After the Syrian revolution of 2011 slid into a vicious civil war, a wave of refugees crossed into Lebanon and ignited a fresh debate about the role of refugees in Lebanon. As discussions focused on topics such as the costs of hosting refugees, potential security threats that come with this forced hospitality, and other aspects that are exceedingly difficult to measure, UMAM D&R felt a new approach towards refugeeism in Lebanon was needed, hence it launched "Most Welcome? Lebanon Through Its Refugees." Looking at the past to inform the future, UMAM D&R utilizes its many resources to trace asylum in Lebanon through the years while pushing back against the xenophobic actions and attitudes that have become especially prevalent in recent years.

As the initial surge of Syrian refugees began seeking shelter in Lebanon in late 2011, the event marked the onset of the second substantial flood of migrants since the country became independent in 1943. From 2011 onward, the international community has exerted tremendous effort and committed substantial resources to help Lebanon contain this crisis. Despite that support, however, large portions of Lebanese society and a number of the country's major political actors have continued to describe the situation grimly as an existential threat to the integrity of the Lebanese entity. In 2017, for example, while Lebanon’s prime minister was preparing to attend an EU-sponsored conference in Brussels titled "Supporting Syria and the Region," he disclosed to a group of foreign media correspondents in Beirut that Lebanon was near the "point of collapse." Later in his remarks, the Lebanese premier expressed concern that the 1.5 million Syrians in the country could incite strife between that growing community and its Lebanese hosts. Examples abound of similar statements from government officials and interestingly, the rhetoric being used to characterize the issue of Syrian asylum in Lebanon seems to have been drawn from the remarkably deep well of arguments that were already in use just before Lebanon's civil war erupted in 1975.

After the Syrian revolution of 2011 slid into a vicious civil war, a wave of refugees crossed into Lebanon and ignited a fresh debate about the role of refugees in Lebanon. As discussions focused on topics such as the costs of hosting refugees, potential security threats that come with this forced hospitality, and other aspects that are exceedingly difficult to measure, UMAM D&R felt a new approach towards refugeeism in Lebanon was needed, hence it launched "Most Welcome? Lebanon Through Its Refugees." Looking at the past to inform the future, UMAM D&R utilizes its many resources to trace asylum in Lebanon through the years while pushing back against the xenophobic actions and attitudes that have become especially prevalent in recent years.

As the initial surge of Syrian refugees began seeking shelter in Lebanon in late 2011, the event marked the onset of the second substantial flood of migrants since the country became independent in 1943. From 2011 onward, the international community has exerted tremendous effort and committed substantial resources to help Lebanon contain this crisis. Despite that support, however, large portions of Lebanese society and a number of the country's major political actors have continued to describe the situation grimly as an existential threat to the integrity of the Lebanese entity. In 2017, for example, while Lebanon’s prime minister was preparing to attend an EU-sponsored conference in Brussels titled "Supporting Syria and the Region," he disclosed to a group of foreign media correspondents in Beirut that Lebanon was near the "point of collapse." Later in his remarks, the Lebanese premier expressed concern that the 1.5 million Syrians in the country could incite strife between that growing community and its Lebanese hosts. Examples abound of similar statements from government officials and interestingly, the rhetoric being used to characterize the issue of Syrian asylum in Lebanon seems to have been drawn from the remarkably deep well of arguments that were already in use just before Lebanon's civil war erupted in 1975.

Remaining committed to its mission of countering this culture of denial, UMAM D&R launched "Most Welcome? Lebanon Through Its Refugees" in early 2017. Pushing back against the mainstream discourse on refugeeism, this program seeks to examine the positions on asylum Lebanon has taken in the past and the present, and the extent to which the positions being adopted today seek to reanimate the ghosts of Lebanon's past. By using highly customized tools and working along the three tracks that traditionally guide UMAM D&R’s work – documentation, advocacy, and artistic expression – the project is attempting to situate refugeeism as a particularly Lebanese issue and stoke the ongoing debate in the country over the issue of asylum.

Since documentation reigns supreme among the tools used by UMAM D&R, "Most Welcome?" includes a documentation component that has augmented its online Memory At Work database. The project’s first feature publication, “Lebanon 2017/2018 – Fewer Refguees, More Refugeeism,” is being followed by the “Lebanese Asylum” series, which includes a publication for each year from 2011-2019, some of which are still in the production stage. The work of the project has little value if not viewed by a wider audience, thus an assortment of advocacy efforts have been and continue to be implemented. A diverse array of journalists, academics, authors, experts, civil society actors, and others have been brought together for meetings, workshops, and conferences. The project has also put out newsletters and open letters, the latter of which have been published in the press. Recognizing the power of creativity and artistic expression, the …And Lebanese exhibition was held in an effort to advance the project's work in a different way and connect with a new audience. Moreover, in 2018 and 2019, the project participated in the Karama Human Rights Festival.

While the project continues, so does the onslaught of xenophobic statements, discriminatory media coverage, and actions that contravene international law related to refugees and displaced people. In August 2019, the project spawned the Lebanese Initiative Against Racism and Discrimination in an attempt to induce greater collaboration and nimbly respond to the various sectors of society propagating intolerant positions. Lebanon's own dismal state of affairs – especially in the wake of the October 17 popular uprising – has served only to exasperate the plight of refugees in Lebanon through a bolstering of the climate of hostility that seeks to normalize intolerant behavior and harsh rhetoric.