The independent digital media platform in Arabic Daraj published an interview with the Palestinian-Syrian journalist and activist Joud Hassan:
“Joud Hasan: “For me Syria is the country where I grew up. I also feel like I am Syrian. But it is related to where you lived, how you feel towards each country, how people view your nationality and how the law views your nationality. So I am in all these battles of which country I can stay in, and being a constant refugee from one place to another, so I am lost.” Interviewer: “At the same time, these countries where we are born and that we love have become too narrow for us. At the beginning of the Syrian revolution, you were an activist, you were arrested for a couple of days. You left Syria, you came to Lebanon. Lebanon was not easy. You were obliged to go to Germany. Tell me about these paths. Countries have transformed into tight places, you were obliged to seek asylum in Germany. How narrow do you think this place is for you?”
Joud Hasan: “I honestly do not feel like it is narrow here [Lebanon]. Aside from the legal part. The time I spent in Lebanon is the time during which I was the freest. And I could be who I wanted to be in this country. But it was legally hard. Until now there is hardship. And it is a bit harder now until I get my papers in Germany. But as a country and its people, it was where I felt the safest. Socially speaking, but on the legal and political level it was very difficult .” Interviewer: “What do you mean by difficult?”
Joud Hasan: “Getting my legal papers was hard. Because of course they do not like Palestinians.”
Interviewer: “You are both Palestinian and Syrian. Which is the whole Lebanese phobia.”
Joud Hasan: “I carry all these characters. Palestinian, Syrian and transgender. So it is now more difficult. There is always this struggle. As a Palestinian-Syrian, I always need to renew my residence permit and as a Palestinian there are no laws to protect me. For Syrians there is the kafala system. Whenever I needed to renew my papers they would tell me that there are no laws to be applied in this case. And when I asked about what I can do, they would say they do not know. And this is where it ends for me. “I do not know” is the answer to the question of “how do I remain here”.”
(Source: Daraj Media: «I’m trans in gender...and politics» | An interview with the Palestinian-Syrian journalist and activist Joud Hassan | Noun Podcast #11” (04:14- 06:12) July 15, 2022)
Refugee Net, which, according to its website, is a “Palestinian Refugee News Network in Lebanon”,wrote in July 2022 that:
“The sheikhs of the Nahr al-Bared and Beddawi Camps issued a statement calling for the cessation of activities that contradict religious values and the authenticity of the Palestinian people, praising the position of the Mufti of the Lebanese Republic rejecting all attempts or legalization of homosexuality and non-religious (civil) marriage, and appreciating the position of the Palestinian factions which supports religious values and authenticity of the Palestinian people. The statement adds, “while our people are fighting a battle to defend the land, sanctities and dignity, we are seen by institutions that conduct activities that contradict our religion, values, culture and authenticity of our people. That is why it is important for the honorable sheikhs to emphasize our refusal to promote ideas that contradict Islamic law such as: gender equality, homosexuality, CEDAW, freedom of adultery, and others.. which encourages rebellion against Islamic law, and against parents and husbands.” [In-house translation. The author is an Arabic native speaker]
ORIGINAL SOURCE:
ةيروهمجلا يتفم فقوم لىع يننثم ،ينيطسلفلا بعشلا ةلاصاو ةينيدلا ميقلا عم ضراعتت يتلا ةطشنلاا فقول هيف تعد ًانايب يوادبلاو درابلا رهن يميخم خياشم ردصأ ةينيدلا ميقلا ع عفادلما ةيبعشلا ةنجللاو ةينيطسلفلا لئاصفلا فقوم يننمثمو )نيدلما( ينيدلالا جاوزلاو سينجلا ذوذشلا عيشرت وا ريرتم تلاواحم لكل ضفارلا ةينانبللا ةفاقثو ميقو اننيد عم ضراعتت ةطشنا ميقت تاسسؤم انيلع لطت ،ةماركلاو تاسدقلماو ضرلاا نع عافدلا ةكرعم انبعش ضوخي يذلا تقولا في نايبلا لاقو .انبعش ةلاصاو
،)ةيلثلما( ،)سينجلا ذوذشلا( ،)ينسنجلا ينب ةاواسلما( :لثم ةيملاسلاا ةعيشرلل ةفلاخلما راكفلال جيوترلل انضفر لىع ديكأتلا خياشلما ةليضفلا باحصا مهي اذل ،انبعش ةلاصأو
.جاوزلااو لهلاا لىعو ،يملاسلاا عشرلا لىع درمتلا لىع عجشي ام ..اهيرغو ،)انزلا ةيرح( ،)واديس(
(Source: Refugee Net: “I live alone with my chickens”... Forgotten Palestinian women activists in the camps of Lebanon”, July 1, 2022)
The Yalla Care Coalition conducted a study on the needs of the LGBTIQA+ community in Beirut and published the results in December 2021. It does not explicitly refers to stateless Palestinians but mentions that the study included “undocumented residents in Lebanon”:
“The disintegration of the quality of life in Lebanon has disproportionately hit marginalized communities and has harshly affected all aspects of their living conditions. These marginalized communities include the LGBTIQ+ community, women and girls, migrant domestic workers, refugees and undocumented residents in Lebanon, people with disabilities, among others. The living conditions before the economic collapse and political deadlock were in abysmal conditions only to be acutely worsened by the systemic oppression and failure of the state institutions.”
(Source: Yalla Care Coalition, “Study on the needs of the LGBTIQA+ community in Beirut, 2021”, December 2021, p. 12)
Without mentioning LGBTQI+ stateless Palestinians as an explicit group in their study, Oxfam collected information on the specific struggles of queer refugees in Lebanon, among others the impact of “checkpoints on the mobility of trans people whose gender identity does not match their identification documents and queer refugees who do not have legal permits.”
“Specifically, queer individuals who are non-Lebanese such as refugees and migrant workers were more likely to experience challenges that affect their access to shelter, such as lower opportunities to generate income and meet rent payments, higher risk of eviction, and higher risk of discrimination by landlords based on their nationality. This is concerning because many non-Lebanese queer individuals were placed in difficult situations and were “in limbo” as a result of the crises, by not being able to work, receive support, go out of their houses, afford rent, feel safe in public spaces, or even go back to their country due to travel restrictions.
[…] However, it is important to note that the impact of the crisis was not linear across different members of the community. According to the interviews with queer individuals, CSOs and informal aids groups, trans individuals, gender queer individuals, and queer refugees seem to be the most affected by the series of crises. “We are stifled from all angles. We cannot go out, we cannot work, we cannot receive proper support, we do not have safe spaces to exist” said one of the interview participants about their experience as a queer refugee in Lebanon.
Trans individuals who face systemic and longstanding barriers to formal education and employment are often forced to work in low-income jobs in the informal sector, and many of them resort to sex work to make ends meet. During the pandemic, many informal businesses struggled to survive, and demand for sex work services sharply decreased due to significant decrease in expandable income, making an already dire situation even more devastating. Similarly, queer refugees, who had been struggling for years with legal restrictions that bar them from the formal job market and limit their mobility, found in this crisis another burden that made meeting their most basic needs even more difficult.”
(Source: Oxfam, “Queer Community in Crisis: Trauma, Inequality & Vulnerability”, July 2021, p. 15)
Based on a confidential source, the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported in 2021 that: “5.1.2 LGBTI
One source indicates that Palestinian LGBTI people who openly admit their sexuality experience discrimination in the refugee camps and are often turned away. The only places where Palestinian LGBTI people can live relatively safely outside the camps are in the non-conservative neighborhoods of Lebanon, for example in the capital Beirut. However, these neighborhoods are often Christian neighborhoods whose residents have a negative image of Palestinians. By living outside the camps, Palestinians also lose their social network that can provide protection. This also applies to LGBTI people who end up in a precarious situation and can no longer rely on their families or other contacts. Human Rights Watch (HRW) also reports the use of violence, abuse and unlawful pre-trial detention against transgender women at checkpoints.” (In-house translation. The translator is a native Dutch speaker)
“5.1.2 LHBTI
Een bron geeft aan dat Palestijnse LHBTI’ers die openlijk uitkomen voor hun geaardheid discriminatie ervaren in de vluchtelingenkampen en vaak worden weggestuurd. De enige plekken waar Palestijnse LHBTI’ers relatief veilig kunnen wonen buiten de kampen zijn in de niet conservatieve wijken van Libanon, bijvoorbeeld in de hoofdstad Beirut. Echter, deze wijken zijn vaak christelijke wijken waarvan de inwoners een negatief beeld van Palestijnen hebben. Door buiten de kampen te wonen verliezen Palestijnen ook hun sociaal netwerk dat voor bescherming kan zorgen. Dit geldt ook voor LHBTI’ers die hierdoor in een precaire situatie terechtkomen en niet langer kunnen terugvallen op hun families of andere contacten.159 Human Rights Watch (HRW) meldt ook het gebruik van geweld, misbruik en onrechtmatig voorarrest tegen transgender vrouwen bij controleposten.”
(Source: Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, “Thematisch ambtsbericht Palestijnen in Libanon”, January 2021, p. 28)