J L Diab
Biographic Data
| ID | 70663 |
|---|---|
| NAME | J L Diab |
| GIVEN NAMES | J L |
| FAMILY NAME | Diab |
| SIGNATURE | DIAB J L |
| AFFILIATIONS | Lebanese American University |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-4158-7728 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 42 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 50 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 41 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 1 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2021 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 5 |
The Domestic Border
This paper contends that Lebanon's Kafala system is not a flawed labour framework but a racialised apparatus of statecraft that governs migrant domestic workers (MDWs) through legal dependency, spatial confinement and moral surveillance. Drawing on 50 interviews with Filipino, Ethiopian and Sri Lankan MDWs, and key informants from civil society and international organisations, the study reveals how race, gender and legal status intersect to produ…
Lebanon’s lifeboats
This study presents the first comprehensive, data-driven analysis of irregular maritime migration from Lebanon to Europe between 2019 and 2022. Amid Lebanon’s economic, political, and social collapse, sea departures surged, becoming a critical survival strategy for refugees and Lebanese nationals alike. By triangulating 150 sources including the Lebanese Armed Forces, UNIFIL, media outlets, humanitarian NGOs, and cross-validating with UNHCR, Inte…
Community health assets and refugee wellbeing
Refugee populations face heightened and intersecting vulnerabilities across mental health, disability inclusion, women’s health, and end-of-life and palliative care, shaped by displacement, trauma, legal precarity, and systemic marginalization. Although community-centered approaches are increasingly recognized as critical for addressing these challenges, qualitative evidence on how community health assets support refugee wellbeing remains fragmen…
Spaces of Surveillance, Sites of Subversion
This paper examines how gender identity and queer subjectivities are shaped, surveilled and subverted within the geopolitical confines of Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon. Drawing from 30 in‐depth interviews with queer Palestinian refugees and 21 key informant interviews with humanitarian and UN agency personnel, the study adopts a qualitative, trauma‐informed methodology that centres lived experience and spatial negotiation. Anchored in femi…
Indispensable But Disposable? Migrant Women’s Struggle for Rights in Lebanon’s Informal Economy
Intersecting oppressions and mental distress
This article examines how intersecting oppressions within Lebanon’s Kafala (sponsorship) system shape the mental distress of migrant domestic workers (MDWs), situating these experiences within the country’s multi-layered crises. Drawing on intersectionality and social psychology frameworks, the study analyses how gender, race, class, legal status, and migration trajectories combine to produce structural vulnerability and psychosocial harm. Based …
Drag Me to Safety
Prolonging the Temporary
This study explores the migration decisions and lived experiences of female-headed Syrian refugee households in Lebanon amid evolving political conditions following the fall of the Assad regime in 2024. Drawing on 50 in-depth interviews, it investigates how caregiving responsibilities, gender-based vulnerabilities, and the enduring threat of patriarchal violence shape these women’s reluctance to return to Syria and their aspirations for resettlem…
The Social Psychology of Kafala
This study explored the mental distress experienced by migrant domestic workers (MDWs) in Lebanon under the Kafala (sponsorship) system, adopting a dual lens that considers both workers' lived realities and the host society's social‐psychological processes. Drawing on intersectionality and social psychology, the analysis examines how intersecting forms of discrimination, rooted in race, gender, class and legal status, combine with crisis contexts…
From Syria to Gaza
This paper interrogates the evolving politics of humanitarian neutrality at a discursive – rather than operational – level, through an analytical review of aid organisations’ responses to two major conflicts in the Middle East: Syria (2011–24) and Gaza (2023–present). Drawing on predominant humanitarian discourse, including fundraising appeals, media statements and official communications, the study explores how neutrality has shifted from cautio…
Elite labor mobility
This study explores the factors influencing elite labor migration among Lebanese youth to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). By examining the roles of social networks, societal norms, social expectations, and differentiated pull factors, the research unpacks the complex interplay of personal, societal, and structural influences shaping migration decisions. The findings reveal that migration is driven by more than ec…
Displaced in a Land of Denial
This study examines the Lebanese government’s strategic indifference towards internally displaced persons (IDPs) from South Lebanon, especially after the October 2023 conflict between Israel and Hezbollah. Using in-depth interviews and participant observations, the research highlights how displaced individuals navigate their precarious situations without formal recognition and support. By not acknowledging IDP status, the government evades legal …
Guilty until proven refugee? The EU’s crisis of identity, not capacity / ¿Culpable hasta que se demuestre que es refugiado? La crisis de identidad de la UE, no de capacidad
The EU, often portrayed as a defender of human rights, applies starkly unequal refugee policies, reinforcing racial and geopolitical hierarchies. This paper critiques the selective solidarity that welcomes Ukrainian refugees as victims of occupation while framing MENA refugees as security threats or economic burdens. These double standards are rooted in colonial legacies, geopolitical interests and media narratives that shape public perception an…
Governing Legibility
Introduction This article explores how inconsistencies between legal recognition and material protection impact the mental health of LGBTIQ + people seeking asylum in the United Kingdom and Lebanon through a comparative analysis. Methods We draw on 120 semi-structured interviews conducted between 2023 and 2025 with LGBTIQ + people seeking asylum (50 in England/Scotland; 70 in Beirut and surrounding areas) to develop a legibility–governance framew…
Evaluation of a peer support group programme for vulnerable host population and refugees living with diabetes and/or hypertension in Lebanon
Our study showed mixed results. In terms of reach, over 50% of those approached consented to participate. Regarding the impact on PROMs, we observed improvements in most outcomes; however we found some statistical evidence only for some. We did not find strong statistical evidence of improvement in clinical outcomes compared to the control group. Differences between the two waves may be due to differences in the populations, the way the intervent…
Advancing Participatory Approaches in Global Migrant Research
Forced Evacuations and the Politics of Return in South Lebanon
Executive Summary This article examines the legal and identity implications of forced evacuations in South Lebanon amid the 2023–2025 escalation of the Israel-Hezbollah conflict. Drawing on qualitative fieldwork with 80 displaced families from Aita al-Shaab, Khiam, and Odaisseh, it interrogates how prolonged displacement — absent state-led return, restitution, or recognition — transforms internal displacement into a condition of de facto exile. U…
Access to justice for Ethiopian migrant domestic workers
This study investigates the barriers to legal access faced by Ethiopian migrant domestic workers (MDWs) in Lebanon, highlighting the legal violations they endure. The research encompasses all phases of criminal cases, from initial investigations to trial and verdict issuance. Utilizing a diverse methodology, the study draws on a sample of judgments from Egna Legna Besidet's Legal Program, qualitative interviews with 66 Ethiopian MDWs, and insight…
Cradles of resilience
This paper explores the phenomenon of ‘high’ birth rates among Syrian refugees in Lebanon, framed as, in their own words, “a human instinctive response to a profound fear of extinction.” Drawing from the concept of existential anxiety, theories of trauma and cultural identity theory, as well as on qualitative data from interviews with 278 Syrian refugees, the study delves into the psychological and sociocultural factors that underpin this demogra…
Fluid Borders, Temporary Refuge
The escalation of the Israel-Hezbollah conflict in September 2024 has displaced over a million people within Lebanon, including Lebanese citizens, Syrian and Palestinian refugees, and migrant workers. Simultaneously, an estimated 400,000 individuals have fled Lebanon into Syria, marking a significant reversal of established displacement patterns. This research note explores the fluid and cyclical nature of displacement between Lebanon and Syria, …
Displacement as Decolonial Praxis
This article is a Response to Owen’s recent reframing of forced migration studies towards a broader conceptualisation of displacement. It critically engages with Owen’s proposal by emphasising two key contributions: first, it advocates integrating intersectionality to illuminate how overlapping systems of oppression—such as race, gender, class, and sexuality—shape differentiated experiences of displacement. Secondly, it calls for embedding displa…
Who Syria was Never Safe For
This study explores how queer Syrian refugees in Lebanon conceptualize migration, navigate displacement, and resist dominant refugee narratives. For queer Syrians, systemic homophobia, transphobia, and stigma in Syria rendered safety unattainable even before the conflict and the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024. Drawing on qualitative interviews with fifty queer Syrian refugees in Beirut and Mount Lebanon, the study employs a trauma-info…
Who gets to see the sea? Stratified displacement, privilege, and the optics of escape in Lebanon
In the aftermath of the 2023 escalation between Israel and Hezbollah, Lebanon witnessed another wave of internal displacement, echoing past conflicts but revealing starkly unequal experiences among its citizens. This article explores how SES profoundly shapes internal displacement outcomes, using the question “Who gets to see the sea?” as a lens into Lebanon’s stratified geography of refuge. Drawing on forty in-depth interviews with Lebanese fami…
Fighting to Be Felt
Trans-Syrian refugee sex workers in Lebanon occupy a unique intersection of compounded vulnerabilities: gender identity, forced displacement, precarious labor, and systemic violence. Engaged in sex work for survival, these women navigate high-risk environments where they endure harassment, assault, and marginalization. This paper explores a self-defense training provided to 10 trans-Syrian refugee women in sex work, examining how they conceptuali…
Fetishised and fictionalised
Trauma-Informed Participatory Research in Displacement Studies
Researching displacement in Lebanon requires methodological approaches that are both participatory and trauma-informed-approaches that are ethically inseparable and mutually reinforcing. This paper offers a conceptual and methodological reflection on the integration of trauma-informed principles into participatory research with displaced communities, drawing on fieldwork experiences with Syrian, Palestinian, and other refugee groups in Lebanon. R…
On the margins of refuge
This paper explores the dual marginalization of LGBTIQ+ Syrian refugees in Lebanon, highlighting the interplay between national policies on deportation and the crackdown on the LGBTIQ+ community post-2019. Lebanon, home to 1.5 million Syrian refugees—the highest per capita globally—is a case study in how social, political, economic, and legal frameworks do not merely overlook refugee challenges but actively intensify their isolation. Particularly…
The gender dimensions of sexual violence against migrant domestic workers in post-2019 Lebanon
The variety in nationality and race across the sample presented important findings pertaining to ill-treatment, fetishization, and violence each group of women faced. In addition to an overall sense of racism experienced by black MDWs, hierarchy within the MDWs' community presents itself in various forms-even at the early stages of recruitment at the agency. Undocumented MDWs are left powerless in terms of reporting sexual abuse and therefore, ar…
Gender identity as a barrier to accessing adequate and inclusive healthcare for Syrian refugees in Lebanon's Northern regions
The structure and modes of operation of Lebanon's healthcare system cast a blind eye upon refugees' specific challenges and needs. It not only remains highly privatized, but additionally involves a number of exclusionary practices across both private and public sectors. This reality, coupled with political agendas, partisan politics, clientelism, and an overall lack of transparency at the level of public administration, gives private health provi…
Missiles and Misfits
Executive Summary This paper sheds light on the often-overlooked intersectionality of armed conflict, displacement, and sexual and gender identity, with a focus on the experiences of LGBTIQ+ internally displaced persons (IDPs) from South Lebanon amidst the ongoing armed conflict between Israel and Hezbollah. Employing a qualitative research approach, the study conducted 18 in-depth interviews with members of the displaced LGBTIQ+ community to cap…
A Beirut blast
Youth development and spatial configurations
This article explores the intersectional fields of displacement and architecture by examining the interrelationship between youth development and spatial configurations in Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon, more specifically in Ein El Hilweh Camp, South of the country. It aims at understanding how spatial configurations can alter human behavior, and the ways in which societal reform can take place in an urban context. Through taking Ein El Hil…
Hues of Refuge
This study examines biased media portrayals of refugees, focusing on the contrast between Ukrainian and MENA refugees. It proposes a "politics-media cycle of reinforcement" where political agendas influence media narratives, and vice versa. This cycle amplifies racial bias, impacting how refugees are perceived. The research employs a comparative content analysis of Western media and political rhetoric. Findings reveal a stark difference: Ukrainia…
Fluid Borders, Temporary Refuge
The escalation of the Israel-Hezbollah conflict in September 2024 has displaced over a million people within Lebanon, including Lebanese citizens, Syrian and Palestinian refugees, and migrant workers. Simultaneously, an estimated 400,000 individuals have fled Lebanon into Syria, marking a significant reversal of established displacement patterns. This research note explores the fluid and cyclical nature of displacement between Lebanon and Syria, …
Multiple borders in one war
This study delves into the intricate mechanisms by which states employ a complex network of competing and intersecting borders—both real and imagined—to delineate and perpetuate the image of Syrian refugees as security risks. Drawing upon insights from border studies, securitization theory, and framing analysis, we explore the nuanced processes of mental mapping and bordering within the context of the Syrian crisis. By scrutinizing the constructi…
Access to justice for Ethiopian migrant domestic workers
This study investigates the barriers to legal access faced by Ethiopian migrant domestic workers (MDWs) in Lebanon, highlighting the legal violations they endure. The research encompasses all phases of criminal cases, from initial investigations to trial and verdict issuance. Utilizing a diverse methodology, the study draws on a sample of judgments from Egna Legna Besidet's Legal Program, qualitative interviews with 66 Ethiopian MDWs, and insight…
Who Syria was Never Safe For
This study explores how queer Syrian refugees in Lebanon conceptualize migration, navigate displacement, and resist dominant refugee narratives. For queer Syrians, systemic homophobia, transphobia, and stigma in Syria rendered safety unattainable even before the conflict and the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024. Drawing on qualitative interviews with fifty queer Syrian refugees in Beirut and Mount Lebanon, the study employs a trauma-info…
Fighting to Be Felt
Trans-Syrian refugee sex workers in Lebanon occupy a unique intersection of compounded vulnerabilities: gender identity, forced displacement, precarious labor, and systemic violence. Engaged in sex work for survival, these women navigate high-risk environments where they endure harassment, assault, and marginalization. This paper explores a self-defense training provided to 10 trans-Syrian refugee women in sex work, examining how they conceptuali…
Intersectional impetus
Nomads of the Void
Executive Summary This article investigates the challenges faced by the Syrian Dom community in Lebanon, with a particular focus on the gender-specific adversities encountered by women. Historically nomadic, the Dom have largely settled in the MENA region, though recent conflicts in Syria have displaced many to Lebanon, where they live in precarious conditions alongside other refugees. Through a mixed-methods approach, this research delves into t…
Mental Health in Lebanon's Triple-Fold Crisis
Lebanon's management of the COVID-19 pandemic is largely being maneuvered amid the country's escalating triple fold crisis. As the country continues to grapple with political stagnation, a dwindling economy and currency, all while working through an ongoing refugee crisis, mental health in times of Coronavirus in Lebanon remains unaddressed. This piece explores the effects of this triple fold crisis upon the mental health of the country's refugee…
The political economy of health in conflict
BACKGROUND: The Eastern Mediterranean Region continues to face a severe scale of emergencies as a direct result of conflict and political instability in a number of countries. As of 2020, nine countries out of 22 countries in the region affected by protracted and ongoing wars and conflict, left more than 62 million people in dire need of access to quality health care and adequate response measures. COVID-19 exacerbates the humanitarian needs of t…
Integrating refugees into national health systems amid political and economic constraints in the EMR
health promotion, diseases prevention, and financial protection
Youth development and spatial configurations
This article explores the intersectional fields of displacement and architecture by examining the interrelationship between youth development and spatial configurations in Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon, more specifically in Ein El Hilweh Camp, South of the country. It aims at understanding how spatial configurations can alter human behavior, and the ways in which societal reform can take place in an urban context. Through taking Ein El Hil…
The gender dimensions of sexual violence against migrant domestic workers in post-2019 Lebanon
The variety in nationality and race across the sample presented important findings pertaining to ill-treatment, fetishization, and violence each group of women faced. In addition to an overall sense of racism experienced by black MDWs, hierarchy within the MDWs' community presents itself in various forms-even at the early stages of recruitment at the agency. Undocumented MDWs are left powerless in terms of reporting sexual abuse and therefore, ar…
Refugee voices vs. humanitarian choices
In the humanitarian landscape, especially post-COVID-19, there has been a notable pivot towards inclusivity and participatory methodologies, emphasizing the pivotal role of refugee-led organizations (RLOs). In Lebanon, amidst persistent economic and political turmoil, RLOs serve as crucial support systems for Syrian and Palestinian refugees within an environment plagued by inconsistent refugee policies and heightened vulnerabilities. Academic dis…
Gender identity as a barrier to accessing adequate and inclusive healthcare for Syrian refugees in Lebanon's Northern regions
The structure and modes of operation of Lebanon's healthcare system cast a blind eye upon refugees' specific challenges and needs. It not only remains highly privatized, but additionally involves a number of exclusionary practices across both private and public sectors. This reality, coupled with political agendas, partisan politics, clientelism, and an overall lack of transparency at the level of public administration, gives private health provi…
Nomads of the Void
Executive Summary This article investigates the challenges faced by the Syrian Dom community in Lebanon, with a particular focus on the gender-specific adversities encountered by women. Historically nomadic, the Dom have largely settled in the MENA region, though recent conflicts in Syria have displaced many to Lebanon, where they live in precarious conditions alongside other refugees. Through a mixed-methods approach, this research delves into t…
Missiles and Misfits
Executive Summary This paper sheds light on the often-overlooked intersectionality of armed conflict, displacement, and sexual and gender identity, with a focus on the experiences of LGBTIQ+ internally displaced persons (IDPs) from South Lebanon amidst the ongoing armed conflict between Israel and Hezbollah. Employing a qualitative research approach, the study conducted 18 in-depth interviews with members of the displaced LGBTIQ+ community to cap…
On the margins of refuge
This paper explores the dual marginalization of LGBTIQ+ Syrian refugees in Lebanon, highlighting the interplay between national policies on deportation and the crackdown on the LGBTIQ+ community post-2019. Lebanon, home to 1.5 million Syrian refugees—the highest per capita globally—is a case study in how social, political, economic, and legal frameworks do not merely overlook refugee challenges but actively intensify their isolation. Particularly…
A Beirut blast
Multiple borders in one war
This study delves into the intricate mechanisms by which states employ a complex network of competing and intersecting borders—both real and imagined—to delineate and perpetuate the image of Syrian refugees as security risks. Drawing upon insights from border studies, securitization theory, and framing analysis, we explore the nuanced processes of mental mapping and bordering within the context of the Syrian crisis. By scrutinizing the constructi…
From Syria to Gaza
This paper interrogates the evolving politics of humanitarian neutrality at a discursive – rather than operational – level, through an analytical review of aid organisations’ responses to two major conflicts in the Middle East: Syria (2011–24) and Gaza (2023–present). Drawing on predominant humanitarian discourse, including fundraising appeals, media statements and official communications, the study explores how neutrality has shifted from cautio…
Elite labor mobility
This study explores the factors influencing elite labor migration among Lebanese youth to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). By examining the roles of social networks, societal norms, social expectations, and differentiated pull factors, the research unpacks the complex interplay of personal, societal, and structural influences shaping migration decisions. The findings reveal that migration is driven by more than ec…
Displaced in a Land of Denial
This study examines the Lebanese government’s strategic indifference towards internally displaced persons (IDPs) from South Lebanon, especially after the October 2023 conflict between Israel and Hezbollah. Using in-depth interviews and participant observations, the research highlights how displaced individuals navigate their precarious situations without formal recognition and support. By not acknowledging IDP status, the government evades legal …
Guilty until proven refugee? The EU’s crisis of identity, not capacity / ¿Culpable hasta que se demuestre que es refugiado? La crisis de identidad de la UE, no de capacidad
The EU, often portrayed as a defender of human rights, applies starkly unequal refugee policies, reinforcing racial and geopolitical hierarchies. This paper critiques the selective solidarity that welcomes Ukrainian refugees as victims of occupation while framing MENA refugees as security threats or economic burdens. These double standards are rooted in colonial legacies, geopolitical interests and media narratives that shape public perception an…
Governing Legibility
Introduction This article explores how inconsistencies between legal recognition and material protection impact the mental health of LGBTIQ + people seeking asylum in the United Kingdom and Lebanon through a comparative analysis. Methods We draw on 120 semi-structured interviews conducted between 2023 and 2025 with LGBTIQ + people seeking asylum (50 in England/Scotland; 70 in Beirut and surrounding areas) to develop a legibility–governance framew…
Evaluation of a peer support group programme for vulnerable host population and refugees living with diabetes and/or hypertension in Lebanon
Our study showed mixed results. In terms of reach, over 50% of those approached consented to participate. Regarding the impact on PROMs, we observed improvements in most outcomes; however we found some statistical evidence only for some. We did not find strong statistical evidence of improvement in clinical outcomes compared to the control group. Differences between the two waves may be due to differences in the populations, the way the intervent…
Advancing Participatory Approaches in Global Migrant Research
Forced Evacuations and the Politics of Return in South Lebanon
Executive Summary This article examines the legal and identity implications of forced evacuations in South Lebanon amid the 2023–2025 escalation of the Israel-Hezbollah conflict. Drawing on qualitative fieldwork with 80 displaced families from Aita al-Shaab, Khiam, and Odaisseh, it interrogates how prolonged displacement — absent state-led return, restitution, or recognition — transforms internal displacement into a condition of de facto exile. U…
Access to justice for Ethiopian migrant domestic workers
This study investigates the barriers to legal access faced by Ethiopian migrant domestic workers (MDWs) in Lebanon, highlighting the legal violations they endure. The research encompasses all phases of criminal cases, from initial investigations to trial and verdict issuance. Utilizing a diverse methodology, the study draws on a sample of judgments from Egna Legna Besidet's Legal Program, qualitative interviews with 66 Ethiopian MDWs, and insight…
Cradles of resilience
This paper explores the phenomenon of ‘high’ birth rates among Syrian refugees in Lebanon, framed as, in their own words, “a human instinctive response to a profound fear of extinction.” Drawing from the concept of existential anxiety, theories of trauma and cultural identity theory, as well as on qualitative data from interviews with 278 Syrian refugees, the study delves into the psychological and sociocultural factors that underpin this demogra…
Fluid Borders, Temporary Refuge
The escalation of the Israel-Hezbollah conflict in September 2024 has displaced over a million people within Lebanon, including Lebanese citizens, Syrian and Palestinian refugees, and migrant workers. Simultaneously, an estimated 400,000 individuals have fled Lebanon into Syria, marking a significant reversal of established displacement patterns. This research note explores the fluid and cyclical nature of displacement between Lebanon and Syria, …
Displacement as Decolonial Praxis
This article is a Response to Owen’s recent reframing of forced migration studies towards a broader conceptualisation of displacement. It critically engages with Owen’s proposal by emphasising two key contributions: first, it advocates integrating intersectionality to illuminate how overlapping systems of oppression—such as race, gender, class, and sexuality—shape differentiated experiences of displacement. Secondly, it calls for embedding displa…
Who Syria was Never Safe For
This study explores how queer Syrian refugees in Lebanon conceptualize migration, navigate displacement, and resist dominant refugee narratives. For queer Syrians, systemic homophobia, transphobia, and stigma in Syria rendered safety unattainable even before the conflict and the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024. Drawing on qualitative interviews with fifty queer Syrian refugees in Beirut and Mount Lebanon, the study employs a trauma-info…
Refugee (27 works) · Middle East Politics and Society (25 works) · Migration, Refugees, and Integration (25 works) · Political science (25 works) · Law (18 works) · Sociology (18 works) · Politics (15 works) · Law (14 works) · Jewish and Middle Eastern Studies (11 works) · Gender Studies (10 works)