Agriculture and Steadfastness among Palestinian Refugees
This presentation examines agricultural practices in Palestinian refugee camps as both a material response to displacement and a symbolic act of steadfastness in the face of settler colonialism. The loss of access to traditional agrarian spaces has reshaped daily life for refugees, yet gardens within camps have emerged as vital sites of sustenance, resilience, and memory.
Drawing on ethnographic research in Bethelehem refugee camps (Aida, Al-Azza, and Dheisheh in Palestine and Burj al-Barajneh camp (in Lebanon), the seminar traces how camp spaces have been transformed over the past seventy-five years and how residents cultivate gardens to assert belonging, maintain cultural traditions, and negotiate political and social constraints.
Kholoud Al-Ajarma, USI visiting scholar
Kholoud Al-Ajarma is a Palestinian anthropologist, photographer, filmmaker, and refugee rights advocate. (Read more)
Practical details
- When: Thursday 16 October 2025, 12.30 - 2 p.m.
- Where: UAntwerp Stadscampus, room S.M.103, de Meerminne, Sint-Jacobstraat 2