Dr. David James Cantor, Director of Refugee Law Initiative and Professor of Refugee Protection @ RESEARCHING INTERNAL DISPLACEMENT, wrote “we've just published this highly topical new Working Paper by Dr. Guita Hourani on "Turbulent Borders, Displaced Lives: The Christian Narrative in South Lebanon’s Geopolitical Landscape.” The working paper can be accessed using the following link: https://lnkd.in/ew7npBfQ.

 

The working paper “contextualizes the internal displacement of more than 94,000 individuals from South Lebanon amid the ongoing conflict between Hezbollah and Israel following Hamas's ‘Al-Aqsa Deluge’ operation in October 2023. It investigates the causes of displacement, particularly within the Christian community, by analyzing various push factors deriving from the activities of the Israeli military, Hezbollah and the Lebanese government. 

 

Drawing on these factors, the article ascertains a seven-fold survival narrative among South Lebanon's Christians: unwavering faith, coping resilience, distancing from Christian partisan rhetoric, avoiding confrontation, rejecting the war, advocating for coexistence as a fundamental social covenant and reaffirming allegiance to Lebanon and its Armed Forces. The article concludes by emphasizing the need to cease the conflict; hold the perpetrators accountable and ensure reparation for the civilians affected by the war; ensure the right to assisted return; guarantee the rights of individuals not to be displaced; and replace Hezbollah’s power formula – the Army, the People, and the Resistance equation.”

 

He noted that although “The research in this article predates the 2024 September entry of Israeli forces into Lebanon, but remains relevant as the violence between Hezbollah, the Israeli military and Lebanese forces escalates. The border communities discussed in this paper face even greater challenges, and the article’s themes of survival and resolution are even more critical today.”