This Article Free Full Text (Free PDF) Free Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in ISI Web of Science Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Makhoul, J. Articles by Ghanem, M. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                   What's this?

An ethnographic study of the consequences of social and structural forces on children: the case of two low-income Beirut suburbs

American University of Beirut, PO Box 11–0239, Riad el Solh 1107–2020, Beirut, Lebanon; fax: +961–1–744470;jm04{at}aub.edu.lb

Dana Abi Ghanem

Mary Ghanem

Faculty of Health Sciences of At the American University of Beirut.

This ethnographic study of two low-income suburban communities in Beirut highlights the negative impacts that wider social circumstances can have on the young. The two communities of interest are a Palestinian refugee camp and another community in the suburbs of Beirut where displaced families and daily labourers reside. Using observations and in-depth interviews with residents and key informants in these communities over a period of four months, a research team obtained an inside view of the residents’ experiences. State political and economic policies place restrictions on work and mobility for the Palestinians in Lebanon and allow the religious sects to regulate civil life for the Lebanese. This paper discusses how, as a result of these and other difficult conditions, children and youth face consequences that can include illegal status, dropping out of school, abuse, child labour and substance abuse. Policies to alleviate these outcomes need to address the root causes situated within these structural forces.

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?