Benefits and Challenges of Refugee Inclusion: Lessons from Lebanon

At 1.30 pm on a balmy October afternoon in Beirut, 12-year old Nour and her friends are congregating outside their school, patiently waiting to be allowed inside. The gates are shut, indicating the school is not yet ready for the second shift, which enrolls only Syrian refugee students like Nour. On the other side of the gate, Lebanese students wait excitedly for the school day to end. As the bell goes off, the Lebanese students rush out while the Syrian students lean against the school boundary walls, waiting for the last Lebanese student to leave. Nour and her Lebanese peers see each other, exchanging glances, but no words.