360Life in the context of Lebanese based refugees

 

Over the past 3 days I’ve been delivering the 360life training to a group of 18 or so participants, all of whom work in programmes that support women refugees who are based in Lebanon. Some of the participants were from a local NGO (un-named so that I can express my own perspective) that empowers, resources and equips local churches to carry out programmes that support the refugees. The other participants are from those churches, and so are interacting directly with the refugee women through programme delivery.

The equipping and resourcing NGO has many programmes that it supports, and for this training I was particularly working with those who are involved in the delivery of a new programme that is providing women’s literacy and empowerment sessions. At least that’s what the headline focus is, but in reality the programmes provide opportunities for the attending women to have access to a safe space outside of the deeply patriarchal and often misogynistic experiences that is their home-life. In that safe space, the women find someone(s) who will listen to them and show them compassion and non-judgemental love, who values them as being children of God, and who wants them to know that they have value, worth and beauty, as opposed to the message that is predominantly given from the men in their community. Such powerful and much needed messages, against a backdrop of multiple and complex traumatic experiences, as a result of the war, displacement, and gender-based violence and so much more.

And it’s not just about the trauma that the refugees have experienced that makes up the picture here. There is also an additional consideration regarding trauma that the Lebanese programme deliverers have gone through. Yes, there is the secondary trauma that they are vulnerable as a result of hearing the horrors of what the refugee women have gone through, but there is also the direct trauma that so many of them have experienced. The trauma of the Lebanese revolution that so many were caught up in but has not resulted in any improvements; the trauma of the Beirut explosion that still hasn’t had any closure in the sense of acknowledging culpability and justice for the huge number of deaths and loss of home and buildings; the trauma of the Lebanese financial collapse when almost everyone lost all their savings and is very unlikely to get it back (as a result almost no-one stores their money in a bank now, but withdraws their monthly salary as soon as it goes into the bank and carries around cash instead); and the trauma of the war with Israel that is still rumbling in the background despite a very tentative ceasefire. And then there’ll be other personal traumas that many of them carry. Against all of this, they faithfully and selflessly serve the refugee communities that they find in their midst – just incredible.

The first two days of the training were focused on me delivering the materials, with lots of opportunity for small group discussion and reflection on how the teaching fits in with the realities of the challenges that the workshop participants face in delivering the programme, due to the many facets of trauma, and trauma-related mental ill-health and challenging behaviours that are displayed by the refugee women. Then we moved to discussing how to contextualise their new knowledge and consider how to implement it into the programmes that they are delivering. The final day saw them split into 4 groups and each deliver a presentation on part of the training in a way that brings in its relevance to the programmes that they are delivering. I think that section was probably the highlight for me, as the groups evidenced how much they have learnt and how relevant it is to the work that they are doing, and the challenges that they are meeting.

The feedback was so encouraging, and I just felt so honoured to have been able to come and input into the lives of these wonderful people. So many testimonies of how it has already been of use to them individually, but also how they are planning on incorporating it into their programme delivery. Words cannot really do justice to how I felt as the certificates were given out and the training came to an end, but it was a mixture of affirmation, blessing, sadness, and satisfaction at a job seemingly well done. I pray that there will be a return visit, and I give a huge thank you to the facilitators and their organisation who hosted me, translated everything into Arabic ahead of time, and just made it all run so smoothly. May the seeds sown in these few days reach out into the lives of many, and help to bring healing and hope into the darkness.

Just to finish, below are a few bullet points about some of the other bits and pieces I’ve picked up along the way relating to the refugees in Lebanon, their life experiences etc. Forgive me for not turning them all into long paragraphs – but I think they make sense as they are.

-            Refugees predominantly Syrian, but also Palestinians, Kurds, Druze

-            Massive and ongoing trauma due to

o   war and displacement

o   Patriarchal context resulting in lots of gender-based violence and deprivations

-            Transgenerational trauma due to the war, and the patriarchal context

o   Particularly for women and girls, but also for men and boys

-            Issues of living in Lebanon under a government who wants them to return to Syria

o   Reduced access to education and employment

o   Poor housing – some in tents, some in tenement blocks but with no furnishings or heating

o   High rent for both tents and apartments, resulting in crowded accommodation

o   The only employment is informal and unreliable both in pay and in availability

-            Many are hoping to move on to another country, but no idea when, or even if it might happen. Some are wanting to move back to Syria one day, but currently don’t feel safe to return, and have nothing to return to. Therefore additional trauma through living in a state of permanent temporariness, with no indication of when it might end.

-            Living in a state where life with trauma is the normal, and so find it hard to imagine what life without trauma, or life after trauma could look like.

-            Women have grown up in context of GBV and misogyny, so don’t realise that what is being done to them is wrong. They don’t like it, but they just assume it is the way life is, and therefore don’t take any initiative to try and change things. Also, are aware that if they did try to change things it would be almost impossible, so go for the status quo rather than trying to change. Therefore when talking about trauma, there is a big difference between what the programme staff recognise as traumatic experiences that the women have gone through, and what the women themselves are willing to acknowledge is trauma

-            Have to be very wise in how to move the women and girls forward in their thinking, as mindful that they must go back home to the men who aren’t open to the possibility of women wanting to be more empowered.

-            Men and boys culturally not allowed to show weakness or emotions, especially when out. Therefore traumatic experiences outworked through violence and anger and alcohol.

-            Programme staff spoke of how the women see their programmes as primarily a safe space where they can just be themselves and attend to themselves and their needs, and secondarily as an opportunity to learn new skills and empowerment. 

 

Just one example of a Lebanese church and the Syrian refugee community

 

Yesterday I visited three projects in the Beqaa valley of Lebanon, all of which have grown out of Lebanese Christian churches in the area. For security reasons I’m not going to post the name of the churches here, but I do have permission from one of the churches to share information about what they are doing, as it was just so inspiring. NB the other church was also incredible, but is working in a more sensitive area, hence no sharing at all – you’ll have to take me out for a coffee if you want to hear about that one!!

AJ church was started in 2002, and is based in a predominantly Christian neighbourhood. In 2011 following the Syrian revolution that led to the start of the Syrian civil war, refugees started arriving in the area, and by 2012 the church had begun outreach work to them. Although there was initial resistance to the idea from some, the pastor and his wife challenged the members about the reality of putting the Biblical teachings into practice, and gradually the resistance lessened. Point of note, from a historical perspective there are long-standing tensions and mistrust between Syrians and Lebanese, particularly from some of the older members and this fuelled the resistance, but over time the ministry has been accepted by the community and now there is good support for it.

The programmes that the church now runs include the following:

An educational day-care facility for Syrian refugee children from Kindergarten through grade 6 (ie about 12 – 13yrs). They are not allowed to support children of higher grades, and they are not allowed to call it a school. But they follow the Lebanese curriculum, and include daily Bible teaching which all the children enjoy and willingly participate in, even though they are from Muslim families. The church runs this programme on two sites: one in the church building, and the other in a compound of converted containers in the middle of the refugee tented community.

Women’s literacy programs, for mothers of the children who attend, and also for women who aren’t mothers. They learn Arabic and English, and there is also psychosocial support offered each week. The women enrol for a 10-week programme, so get 10 weeks of PSS, and then the programme is offered to another group for 10 weeks, as there is so much demand. This programme is also offered at both sites

Feeding programme: due to the economic collapse of the Lebanese economy, there are many Lebanese who are in great financial hardship. As a result, there was a lot of disquiet about the church only giving to Syrian refugee families. To overcome this, the church now splits the number of food boxes and gives half to Syrian families and half to Lebanese families.

Agricultural programme – teaching agricultural skills to young adults

Medical programme – making health care accessible to all, both Syrian families and Lebanese families who are enduring financial hardship.

At the container compound, there is also a clothing store where women can come and choose clothes from a vast array of quality second hand clothes available. In this way they have the dignity of having a shopping experience and choosing clothes themselves, but as the costs are very low, it remains accessible to all.

There is also a laundrette for washing the clothes, to compensate for lack of access to clean water. In the laundrette there is also a TV and sofas, so that the women can sit and have a sociable time together whilst the washing is doing.

The Participants of these programmes are predominantly Syrian refugees. Most of them are in some form of transit, either waiting to go back to Syrian once they get a better idea of how the new regime will work, or waiting in hope to go onwards to another country eg in Europe or north America. Many don’t know if that dream of a new land will ever come true, but they wait hopefully, and in the meantime the church helps them get by.

During the war with Israel last year, the area received many Lebanese refugees, and at that point the programmes also supported them. In most cases the programmes were done in two shifts, as it just didn’t work for Syrian and Lebanese refugees to be in programmes together. But now the Lebanese have returned to their homes, and the refugees are just Syrian again. As mentioned earlier, some of the programmes also help impoverished Lebanese, but they are from within the community.

During my visit we were discussing the challenges that the church faces in continuing its programmes. One of these is the attitude of the Lebanese government regarding teaching Syrian refugees. Apparently the government is very resistant to it, as they feel that it is encouraging the refugees to remain and not return home. The church’s perspective is that whilst the refugees do remain, they have the right to an education, and so this is what is being provided. However, it is this attitude of the government that means that the church cannot go beyond grade 6, and also that it cannot become an official school. Many NGO’s in the area have been closed down by thegovernment, again to reduce services available to the refugees – the church has been able to stay open because it is a church with its main focus being the teaching and sharing of the faith to Lebanese Christian community. One day the church would like to offer vocational training as well, but at this stage that seems unlikely. So for now, they keep doing what they can, and doing it as a church rather than an NGO.

Another challenge that they’ve had has been from the local Lebanese community regarding the apparent preference for services to refugees compared to Lebanese who are in need. It is a recognised issue that many Lebanese have poorer access to health care than refugees, and this has caused bad feeling. I’ve also referred to the food programme issues. As a result, the church makes the food and medical programmes available to anyone who needs them, and again this has helped to reduce tensions and increase good will.

When we were chatting, the pastor’s wife summed up for me why they do what they do, and what inspires them to keep going. She said: “we are only on this earth for a short time, and in that time it is important to do what we can to serve God wherever we are, with whatever we have. There’s no point in holding on to things for ourselves if we can use them to help someone else have a better life. Instead, we should live for others and give to others as the gospel says. In doing that, we have a better life as well.”