RGP Cycle One Grantees and Projects
Sahera R Bleibleh,Michael Vicente Perez, Thae’ra Bleibleh: Humanitarian Effects: Assessing Social and Physical Inequalities in the Urban Space of Jenin Refugee Camp
Palestinian refugee subjectivity reflects a history of displacement and exile, occupation, resistance, and a connection to the homeland. For Palestinian refugees in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, this history has been significantly shaped by the context of the Israeli occupation. This research project considers the post invasion context of the Jenin refugee camp in the Occupied West Bank. Established in 1953, the camp was partially destroyed in 2002 during the Israeli re-occupation of the West Bank and reconstructed in 2005. Funded by international donors and implemented through UNRWA, the reconstruction effort represents a key example of the functioning of humanitarian development in conflict zones. Our research considers how the international structures of humanitarian development in the Jenin camp worked for, with, and against refugees re- displaced in 2002. It will also examine how the reconstruction effort links to the production of inequalities between refugees and the international institutions created to serve them and between refugees themselves once the construction was completed. A central part of this research project will examine post-invasion Palestinian subjectivities.Within the context of humanitarian development, we will consider how Palestinians negotiated their aspirations and rights as refugees vis-à-vis local, regional, and international relations of power. Specifically, we will consider how the humanitarian framework of development worked with and against refugee claims to human rights and security. Moreover, we will examine how the post-reconstruction context of the camp matters for the meaning of community and the camp’s history and future.
Sahera Bleibleh, PhD, is currently an assistant professor at the United Arab Emirates University in architecture and urban design and planning. Prior to joining the UAEU, Dr. Bleibleh was a Visiting Scholar at the University of Washington, Seattle, where she received her PhD in Urban Design and Planning. Her research is focused on informal urbanism, everyday life and environment-behavior studies, with particular focus on the spatial and behavioral consequences of political and military conflicts on communities and urban environments. Sahera’s broader research interests include sociopolitical production of space, identity and culture issues, anthropology of place and the everyday life and resilience of people living in areas of conflict.
As an architect and planner, Dr. Bleibleh’s interdisciplinary research approach and professional experience bridge the gap between theory and practice, which enriches her teaching and mentorship. In addition, Sahera draws from several years of academic and professional experience as a professor and consultant with several institutions including the An-Najah National University and Birzeit University in Palestine, United Nations, the European Commission and the World Bank. She advocates for a research and practical approach capable of alleviating constraints, such as living under the occupation and limited resources, by promoting bottom-up planning approaches that incorporate local insights and reveal qualitative aspects of the everyday life experience of those who encounter enforced power. Sahera holds a Bachelor of Science in Architecture (Palestine), a Master of Science in Urban and Regional Planning (Palestine), and a PhD in Urban Design and Planning; University of Washington, Seattle (USA). She published several papers in international journals, conference proceedings, and webpages voicesthroughwalls.org
Michael Vicente Perez, PhD 2011 in Sociocultural anthropology and broader research on Near East Studies, ethnicity and nationalism, transnational migration and displacement (diaspora), refugees and human rights, Muslim politics, memory and violence. His research interests concern the impact of migration and displacement upon the formation and meaning of ethnicity, nationhood, and homelands for refugees and their location within the nation-state. In my dissertation, Palestinian Refugees and the Politics of Ethno-National Identity in Jordan, Michael explored how local and transnational politics and the meaning of displacement constituted particular forms of identification that underscored the possibilities and limits of Palestinian nationhood among refugees in The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. Based on two years of ethnographic research, his dissertation showed how ethnic and national categories of identity, whether at the level of the state, national elites, or everyday people, were produced within a nexus of national and transnational struggles that revealed the contentious position of Palestinian refugees within their host state as Jordanian citizens and their homeland as a diaspora community. In his future research, I plan to expand the focus of Muslim studies to Latin America by examining the histories and experiences of Latino/a Muslim communities in South America. Michael will consider how Islam has been incorporated into the lives of Latino/a communities and what it suggests about the intersections between Arab and Latin American culture, migration, and politics. This project has the potential of addressing larger questions of how local and transnational forces factor into the production of Muslim communities and provides an opportunity to examine emergent meanings and expressions of Islam in Latin America.
Thaira Bleibleh is an architect who received Master Degree in Planning An-Najah National University/ Nablus. Her thesis title “Architectural Reading of the Ottoman Sijils of the Al- Sharyah Court in Nablus City between 1655-1807.” Her research focus is on the analysis of symbolic terminologies of the Ottoman Documents (Sijills) & Archive of the Al-Sharyah court in Nablus city, this study concerns for the architectural aspect in the Ottoman's sijills between 1655-1807. Thae'ra worked with the (UNISCO, UNDP, and UNFEM) and a team of architects and archaeologists to develop a comprehensive archeological and tourist documentation on Sabastiya. The goal of the project is to achieve a draft for Integrated Conservation and Management plan of Sabastiya. My responsibilities include: inventory and gathering information (such as maps, aerial photographs, and plans), data analysis and documentation, elaboration of a set of geo-referenced thematic maps, leading workshops and focus groups with the local community to assess needs and gaps of the different sectors, and compiling and preparation of the final report. A cognitive map of the different ages of Sabastiya was prepared to include the main strength of the urban fabric of the town. In this process a problematic and social maps of activities were also prepared. All maps were documented with the GIS. Thae'ra has experience in teaching and community development. She also worked on a project assessment for Jenin Refugee camp after the reconstruction of its urban space.
