In this piece, Tessa Ubels traces the use of the word ‘empowerment’ within the context of humanitarian responses to refugees in Lebanon. Drawing on her fieldwork in Beirut, and applying Deepa Narayan-Park’s conceptual framework, Tessa critically assesses the effectiveness of the focus on ‘empowerment’ within the humanitarian network of international and local organisations responding to... Continue Reading →
The opportunities and challenges of working with local faith actors in urban humanitarian response
Religious belief and practice are part of any urban humanitarian context, both for practitioners and for those affected by the crisis. Ignoring it, or pushing it to one side, will not make it go away but instead, as Dr Olivia Wilkinson argues, can lead to further mistakes and misunderstandings down the line. In this blog... Continue Reading →
National and Local Responses to Support Syrian Refugees in Turkey in the times of COVID-19
It is vital that responses to the COVID-19 pandemic support rather than undermine the rights and needs of migrants, refugees, asylum seekers and IDPs. In this piece, the second in a two-part series examining the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Syrian refugees living in Turkey, Selma Akay Erturk traces the ways that different institutions... Continue Reading →
The effects of COVID-19 on Syrian refugees in Turkey
How is the COVID-19 global pandemic affecting Syrian refugees living in Turkey? In the first of a two part blog series, Selma Akay Erturk explores some of the ways that COVID-19 has changed the lives of Syrian refugees, who continue to make and be affected by diverse decisions relating to migration and mobility. This first... Continue Reading →
Syrian refugees and the transformation of Turkey’s rural areas
The arrival of Syrian refugees in Turkey has led to what has been termed the “refugee-ization” of theTurkish agricultural and local labour market. In this post, the second in a two part series, Selma Akay Erturk draws on her own field work in Hatay province, and traces the changes that have taken place in rural... Continue Reading →


