Stories of Disablement and Displacement - Experiences of Syrian Refugees and their Families: A Qualitative Narrative Research Inquiry

The Palestinian poet Mourid Barghouti writes, "If you want to dispossess a people, the simplest way to do it is to tell their story and start with, ‘secondly’" (Adichie, 2009). First-person accounts can inform and educate, clarify misconceptions, and challenge existing policies and practices (Atkinson, 1998; Greenhalg, 2016). Narrative research allows participants to take back their own stories by starting with ‘firstly’. Dominant groups have often appropriated the telling of stories, particularly of those who are vulnerable and marginalized (Dossa, 2013). I interviewed ten Syrian families to provide a glimpse into the narratives of disabled Syrian refugees and the material and social conditions that shape their experiences. The stories of these ten families led to fourteen themes of disablement and displacement. Through this dissertation, I examine the critical relationship of disablement and displacement through stories of hope, pain, resilience, fear, oppression, and resistance. I explore disablement and displacement through concepts of citizenship, otherness, and intersectionality. This research contributes a unique and vital perspective to academic literature by challenging and disrupting the dominant narrative around disabled refugees, a narrative which overshadows spaces in academia and popular culture, and that strategically segregates disablement from displacement.