Dawn Chatty

Advocating multi-disciplinarity in studying complex emergencies: the limitations of a psychological approach to understanding how young people cope with prolonged conflict in Gaza.

The paper looks at the limitations and strengths of using the A-cope questionnaire for measuring strategies for coping with prolonged conflict by Palestinian young people in Gaza. The scale was administered to young people between the ages of 8 and 17. The results show some gender differences in coping strategies. However, some items on the subscales are not relevant for Muslim societies or societies in situations of prolonged conflict. The authors suggest that combining an anthropological contextual perspective and qualitative data with psychological instruments is an effective way of addressing the limitations of using a single quantitative method of assessment in non-Western complex social and cultural settings.

The Bedouin in contemporary Syria : the persistence of tribal authority and control

Little information is available regarding contemporary relations between Bedouin tribes and the Syrian state apparatus. These ties are mainly expressed through relationships of patronage and clientism between tribal leaders and state operatives. The Bedouin tribes of Syria continue to function as groups tied in networks of real and fictive kinship; these bonds provide the tribal members with a solidarity and cohesiveness which the state has not been able to suppress despite decades of effort.

Mobile Peoples: Pastoralists and Herders at the Beginning of the 21st Century

Five books discussed here represent a broad sweep of studies on peoples who raise herds of domesticated animals and rely as much as possible on natural graze and browse. They are mainly mobile pastoralists rather than settled agriculturalists. Many of the worlds pastoralists today find themselves in situations of marginality, economic impoverishment, and cultural vulnerability. The fundamental strength of these peoples is their adaptability, resilience, and resistance to unwanted transformations. Ideologies favoring either sedentary or mobile lifestyles, and not mere ecological constraints, have heavily influenced decisions leading to the current situation among mobile peoples.

Bedouin in Lebanon: Social discrimination, political exclusion, and compromised health care

Global inequalities in health have long been associated with disparities between rich and poor nations. The middle-income countries of the Levant (Lebanon, Syria and Jordan) have developed models of health care delivery that mirror the often complex make-up of their states. In Lebanon, which is characterized by political clientelism and sectarian structures, access to health care is more contingent on ethnicity and religious affiliation than on poverty. This case study of the Bedouin of the Middle Bekaa Valley of Lebanon is based on interviews with policymakers, health care providers and the Bedouin as part of a study funded by the European Commission between 2006 and 2010. The study explores the importance of considering social discrimination and political exclusion in understanding compromised health care. Three decades after the Declaration of Alma Ata (1978), which declared that an acceptable level of health care for all should be attained by the year 2000, the Bedouin community of Lebanon remains largely invisible to the government and, thus, invisible to national health care policy and practice. They experience significant social discrimination from health practitioners and policymakers alike. Their unfair treatment under the health system is generally disassociated from issues of wealth or poverty; it is manifested in issues of access and use, discrimination, and resistance and agency. Overcoming their political exclusion and recognizing the social discrimination they face are steps that can be taken to protect and promote equal access to basic reproductive and child health care. This case study of the Bedouin in Lebanon is also relevant to the health needs of other marginalized populations in remote and rural areas.

Statelessness and Tribal Identity on Lebanon's Eastern Borders

Lebanons eastern borders are a particularly understudied region of the country. This area is home to a number of refugee communities (Palestinian and Armenian) as well as recently settled and displaced Bedouin from the June 1967 war. This tribal community is both invisible in some regards and prominent in others. Barred from citizenship for many years, the Bedouin community is increasingly playing an active role in Lebanons political scene while maintaining its cross-border connections transcending the nation-state. This paper examines the multi-layered Bedouin identities in the context of Lebanons varied citizenship categories. It assesses the significance of cross-border attachments as well as recent developments in local, national and regional politics.

The Syrian Humanitarian Disaster: Understanding Perceptions and Aspirations in Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey

The modern architecture of international humanitarian assistance has established a template of provisioning for refugees fleeing armed conflict which is based on notions of encampment and vulnerability. The narrowness of that assistance framework coupled with an unsustainable policy of regional containment have created greater poverty and misery for Syrians fleeing the armed conflict in their country. How this has been allowed to happen on the eastern shores of the Mediterranean Sea – where extraordinary social linkages and networks have existed for centuries – lies mainly in the disparities between perceptions, aspirations and behaviour among refugees, practitioners and policy makers in Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey.

The Syrian Humanitarian Disaster: Disparities in Perceptions, Aspirations, and Behaviour in Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey

Humanitarian assistance coupled with an unsustainable policy of regional containment have only created greater poverty and misery for Syrians fleeing civil war. How this has been allowed to happen on the southern shores of the Mediterranean – where extraordinary social linkages and networks have existed for centuries – lies mainly in the disparities between perceptions, aspirations and behaviour among refugees, practitioners and policymakers in Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey. This article highlights in particular three such disconnects: the a historical approach to engaging with displaced people in Jordan, Turkey and Lebanon, which has led to the implementation of international blueprints of humanitarian support that are disconnected from people’s needs; the imposition of an encampment policy at odds with displaced people’s need for temporary settlement enabled through their own social networks; the redundancy of humanitarian practitioners’ background and experience in dealing with the particularities of displaced populations in the Eastern Mediterranean, and the failure to build on practices that work.

Negotiating Authenticity and Translocality in Oman: The “Desertscapes” of the Harasiis Tribe

Recent decades have seen the government of Oman increase its efforts to negotiate a static and temporal authenticity and sense of belonging for the nation. Much effort has gone into creating a broadly homogenised “national identity”. However, the central desert of Oman, in particular the Jiddat-il-Harasiis, has been the site of some contestation. The desert-dwelling, largely mobile, tribal camel- and goat-herding community has seen its claims of authenticity and belonging to the landscapes of the desert contested as various government agencies make efforts to settle them, move them off this particular landscape and turn them into cheap day labourers. Yet for the Harasiis nomadic pastoral tribe of Oman, mobility has been the principle feature of their livelihood, previously focussed on camel transport and latterly on trucks. These translocal pastoral people, however, have used modern technology – particularly vehicles – to maintain their claims to the desert landscape not only of Oman but also across the modern borders to neighbouring countries. This paper examines the contestation around multiple belongings and authenticity in the building of the Omani nation and explores the ways the Harasiis have negotiated their claims of authenticity in relation to the translocal “desertscapes” of this corner of South East Arabia.

Health needs and access to care in immigration detention: perceptions of former detainees

Purpose – As immigration detainee numbers grow, doubts have arisen over the consistency, quality and suitability of the health care services provided among the UK detention estate and in other Western countries. Detained immigrants, due to their past and present situations, may be especially vulnerable in terms of their health. They may simultaneously lack entitlements to care due to their legal situation. Health needs and access to health care services in immigration detention is understudied. Therefore, this exploratory study aims to test the usefulness of a questionnaire among former detainees examining perceptions of their health needs and access to care within immigration detention in the UK.Design/methodology/approach – In total, 30 former detainees completed questionnaires, and 27 of these also participated in semi‐structured interviews, in June/July 2010. Frequency analyses of questionnaire responses were performed.Findings – The results showed that 66 per cent of the participants entered detentio...

Marginality, Climate and Resources in Pastoral Rangelands: Oman and Mongolia

On the Ground Oman and Mongolia feature different political systems and physical landscapes yet represent similar challenges encountered across global pastoral societies. Extractive industries disrupt pastoral drylands through reorienting government policy, environmental change, altered water supply, and infrastructure factors that challenge livelihood viability. The impact of climate variability on rangeland livelihoods is now exacerbated by policy and development decisions. Herder livelihoods at different income and development levels are dependent on government policy and risk mitigation strategies to maintain customary practices. The combination of multiple external forces stress rural viability and contribute to out-migration from herding systems.