Refugee Resilience and Adaptation in the Middle East

Haya Al-Dajani, PhD, is a professor of Entrepreneurship at the Mohammed Bin Salman College for Business and Entrepreneurship (MBSC) in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.Maysa Baroud is currently an independent researcher. Previously, she was a project coordinator and researcher within the Refugee Research and Policy Program at IFI, where she coordinated and contributed to the project leading to this edited volume.Nasser Yassin, PhD, is currently the Minister of Environment in Lebanon. He is also a professor of Policy and Planning at the American University of Beirut (on leave).

"Al-Dajani, Baroud and Yassin illustrate a powerful story of resilience and adaptation by the forcibly displaced Syrian people. The refugee crisis is a global one, but experiences of forcible displacement and resettlement are complex and vary considerably between contexts and populations. This book sheds light on the brutal conditions faced by the refugees and their struggling host communities in Jordan and Lebanon, whilst emphasising their agency and resourcefulness in negotiating formal structures and institutions to survive. An absolute must read for learning about how refugees co-create an informal, community-led and grassroots network to gain a livelihood, a sense of belonging and welfare support. It is a testament to the power of resilience and the power of adaptation when humans are thrust into survival mode."Dr Sophie Alkhaled, Lancaster University, United Kingdom"For anyone seeking to better understand informal adaptive mechanisms and agency among Syrian refugees in Lebanon and Jordan, this volume is a welcome resource. Through a series of case studies, the book emphatically engages with the question of how refugees from Syria overcome everyday challenges in securing their livelihoods."Professor Maja Janmyr, University of Oslo, Norway

• 1. Introduction: Refugee resilience, adaptation, and agency in Jordan and Lebanon 2. Forced migration, resilience, and informal adaptive mechanisms 3. Informal livelihood strategies of Syrian refugees in Jordan and Lebanon 4. A review of livelihoods policies and opportunities for Syrian refugees in Lebanon and Jordan 5. Syrian refugees and Lebanon’s agriculture sector 6. Informal livelihoods of Syrian refugee female heads of households in the Bekaa Valley Camps in Lebanon 7. Syrian refugee micro-entrepreneurs in Lebanon and Jordan 8. The livelihoods of the Bani Khalid tribe in Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon after the 2011 Syria crisis 9. Conducting research with Syrian refugees 10. Conclusion: Reflections and research directions