Author : Mohamed Kamel Doraï
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 4 pages
Book Rating : 4.:/5 (611 download)
Book Synopsis Palestinian and Iraqi refugees and urban change in Lebanon and Syria by : Mohamed Kamel Doraï
Download or read book Palestinian and Iraqi refugees and urban change in Lebanon and Syria written by Mohamed Kamel Doraï and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page 4 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Migration is a key issue in most of the Middle Eastern countries affected both by a high rate of emigration and increasing immigration. Due to political instability, the region has one the largest refugee and internally displaced populations in the world, mainly consisting of Palestinians and Iraqis. Most of these migrant populations reside in urban areas such as Cairo, Amman, Beirut, and Damascus. At the same time, the whole region is experiencing rapid urban development. The urban population increased from one quarter of the total population in the 1950s to over 60% in 2005. The migrants--domestic and international, forced or not-- are one of the main drivers of urban development in the region. Despite the diversity of existing situations, refugee movements are generally long-lasting, and the ends of conflicts do not always mean a return for the entire refugee population. The settlement of these populations generates profound changes in entire neighborhoods. Thus, refugees should not be considered only as recipients of humanitarian assistance, waiting for an eventual return or resettlement in a third country, but also as actors who contribute, through their initiatives and coping strategies, to the development of the cities that host them. An important part of the southern suburbs of Beirut was inhabited by Palestinian refugees following the 1948 war and, later, by internally displaced Lebanese originating from south Lebanon, along with other migrants, including Syrians. Cities like Amman have experienced substantial changes with the arrival of 300,000 Palestinians expelled from Kuwait after the Iraqi invasion in 1990. More recently, some neighborhoods in Damascus have been transformed profoundly by the settlement of thousands of Iraqis escaping war, violence, and economic difficulties since the 1990s and by a larger scale flight since 2003.