The Abu-Rahman family

Making a Camp a Home. Kind of.
(Catchy subheaders for each family)
The Abu-Rahman family—37-year-old Amira, and her daughters, 5-year-old Aziza and 7-year-old Amina—lives in an apartment in the Bekaa Valley. Amira holds an undergraduate degree from a Syrian university and, before the war, worked as a manager for a large company in Syria.
She describes life in Syria as “great” with her husband, Abu-Rahman, by her side. After being aggressively drafted to join one of the armed groups in Syria, Abu-Rahman fled north to Europe—first to Hungary and then to Germany, where he is currently living. Amira and her daughters have been separated from Abu-Rahman for 2 years but maintains daily communication with him via WhatsApp.
In the beginning of the interview, Aziza’s balloon flew out of the window. Though she was sad, she explained that it was traveling to her father in Germany. Amira and her daughters arrived in Lebanon a year ago, but Amira did not want to talk about their journey from Syria as this experience was painful for her.
Amira noted that without being officially registered, her daughters will not be able to continue their education, whether in Lebanon or elsewhere. The prevalence of checkpoints is also a source of fear for Amira’s family and further restricts their mobility.
In Lebanon, Amira works as a field assistant at a local NGO during the day and takes technical night courses in the evenings. She described education as a passion of hers and a dream for her children.
The Abu-Rahman family is not officially documented with UNCHR and does not have permits to live and move within Lebanon. The lack of permits and access to transportation poses a significant challenge for them in both their mobility from place to place and their access to a range of services that are normally provided to families who are registered.
Amira dreams that in the future she will be able to reunite with Abu-Rahman and make her family complete again. With sadness, she also noted that this dream may be impossible. She also dreams of a future where her children can have access to education, a value she holds close.

Neighborhood Walk

Each famiy with an interactive map with fake (incorrect) pop-up locations with descriptions directly from real neighborhood walks. (click on points)
Actual location changed for confidentiality reasons. Distances are accurate representations.
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This research was funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) Insight Development Grant (IDG) Program and Research Support Fund (RSF) at Wilfrid Laurier University.

Thank you to all the families who welcomed the research team into their homes and hearts. The research team is also grateful to the following individuals and organizations who assisted with the research: Dr. Darren Scott at McMaster University, American University Beirut, Beyond, Dar al Fatwa, Himaya, International Rescue Committee, Kayany Foundation, Save the Children, UNHCR, UNICEF.

Homepage photography © Hannah Abdoh 2017