I am a doctoral candidate with the School of International Development and Global Studies at the University of Ottawa. Using the case study in Beirut, Lebanon, my research focuses on participation and refugee voice in humanitarian responses, particularly urban refugees, with the aim of demonstrating the importance of including refugees in the decision-making processes of programs and policies that affect them.
As my research is interested in expanding the space for refugees to have a voice and participate in decisions that affect their lives, the LERRN project is a wonderful fit because of the emphasis the project places on the co-creation of knowledge between partners in the Global South and North. I am excited to be part of a project that aims to find tangible solutions for refugees through collaborative and inclusive partnerships between researchers from all over the world. It is a truly unique and disruptive idea that is sorely needed in the global refugee regime.
My work in the project focuses on refugee protection and what this means in the current global context. I’m proud of the working paper recently published on LERRN’s website, co-written with my supervisor, Delphine Nakache, which explores some of the challenges that the recent return of the Humanitarian-Development Nexus presents to refugee protection. I’m looking forward to further collaborations and interconnections between my work with LERRN, my own research, and another project (H2020) I’m working on that critically examines the concept of vulnerability for protection seekers (e.g. refugees, stateless persons, migrants without status, victims of human trafficking) and its application in practice through state institutions in Canada. In my spare time I love to go bouldering, rock climbing and hiking.