Syria’s Many Local-s: Diaspora Formation and Humanitarian Action Among Syrians in Manchester

Syrian-led humanitarianism since 2011 has been explored through the lenses of mass displacement, social media, personal networks, and its integration into the international humanitarian system. Broad-stroke comparative studies have found that differential opportunities’ structures in countries in the Global North and in the Middle East explain Syrian-led civil society organizations’ varying trajectories. This article takes a narrower case study approach, drawing on interview and ethnographic data to explore the specific socio-historical context in Manchester that gave rise to Action for Humanity (AFH), the United Kingdom’s biggest Syria-focused aid organization. Putting into conversation theory from Diaspora, Middle Eastern, and Humanitarian Studies, it argues that the Middle East’s transregionalisms go hand in hand with growing roots. AFH’s practices are anchored in its diaspora’s distinct migration history and translocal networks, and are subject to change, as more Syrians keep arriving. The article analyzes how one Syrian diaspora has rallied around humanitarian activities and, conversely, been reproduced through volunteering and donating. AFH brands the organization as ‘Syrian’ to international donors keen on ‘localizing aid’, while facilitating British-Syrians’ remote support for their homeland. The article attends to digital, affective, and embodied processes of diaspora formation among Manchester’s Syrians, as AFH mobilizes, and operates, across Syria’s multiple ‘local-s’.