesion, tolerance for internal and external diversity and gender relations in Palestinian society.

Keywords:

• youth
• identity
• Palestine
• exile
• refugees

Notes

1. UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees) was specifically set up in 1949 to provide assistance, protection and advocacy for Palestinian refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, the West Bank and Gaza. The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) only provides assistance and protection to Palestinian refugees outside UNRWA’s areas of operations (UNRWA 2010).

2. The number of Palestinian refugees currently registered with UNRWA is 4,820,229: 2,004,795 in Jordan; 477,700 in Syria; 427,057 in Lebanon; 788,108 in the West Bank and 1,122,569 in Gaza. Among these, Lebanon has the highest percentage of refugees living in camps at 53.1%. By comparison, only 17.3% of Palestinians in Jordan live in camps (UNRWA 2010).