“Braving Dual Crises: Ukrainian Women Navigating Lebanon's Turmoil and War Back Home.”

 

At the invitation of PRISMA UKRAÏNA – Research Network Eastern Europe, Berlin, Germany. Dr. Hourani delivered a presentation entitled “Braving Dual Crises: Ukrainian Women Navigating Lebanon's Turmoil and War Back Home.” In Lebanon, the Ukrainian community, predominantly women, was small and dispersed. They faced Lebanon's financial and political turmoil when Russia invaded Ukraine on February 22, 2022. Despite these challenges, they united to advocate for Ukraine. The presentation provided an overview of their activism in domestic and homeland contexts, explored their motivations including humanitarian efforts, online resistance, and political advocacy, and discussed the enabling environment in which these women operated. It also examined the correlation between their two composites of identity — motherhood and nationalism — and the two Ukrainian statues gifted to Lebanon.