Basma Taysir El Doukhi

Q1. Who are you?  

My name is Basma Taysir Al Doukhi, I am a Palestinian PhD scholar in Migration studies based in the UK now, human rights activist, humanitarian practitioner and a founder of Roouh social enterprise, which is a platform for female refugee artisans to tell their stories in their own words through their craft. Before pursuing PhD, I worked for over a decade as a humanitarian professional, supporting refugee communities in the MENA region on behalf of the UN. This experience accrued in the field was the impetus for my doctoral research on the role of Syrian and Afghan associations lived realities and role in fostering social cohesion. I am undertaking a comparative case study of Syrian and Afghan associations  supporting their displaced communities in Turkey. My PhD project is the first study of these associations  undertaken by a scholar with a refugee background. My study therefore stands to make a significant and timely contribution by illuminating the experiences of these vital frontline associations.  My background is a mix of practice, research and policy work, with a particular interest in the  topics of representation, voices and power within refugee and migration studies. 

Q2. What was your motivation for applying for the FFVT fellowship? Why Germany? 

I am thrilled to have the opportunity to collaborate and network with diverse researchers, policy makers and community leaders in the field of forced migration through the fellowship at bicc, enabling me to improve my research and share my findings and insights in a new space.  As a pracademic (practitioner- academic background), it is important for me to have transparent discussions and conversations with diverse stakeholders through crucial engagement, feedback and reflections to bridge the existing gap between academia and practice about forced migration. So, I am in a better position to put these learnings into experiment and regular evolution which will allow me to contribute to transforming my academic and professional experiences into an opportunity for development and to the communities that I work with and for regardless of the place and beyond nationalities.  Germany and BICC offer this valuable space and chance for a powerful exchange, learning and sharing about intersections of displacement, humanitarianism and international development within a context of migration history.  

Q3. What do you expect from the fellowship? 

I hope I’ll be able to share about my research and its findings through brainstorming and powerful exchange and learning with and from colleagues and other fellows with BICC and other partner organisations. I expect to produce one written product while I am in the FFVT fellowship with a focus on my research’s findings in Turkey. I am also interested to lead and engage in networking sessions and events where I can share about my unique positionality and experiences so far in the field of forced migration and meeting some of community leaders and policy-makers.  Finally, I hope to discuss and find ways for a future joint collaboration, networking and exchange beyond the fellowship to reach out researchers and other stakeholders in Germany, the UK and MENA.  

With this fellowship, I commit to expand my horizons personally, professionally and intellectually to take myself out of my comfort zone to learning, so I accept this challenge, and I am looking forward to growing and sharing my expertise with others as well learning from the expertise around me.  

Q4. What is the focus of your work, and what is innovative about it? / What are your planned outcomes and activities for the fellowship period? And how do they relate to your FFVT hosting institution/ the FFVT cooperation project? 

My current research focuses on the Syrian and Afghan associations in both Istanbul and Kayseri in order to understand the lived reality of displaced people from Syria and Afghanistan in Turkey. My research offer a counter-narrative, where it unpacks how labels and categorisations such as "refugee" and "refugee-led organisations" (RLOs) homogenise and conceal the unique realities, and diversity of these associations in Turkey. The research builds on the premise that these labels can be damaging, through masking the internal diversity, distinct immigration statuses of association members, and the influence of the Turkish legal and social framework on their self-definition and visibility. 

I have already conducted extensive and rich fieldwork in both Istanbul and Kayseri, Turkey, and I have returned with honest, powerful, and authentic stories from all those I spent time with. During the fellowship, I plan to share some of the findings and in-depth analysis of the collected data, hypothesise the findings with my mentors  and colleagues at BICC, prepare and plan for publishing and writing about these findings, and further engage in dissemination events and opportunities so that I can reach out to diverse audiences audience, get constructive feedback to reshape these findings and insights, and trigger much needed research on these topics in other parts of the world. 

The research is unique and interdisciplinary in diverse ways and will make an important contribution to knowledge within the field of migration studies. My doctoral work will include several personal vignettes, an example of my innovative approaches to contributing to knowledge blending my own experiences of living as a refugee, working as a professional with the stories of those I have researched with.  

Most importantly, it prioritizes the experiences of Syrian and Afghan displaced members of these associations refugees in uncovering these counter-narratives, providing a critical lens through which to view the complex identities and experiences of these associations. It underscores the need to consider the meanings and interpretations that these members attach to these labels in their daily lives, offering a rich ground for exploring a different interpretation within their narratives. With its interdisciplinary focus, commitment for knowledge transfer and exchange, and comparative studies, my unique research fits the FFVT fellowship’s objectives and the research and policy work of BICC.