Ruell Domaoal is a PhD candidate in the Centre for Arabic and Islamic Studies (CAIS) at the Australian National University (ANU). His current research involves tracing and analysing the socio-cultural effects of the 2023 Syria-Türkiye earthquakes for the people of Antakya, Türkiye. 

In particular, Ruell is investigating how the different ethno-religious groups in Antakya have remembered the earthquakes. This case study will serve to contribute to current paradigms in collective memory studies and cultural studies, since such earthquake memories are diachronic and politico-spatially mediated. Put simply, Antakya is neither homogenous nor a single collective, but consists of competing histories across its people groups, which means memory formation itself is a dynamic, polyvalent process.

Ruell has extensive experience in hearing and understanding the voices of marginalized peoples and groups. He has worked for several years in Canberra as a disability support worker. Since the 2023 earthquakes, he has frequently visited Antakya to help in aid and community projects. He has also visited Ukraine, Iraq, and Syria to participate in various small-scale aid initiatives relating to refugees and displaced people.