Iraqis seeking medical care in Lebanon : war, cancer and mobility

Abstract

This thesis examines the long-term effects of war through the lens of Iraqi cancer patients and family members seeking care in Lebanon. It is based on ethnographic research conducted in Beirut, where an increasing number of Iraqis are seeking cancer care due to the war-induced deterioration of medical institutions in Iraq. Fieldwork was conducted at a hotel in the heart of Beirut’s medical district where over half of the guests since 2007 have been Iraqis seeking cancer care. In addition to participant observation, in-depth interviews were conducted with patients and family members at the Hotel. In Chapter 1, I will analyze informants’ interpretations of the relationship between war and the spread of cancer in Iraq. Informants conceptualize Iraq’s recent wars as well as the UN sanctions period as accelerating the unraveling of the country into an environment of pervasive cancer-causing toxicity that comes from numerous sources and continues spreading. Thus, etiologies of cancer frame Iraq’s wars not as isolated events but as boundless, long-term processes that defy clear-cut geographies and temporalities. According to Iraqis at the Hotel, the long-term effects of war have contributed not only to the spread of cancer but also the destruction of cancer care and the emergence of medical travel en masse. In Chapter 2, I focus on how war has contributed to a deterioration of oncology in Iraq, a historical process that has unfolded over two decades since 1991 and has forced many families to travel abroad for care. In Chapter 3, I look at Lebanon as a therapeutic hub for Iraqis seeking cancer care. War has contributed to a privatization and outsourcing of healthcare in Iraq. The long-term implications of this gradual shift have been enormous for Iraqis. When Iraqis arrive to Beirut, they must learn to navigate an unknown, highly costly privatized medical system, often resulting in insolvency or worse. Finally, this thesis explores a surprising disconnect. Informants relate cancer in Iraq to