Refuge and Resistance: Palestinians and the International Refugee System

Overview

• Host: S ABD Rim, inaugural fellow in the Palestine program in health and human rights at the FXB Center for Health and Human Rights, Harvard School of Public Health
• Speaker: Dr. Anan, lecturer in interdisciplinary race, gender, and postcolonial studies at University College London
• Book Discussed: Refuge and Resistance: Palestinians and the International Refugee System, Columbia University Press

Key Themes

• Palestinian refugees as political actors, not merely aid recipients
• History intertwined with the UN humanitarian agency, UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency)
• Palestinian refugee identity, humanitarianism, nationalism, and internationalism

Historical Context

The Nakba (1948)

• Dispossession, displacement, and dispersal of around 750,000 Palestinians
• Creation of Palestinian refugee crisis coincided with establishment of Israel
• Mention of recent Gaza crisis in comparison

Palestinian Refugee Perspective

• Refuge and resistance as core aspects of modern Palestinian history
• Refugees as survivors demonstrating agency
• Early refugee camps and UNRWA assistance centers in the West Bank and Gaza

UNRWA's Role and Limitations

UNRWA Mandate

• Established in 1949, only provides relief and works programs (humanitarian aid) in limited geographic areas
• Does not address civil and political rights of refugees
• Dependence on funding from Western donor states, mainly the US and UK

Internal and External Tensions

• Palestinian resistance to being defined solely by humanitarian need
• Tensions between UNRWA's limited mandate and Palestinian demands for political advocacy
• UNRWA as a surrogate state but lacking sovereign rights and protection mandate

Internationalism and Global Politics

UN Dynamics

• General Assembly vs. Security Council: differing levels of support for Palestinian cause
• Security Council favors global North powers, including US and UK
• Palestinians align with anticolonial, Global South internationalism rather than Western intervention

Palestinian Advocacy

• High-level diplomacy (e.g., Yasser Arafat at the UN) and grassroots petitions reflect alignment with UN human rights principles
• Consistent push for recognition of political rights by Palestinian refugees

Modern Challenges

Political and Financial Pressures on UNRWA

• Recent severe cuts and restructuring, particularly after US defunding in 2018
• Concerns about a long-term agenda to phase out UNRWA and marginalize Palestinian refugee rights
• Role of UNRWA staff, particularly Palestinian refugees, in maintaining agency and resistance

Humanitarian Complicity and Criticism

• UNRWA's cautious stance in current Gaza conflict, balancing humanitarianism with pressures from donor states
• Palestinian dissatisfaction with UNRWA's lack of advocacy

Conclusion

Key Takeaways

• Challenging the monolithic view of Palestinian refugees
• Recognition of Palestinian refugees' active role in their own history
• Ongoing struggles for political rights and resistance against structural constraints

Q&A Highlights

• Role of UNRWA as a major employer of Palestinian refugees
• Comparison to other international aid mechanisms, particularly in other settler colonial contexts
• Sustained sense of entitlement and rights among Palestinian refugees towards UNRWA services

---

Further Reading and Resources

• Discount code and links for purchasing the book Refuge and Resistance
• Reference works by other scholars on related topics, such as Steven Salaita's comparison with Native American struggles

Quotes and Reflections

• “The Jews got Israel and we got UNRWA” – highlighting the insufficiency of humanitarian aid alone and the ongoing struggle for statehood and rights.
• Ongoing relevance of Palestinian refugee history to contemporary political and humanitarian crises.