Forced Migration in the Middle East: The Palestinian and Syrian Refugee Experience

Forced migration in the Middle East has a long history, going back to, at least, the early days of the 20th century. This paper looks at the experience of two populations, the Palestinian refugees, who experienced their initial displacement in the mid-20th century, and the current day growing population of Syrian refugees. This latter group constitutes the largest group of displaced people since the Second World War. This paper uses the experience of both of these groups to explore the impact that forced migration has had on the host countries and the region at large. It looks at the economic, cultural and political impact of forced migration and concludes that, in the long-term, forced migration, although extremely disruptive to all involved, has a net benefit on the host countries. It also explores lack of regional coping mechanisms, and proposes that the terms “crisis” and “guests” should be replaced when discussing forced migrations