'The violence of illness: Palestinian and Syrian Refugee Women in Lebanon Face the Challenges of the COVID-19 Crisis’

My chapter examines the experiences of two groups of women, Palestinian and Syrian refugees residing in Lebanese camps. The experience of being forced from familiar spaces into an uncertain and threatening exile is frightening, and this is especially true for women and girls. Females are adversely affected during the journey to an uncertain destination, in the place of refuge, which may be inadequate and unwelcoming, and in the home itself as familiar frameworks break down and insecurity takes root. During the COVID-19 pandemic, women’s situation became even more precarious. They have been disproportionately affected by the violence of illness that builds on other forms of violence, thus rendering life even less tolerable and diminishing any sense of agency. However, while acknowledging that powerlessness is a factor in refugee women’s lives, I will argue that the reality is more nuanced and possibly more hopeful. Many women have been able to access novel forms of agency in order to improve their own lives and those of their children. The chapter is based on ethnographic fieldwork and seeks to reflect the diverse voices and stories of the women who so generously shared their words and worlds with me.