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Jordan III

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Jordan III

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Jordan 1

Jordan 1

Jordan

Jordan currently hosts the third highest number of Syrian refugees of any nation bordering Syria, with UNHCR figures estimating the population at just over 600,000. Over 80,000 of those refugees live in the official city-like camp of Za’atari, in northern Jordan. The remaining refugees are spread among local communities in and around the capital, Amman, as well as in Syrian border towns in smaller official camps, makeshift camps, and in apartment / house dwellings.

The majority of those refugees registered with the UN arrived prior to 2014, with most arriving in 2013. The slowdown in Syrian resettlement correlates with reports that Jordan refused entry to Syrians during 2014 and 2015, sending refugees back into Syria. The government claims its open border policy remains unchanged.

Jordan II

Jordan II

Jordan has allowed Syrian refugees to live with relative freedom inside its borders. The cost of the refugee influx on the Jordanian economy has been steep. Government figures anticipate war costs to hit $4.2 billion by 2016, and the country has lost one of its most vital trading routes through Syria. Housing prices have skyrocketed in areas with large Syrian refugee populations, forcing many local Jordanians relocate. Unfortunately, Jordanian landlords frequently charge higher rental rates to their Syrian tenants (this is common in other countries as well).

Living conditions for many outside the camps appear adequate, spacious, and generally safer than conditions seen in Lebanon and Iraq. Many of the children interviewed for this project, although critical of Jordan culturally, and especially resentful of how Jordanian children treat them, enjoyed being able to go to school in safety and were grateful that they had enough to eat. However, interactions between local Jordanians and refugees were reported as almost universally hostile. Physical altercations between refugee children and local Jordanian children seemed commonplace. Refugee children claim the locals do not accept the Syrians into their communities.