Maria Holt - Women and Conflict in the Middle East: Palestinian Refugees and the Response to Violence
Here you can read online Maria Holt - Women and Conflict in the Middle East: Palestinian Refugees and the Response to Violence full text of the book (entire story) in english for free. Download pdf and epub, get meaning, cover and reviews about this ebook. year: 2013, publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing, genre: Politics. Description of the work, (preface) as well as reviews are available. Best literature library LitArk.com created for fans of good reading and offers a wide selection of genres:
Romance novel
Science fiction
Adventure
Detective
Science
History
Home and family
Prose
Art
Politics
Computer
Non-fiction
Religion
Business
Children
Humor
Choose a favorite category and find really read worthwhile books. Enjoy immersion in the world of imagination, feel the emotions of the characters or learn something new for yourself, make an fascinating discovery.
- Book:Women and Conflict in the Middle East: Palestinian Refugees and the Response to Violence
- Author:
- Publisher:Bloomsbury Publishing
- Genre:
- Year:2013
- Rating:3 / 5
- Favourites:Add to favourites
- Your mark:
Women and Conflict in the Middle East: Palestinian Refugees and the Response to Violence: summary, description and annotation
We offer to read an annotation, description, summary or preface (depends on what the author of the book "Women and Conflict in the Middle East: Palestinian Refugees and the Response to Violence" wrote himself). If you haven't found the necessary information about the book — write in the comments, we will try to find it.
Women in conflict zones face a wide range of violence from a variety of sources: from physical and psychological trauma to political, economic and social disadvantage. Maria Holt uses her research gathered in the Palestinian refugee camps of Lebanon and in the West Bank to look at the forms and effects of violence suffered by women in the context of the wider conflict around them. After the creation of the State of Israel in 1948, Palestinian refugees fled over the border into Lebanon, and in the wake of tumult in other host states, such as Jordan, many more sought refuge there. Today more than 400,000 Palestinians reside in Lebanon, and the theme of violence is one that informs their daily life. Holt explores these varying forms of violence, including physical personal violence and the violence of war as well as the more symbolic violence of the disintegration of daily life and erasure of homeland, furthermore highlighting ongoing exclusion and isolation Palestinians are subjected to by the Lebanese state. Nevertheless, this condition of being - but not belonging - in Lebanon has influenced refugees perceptions of themselves.
Holt therefore analyses the daily life of Palestinians, recognising the unique community that has emerged in response to exile. In an atmosphere of violence, these refugees find coping mechanisms and appropriate strategies to counter the pressures of conflict. Adherence to religious belief and valued traditional practices, as well as involvement in political and welfare activities and, on occasion, militant activism, are some of the methods employed by women. With its systematic examination of forms of violence as well as an appreciation of daily life in the refugee camps, Women and Conflict in the Middle East makes essential reading for students of the Israel-Palestine conflict as well as those interested in the gender dimension of violence.
Holt therefore analyses the daily life of Palestinians, recognising the unique community that has emerged in response to exile. In an atmosphere of violence, these refugees find coping mechanisms and appropriate strategies to counter the pressures of conflict. Adherence to religious belief and valued traditional practices, as well as involvement in political and welfare activities and, on occasion, militant activism, are some of the methods employed by women. With its systematic examination of forms of violence as well as an appreciation of daily life in the refugee camps, Women and Conflict in the Middle East makes essential reading for students of the Israel-Palestine conflict as well as those interested in the gender dimension of violence.
Maria Holt: author's other books
Who wrote Women and Conflict in the Middle East: Palestinian Refugees and the Response to Violence? Find out the surname, the name of the author of the book and a list of all author's works by series.
Rivas Althea-Maria
Joshua M. Price
Tanya Bellehumeur-Allatt
Marie Breen-Smyth
Jacqueline Rose
Phyllis Bennis
Women and Conflict in the Middle East: Palestinian Refugees and the Response to Violence — read online for free the complete book (whole text) full work
Below is the text of the book, divided by pages. System saving the place of the last page read, allows you to conveniently read the book "Women and Conflict in the Middle East: Palestinian Refugees and the Response to Violence" online for free, without having to search again every time where you left off. Put a bookmark, and you can go to the page where you finished reading at any time.
Light
Font size:
↓
↑
Reset
Interval:
↓
↑
Bookmark:
Make
Maria Holt is Reader in Politics in the Department of Politics and International Relations, University of Westminster. She is the co-author of Without Glory in Arabia: The British Retreat from Aden (I.B.Tauris).
Published in 2014 by I.B.Tauris & Co. Ltd
6 Salem Road, London W2 4BU
175 Fifth Avenue, New York NY 10010
www.ibtauris.com
Distributed in the United States and Canada
Exclusively by Palgrave Macmillan
175 Fifth Avenue, New York NY 10010
Copyright 2014 Maria Holt
The right of Maria Holt to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by the author in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in a review, this book, or any part thereof, may not be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
Library of Modern Middle East Studies: 123
ISBN: 978 1 78076 101 5
eISBN: 978 0 85773 596 6
ePDF: 978 1 78673 952 0
A full CIP record for this book is available from the British Library
A full CIP record is available from the Library of Congress
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: available
Contents
Acknowledgements
This book, which began as part of my doctoral thesis in 1999, has been a labour of love. I would like to thank the many generous people, women and men, who went out of their way to help and guide me in Lebanon, especially those who contributed their life stories. In particular, I must express my most heartfelt appreciation to Kholoud Hussein for her patience, unfailing humour and hospitality. Thanks also to the UK Arts and Humanities Research Council, which funded my project on Palestinian refugee women in Lebanon, in terms of memory and identity, in 20067; to the Department of Politics and International Relations at the University of Westminster, which funded my fieldwork visit to Lebanon in 2011; to Maria Marsh at I.B.Tauris, who gave me the opportunity to write this book; and to the two anonymous reviewers for their very constructive suggestions. Most of all, I would like thank and dedicate this book to my husband, Ken Sabel, who provided support, good food and laughter throughout the often painful process of writing.
Maria Holt
London
2013
London
2013
Chapter 1
Introduction
The Palestine of Our Imagination
Whether represented as trauma or destiny, the historical domain of violence becomes the basis for the constitution of collective narratives of origin, loss, and recovery, as well as the precondition for any future reconciliation. Rather than being unitary and stable, such narratives are always contested, and constantly are reworked and rewritten in relation to the political experiences and requirements of each successive generation.
Yasmine
Yasmine's story highlights the three main themes explored in this book. First, it captures the notion of homelessness and the pain of a people driven out of their homes and transformed into stateless refugees. It is a story of forced and recurring migration, of what Aouragh calls exiled mobility. She herself has been politically active since she was a young woman in Ain el-Hilwe camp in the south, first with Fateh and later with Hamas. She asserted that many women are active in politics and added that, in her view, political activity decreases the possibility of violence. Despite her perceived lack of safety or belonging, she is engaged in her community as a volunteer with Hamas and a participant in protest marches and non-governmental organization (NGO) awareness sessions for women. The third element is imagination. There is a tension between the need to recreate home, a secure place in which to enact family life, and a notion of home that exists, in Yasmine's words, only in the imagination. The majority of refugees have an idea of what Palestine looks or looked like and they are aware of the symbolic meanings it possesses. This is a very powerful narrative; although it does not constantly preoccupy them, it is ready to emerge as a compelling discourse, when individuals are invited to reflect.
These three themes will be more fully explored in subsequent chapters, principally through the voices of refugee women, for whom violence and the resisting of violence are part of everyday life. I will explore the effects of violence on Palestinian refugee women in Lebanon and will argue that they rely on several sources of strength to counter the debilitating effects of violence: first, they are supported by the solidarity of the camp and national community; second, they deploy a range of narratives that are always contested, and constantly are reworked and rewritten; and, fourth, and perhaps most importantly, they rely on the comfort of religion as both faith and a form of activism. I will make this argument by analysing women's accounts of violent incidents and the ways in which they have felt disempowered by these events and how they resisted, fought back and survived them. The responses of individual women are informed by a range of factors on the ground, from their own role in the violence, their perceptions of victimization and agency and the consequences of violent episodes. For example, the entire Palestinian nation was victimized in 1948 as the majority was forced from the land, but the effect on individuals and families was uneven and these subtle shifts in reaction emerge from listening to the accounts of those who fled and the inherited memories of their descendants.
I am challenging the notion of an unchanging scenario of Palestinian tragedy by demonstrating that individuals and families react to emergencies in the most immediate and appropriate way. There are also, I think, significant differences between the reactions of men and women and the ways in which they deal with trauma, and one of my objectives is to move the debate on from the familiar linkages between, on the one hand, women as reproducers of the nation and men as protectors of the nation's honour and, on the other, women as subordinated to male heroism. According to Palestinian legend, the woman too can become a heroine by showing great courage and setting an example to other Palestinians on how to behave at [times] of great stress when weaker people may feel defeated and crushed. What comes across strongly in the interviews with refugee women is the diversity of response, which is informed both by the collective narratives of origin, loss, and recovery and the pressing need to address current problems. Women have demonstrated a broad range of coping mechanisms, from defiance and action to stoicism and, for some, self-pity and despair.
My focus is on violence and its effects on women's subjectivity; I ask how women define violence, how their definitions may differ from those of men, and what tools they have used to protect themselves from many forms of violence. I will argue that women's means of protection or empowerment are not constant; they change in shape and emphasis and rely sometimes on action and at other times on faith or restraint. Increasingly, from my observations, religious identity is taking a more prominent role and, for some women, has become a method of protest and self-assertion. Above all, like women everywhere, my interlocutors are complex beings, assailed by threats of violence and subjected to insecurity but, at the same time, living multi-layered and nuanced lives. A devotion to the safety and well-being of their family lies at the core of women's concerns. This is an important source of strength and continuity, and also places them within a conventional framework of Arab-Muslim practices. But their lived experiences go far beyond convention. Into her disquieting narrative, Yasmine threaded the symbols of normal life: marriage, home-making, protection of children and involvement in the community; and yet, beyond these familiar props lies a world of terrifying uncertainty and the ultimate absence of home, and this is a reality she has had to contend with throughout her life.
Light
Font size:
↓
↑
Reset
Interval:
↓
↑
Bookmark:
Make
Similar books «Women and Conflict in the Middle East: Palestinian Refugees and the Response to Violence»
Look at similar books to Women and Conflict in the Middle East: Palestinian Refugees and the Response to Violence. We have selected literature similar in name and meaning in the hope of providing readers with more options to find new, interesting, not yet read works.
Rivas Althea-Maria
Joshua M. Price
Tanya Bellehumeur-Allatt
Marie Breen-Smyth
Jacqueline Rose
Phyllis Bennis
Reviews about «Women and Conflict in the Middle East: Palestinian Refugees and the Response to Violence»
Discussion, reviews of the book Women and Conflict in the Middle East: Palestinian Refugees and the Response to Violence and just readers' own opinions. Leave your comments, write what you think about the work, its meaning or the main characters. Specify what exactly you liked and what you didn't like, and why you think so.