Applying decolonial approaches in humanitarian and public health research: a case study of scholar-activism in Syria

Coloniality refers to the lasting legacy of colonisation embedded in the current knowledge systems; shaping cultural, political, social, and economic aspects. In that sense, decolonising is a continuous process that unsettles and disrupts that colonial matrix. It mustn't be reduced to a purely intellectual exercise but should be moved to the physical, tangible realms. Syria's diversity and rich history present a politically sensitive environment that becomes complicated by a prolonged conflict and displacement. The overarching aim of this portfolio is to contribute alternative narratives and sources of knowledge that challenge the dominant research discourses about Syria using a reflexive and decolonial lens and following a scholaractivism path. The research portfolio draws on three descriptive qualitative and one analytical quantitative studies conducted in the Syrian context. The studies focused on exploring and documenting the lived experiences of Syrian women and internally displaced persons (IDPs), employing interpretive phenomenological and thematic analysis. The portfolio explores themes such as gendered vulnerability, displacement, mortality under-ascertainment, vaccine hesitancy, and community responses to COVID-19, all situated within their socio-political context. The analytical commentary further reflects on scholar-activism as a crucial approach that bridges academic research with the needs of the communities it engages, rather than serving institutions alone. Decolonising humanitarian research requires context-specific, identity-aware, and positionality-informed approaches. While acknowledging these efforts' partial but promising nature, the portfolio advocates for a more trauma-informed and justiceoriented approach to humanitarian research that challenges current colonial academic and humanitarian structures and centres community-efined priorities