Dr. Yafa El Masri defines herself as both a refugee and a researcher; and finds this twofold experience enriching for her mission towards transforming refugee experiences in the Middle East.
Having been born and raised in Borj Albarajenah refugee camp for Palestinians in Lebanon, she is dedicated to the support of Palestinian refugees and other migrant communities in the Levant. Now finishing her Postdoctoral Research in Human Geography at Durham University, Yafa is embarking on a new journey as a Lecturer in Geography and Global Development at the Global Development Department at University of East Anglia.
Yafa has extensive experience in participatory, ethnographic and autoethnographic research on themes of forced displacement. Her earlier work focuses on alternative humanitarianisms arising in refugee communities in the levant in the light of shrinking humanitarian aid, and the increase of grassroots forms of cooperation in refugee camps such as food sharing and community healthcare. She has published widely on these themes in books, edited volumes, and internationally accredited journals such as Frontiers and Globalizations. She received the British Society for Middle East Studies (BRISMES) Early Career Prize in July of 2024 to transform this collection into a monograph. Her more recent work is focusing on refugee agency in knowledge production spaces.
Yafa holds a PhD in Geographic Studies (2023), and an MSc in Local Geographic Development (2019), both from the University of Padova in Italy. Prior to her academic journey, she has worked extensively in International and local Humanitarian aid agencies in Lebanon, which has enriched her knowledge of the communities she currently works with. Dr. El Masriās work continues to redefine how displaced and colonized communities are represented and engaged in academic and policy circles, making her a significant voice in the field of human geography and refugee studies.