What to Pack? The Semiotics of Be-Longing(s) of Syrian Displaced Women

This qualitative study focuses on a group of 42 Syrian displaced women who live in Irbid, Jordan. The women went through the traumatic experience of forced eviction from their homes as a consequence of the civil war in Syria. The participants responded to a questionnaire about the most important thi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Refuge Vol. 39; no. 2; pp. 1 - 18
Main Authors: Suyoufie, Fadia F., Dagamseh, Abdullah M.
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Centre for Refugee Studies, York University 01.01.2023
York University Libraries
Subjects:
Displaced Women
GENERAL ARTICLES
Home
Jordan
Refugees
Semiotics
Syria
ISSN:0229-5113, 1920-7336
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:This qualitative study focuses on a group of 42 Syrian displaced women who live in Irbid, Jordan. The women went through the traumatic experience of forced eviction from their homes as a consequence of the civil war in Syria. The participants responded to a questionnaire about the most important things that they packed and whether the objects affected their coping with displacement. Our discussion of the socio-semiotic implications of the carried items validates our main thesis that the displaced women were empowered by the agency of commitment to the re-creation of home life away from home by solidly grounding it in the “dailiness” of domesticity. Through concept-driven coding, the study defines the pervasive patterns of the participants’ responses to the questions about their carried objects in relation to concepts of identity, home, and memory. The conclusion confirms that the women’s commitment to their roles as mothers and homemakers, along with their religious faith-based awareness of displacement, contributes to their sense of agency and resilience.
ISSN:0229-5113
1920-7336
DOI:10.25071/1920-7336.40959