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UvA-DARE (Digital Academic Repository) Struggles for success Youth work rituals in Amsterdam and Beirut Abdallah, S.E. Publication date 2017 Document Version Final published version License Other Link to publication Citation for published version (APA): Abdallah, S. E. (2017). Struggles for success: Youth work rituals in Amsterdam and Beirut. General rights It is not permitted to download or to forward/distribute the text or part of it without the consent of the author(s) and/or copyright holder(s), other than for strictly personal, individual use, unless the work is under an open content license (like Creative Commons). Disclaimer/Complaints regulations If you believe that digital publication of certain material infringes any of your rights or (privacy) interests, please let the Library know, stating your reasons. In case of a legitimate complaint, the Library will make the material inaccessible and/or remove it from the website. Please Ask the Library: https://uba.uva.nl/en/contact, or a letter to: Library of the University of Amsterdam, Secretariat, Singel 425, 1012 WP Amsterdam, The Netherlands. You will be contacted as soon as possible. UvA-DARE is a service provided by the library of the University of Amsterdam (https://dare.uva.nl) Download date:01 Oct 2021 SWP 170801 StrugglesForSuccess-2DEF.indd 1 26-09-17 09:21 UNIVERSITEIT VAN AMSTERDAM Youth work rituals in Amsterdam and Beirut Sebastian Abdallah 2017 SWP 170801 SfS_BW-4.indd 1 26-09-17 09:15 SWP 170801 SfS_BW-4.indd 2 26-09-17 09:15 STRUGGLES FOR SUCCESS Youth work rituals in Amsterdam and Beirut ACADEMISCH PROEFSCHRIFT ter verkrijging van de graad van doctor aan de Universiteit van Amsterdam op gezag van de Rector Magnificus prof. dr. ir. K.I.J. Maex ten overstaan van een door het College voor Promoties ingestelde commissie, in het openbaar te verde- digen in de Aula der Universiteit op woensdag 1 november 2017, te 11:00 uur door Sebastian Emad Abdallah geboren te Amsterdam. SWP 170801 SfS_BW-4.indd 3 26-09-17 09:15 Promotiecommissie: Promotor: Prof. Dr. W.G.J. Duyvendak, Universiteit van Amsterdam Copromotor: Dr. B. Paulle, Universiteit van Amsterdam Overige leden: Prof. Dr. J.C. Rath, Universiteit van Amsterdam Prof. Dr. R.F.J. Spaaij, Universiteit van Amsterdam Prof. Dr. M. Harb, American University of Beirut Dr. N. Yassin, American University of Beirut Dr. E.N.M.O. Baillergeau, Universiteit van Amsterdam Faculteit der Maatschappij- en Gedragswetenschappen SWP 170801 SfS_BW-4.indd 4 26-09-17 09:15 FOREWORD A little over ten years ago I published a short essay on similarities I noticed in behavior and experiences between young people in Amsterdam and Beirut (Abdallah, 2007). I had just returned from a Lebanon devastated by the Israeli defense forces. I happened to be there when the bombs fell, and like many other visitors (but of course also local citizens), I was stuck. Soon after, foreign states prepared emergency exits for their nationals, which for some embassies was quite a challenge, since many Lebanese have dual citizenships. I saw how French, British and Australian embassy-buildings became overcrowded and long lines of people twisted and turned out onto the streets. The Netherlands embassy personnel were less busy and could secure some places with vessels of the bigger evacuating parties. I was not sure yet if I wanted to make use of this privilege. On the one hand, it felt strange that I could just leave others behind in misery. I have Lebanese citizenship and had planned to spend the summer there, but when Lebanon did not suit me I had a way out. On the other hand, I expected people would think I was irresponsible if I stayed in danger. Some locals had a different focus. They joined smaller or bigger NGOs that tended to the needs of people internally displaced by the bombing of their neighborhoods. This is when I made my decision to stay and volunteer with two small initiatives helping people who were sheltered in schools that were closed for the summer. Initially, the smaller NGOs brought food, water, and hygienic products. As the larger NGOs gained traction, they took on this responsibil- ity since they were better equipped and funded for these purposes. The smaller initiatives became more focused on moral support. Every day we would come late in the afternoon and organize games and sports programs for children, tell stories, eat ice cream, drink coffee and just hang out. After some weeks it felt like people were happier to see us than the people who brought water and food. And these are not just the ramblings of a Westernized outsider. Both volunteers and the temporarily displaced uttered their appreciation to each other time and again. Some also tried to remain in contact after the war was over. Yet, it proved difficult to cross the invisible communal borders behind which different groups live large parts of their lives. The chaotic context of artillery targeting civilian neighborhoods and the ensuing flights to safer harbors are of course in no sense comparable to any experiences of young people who grew up in Amsterdam. Yet, in the midst of those very dissimilar circumstances, I rediscovered something I had noticed 5 SWP 170801 SfS_BW-4.indd 5 26-09-17 09:15 Struggles for success before, during my initial experiences in internet-cafes in Beirut in 2002-2004. Dynamics between teenagers, in sports situations, in hanging out, shooting the breeze and joking around were in Amsterdam and Beirut astoundingly compa- rable. In my role, supervising the activities, I noticed situations called out similar skill-sets in maintaining casual contact, offering moral support, and in restoring and keeping order when things (almost) got out of hand. I became even more convinced that the comparability of young people's experiences in these seem- ingly disparate contexts was worth investigating more thoroughly. After some ten years of being active as a youth worker I transitioned to teach- ing Bachelor’s students of Social and Cultural Education at the Amsterdam Uni- versity of Applied Sciences. Next to teaching I became an associate researcher for Youth Spot, which got me involved in researching different youth work programs throughout the city. This opened my eyes (more) to the valuable con- tributions youth workers were making but also to how little stakeholders were aware of these contributions, and how limited youth workers were in articulat- ing the significance of their work (Abdallah, de Boer, & Bos, 2008; Abdallah, de Boer, Bos, Hamersma, & Spierts, 2007; Abdallah, de Boer, Sinke, Sonneveld, & Spierts, 2010; de Boer, Sonneveld, Abdallah, Heshmat Manesh, & Bos, 2009). If my training and experience as an Amsterdam youth worker had unknowingly equipped me to make a difference for young people in wartime Lebanon, this indicated there was still a lot to be learned about the added value of youth work. This opportunity came when Stichting Innovatie Alliantie provided a four year grant when they approved our research proposal on “Talent development for at-risk youth.” This was the start of a collaboration between universities, schools for vocational studies, and NGOs to learn about the dynamics of young people’s lives and the contributions of youth work to their wellbeing and devel- opment. The formal start of this journey was 2010. Although the project has formally come to a close more than two years ago, the completion of this disser- tation marks for me the real point of closure and the start of a new phase. A lot of good things have happened along the way, and I want to make room here for the people I would like to thank. I start with my advisers. In total it has been a journey of eight years and I am much indebted for how much they have invested in me. The term promotores, commonly used in the Netherlands, is more adequate than advisers because they have done so much more than advise me. They have, each in different ways, through conversations and tirelessly scrutinizing my texts, contributed to the development and crystallization of crucial concepts and ideas of this disserta- tion. They have invested in my scholarly and professional formation process. There is not enough opportunity here to elaborate on all the ways they have challenged and supported me. Instead, I will give examples, captured in quotes, of what has stood out for me. Jan Willem Duyvendak, always supportive, would 6 SWP 170801 SfS_BW-4.indd 6 26-09-17 09:15 Foreword casually tell me about my text, “you make three points here” and would name them before discussing them with me. Meanwhile, I would still be in the process of adjusting to the idea that I made three points, where I thought I had made only one. Such instances added tremendously to developing insight into lay- ers of meaning and depth, even in my own ideas and texts. Bowen Paulle has been, among other things, a true “coach looking over the shoulder” concern- ing methodic approaches as well as in developing clarity in idea-formation and writing-style. He was at times relentless in pushing my limits for what I could accomplish. Much of what he has taught me will still guide me in projects to come. Paul Verweel was formally one of my advisers for most of the process. Unfor- tunately he had to retire in the last season for personal reasons. Nevertheless he has remained supportive and involved until the phase of completion. He has been consistently excited about my research and at crucial points has guarded the coherence of the dissertation as a whole. A nugget of his wisdom that helped me was that “ideas need to ripen.” Simple as this seems, it has been so fruitful to leave ideas be for a while, to come back to them later.

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