‘Just getting by’: Ex-Gazans in Jerash and other refugee camps in Jordan (original) (raw)
Related papers
On the Margins: Migration and Living Conditions of Palestinian Camp Refugees in Jordan
“On the Margins” takes a closer look at the living conditions of the Palestinian camp population of Jordan and presents statistics on a number of topics central to their welfare, such as population and migration, housing, education, health, work, and income. The analysis is based on survey data obtained from interviews of about 3,000 refugee families. Moreover, the report is supplemented by insights from focus group meetings in two of the camps. One of the main findings of the report is that income poverty is more widespread in the refugee camps than outside. Efforts have been made to investigate the causes of this situation. Particular attention is paid to the effect of migration. “On the Margins” also looks at the camp residents’ human resources and labour force participation. It demonstrates that higher education increases workforce participation but that many young, well-educated women are unemployed; that higher education has only a moderate effect on earnings; that camp refugees overwhelmingly work in the private sector; and that they are quite entrepreneurial. The overall conclusion is that there is little reason to believe that camp refugees will ever catch up with the average Jordanian because of selective migration processes. Furthermore, the employed segment of the population tends to be involved in low-paid, low-skilled occupations.
Aiming to present data that will inform policies in relation to Jordan’s Palestinian refugee population, this report analyses the living conditions of Palestinian refugees residing both outside and inside Palestinian refugee camps. The report contrasts the circumstances across camps and governorates, and examines how the living conditions of Palestinian refugees have evolved since the 1990s. After presenting key demographic features, the ensuing chapters each concentrate on one crucial aspect of living conditions: housing conditions, health and health services, education and education services, employment, and household income and poverty.
The socio-economic conditions of Jordan’s Palestinian camp refugees
This report summarizes findings of two household surveys examining the living conditions of the Palestinian refugee-camp population in Jordan 2011, and examines how the living conditions have evolved since the late 1990s. It finds that people’s overall situation has improved, but that there are significant differences across camps and socio-economic groups, on many indicators.
Minoritizing Gaza Refugees in Jordan (preview)
Minorities: Ethnic, Religious and Political groups in (Trans)Jordan 1921-2016. (Eds.) Oahes, Idir and Paolo Maggiolini. Palgrave Press., 2021
Since 1967, Palestinian refugees displaced from the Gaza Strip have been stateless refugees in Jordan. Unable to access Jordanian citizenship or return to Palestine, they exist as a marginal community limited by various political, economic, and social exclusions. These exclusionary policies have resulted in widespread poverty, political disenfranchisement, economic precarity, and social stigmatization for a population of about 150,000. In this chapter, I take the situation of stateless Palestinians in Jordan as an occasion for rethinking the status of long-term refugees as minorities. My essay will challenge the tendency to treat refugees as an exceptional community within nation states. Instead, I will suggest that non-national status among refugee communities in a protracted refugee situation can result in particular forms of minoritization. By minoritization, I mean (1) a consciousness of oneself and one’s community as both belonging to yet different from a larger society and (2) a position within the social world that is structured by processes of inclusion and exclusion. Although I will argue that the broader Palestinian population in Jordan constitutes a minority community, I will show how the specific situation of the Gaza refugees reflects a dual minority status, that is, as Palestinians vis-à-vis Jordanians and as Gazans vis-à-vis Palestinians. Of specific interest to my analysis is the relationship between particular axes of social inclusion/exclusion including citizenship/statelessness, ethnicity/nationalism, city/refugee camp, and gender.
Population Studies: A Journal of Demography, 2018
This study investigates the effects of displacement on the socio-economic status of second-generation Palestinian internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Israel. The results show that members of this group do not differ from non-displaced Palestinians in their educational or occupational attainment, but that displaced households experience higher rates of poverty and poorer housing conditions than non-displaced households. I find that the relationship between displacement and the prime indicators of social mobility—education and jobs—was weakened by three factors: extreme spatial segregation between Palestinians and Jews, the concentration of disadvantage among Palestinian IDPs within the host communities, which were Palestinian spaces, and a high level of dependence on resources concentrated in Jewish spaces among all Palestinians, not just IDPs. These three conditions, however, do not eliminate gaps in assets and land ownership between IDPs and non-displaced Palestinians, which, I argue, contribute to higher poverty rates among displaced households.
Journal of Refugee Studies, 2021
Today, about 470,000 Palestinian refugees are registered with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East in Lebanon, with 45 per cent of them living in the 12 official Palestinian refugee camps. Previous research identified several socio-economic problems facing the Palestinian refugees in Lebanon. The refugee camps have generally been very poor and relatively dangerous places to live. Moreover, all the Palestinian camps suffer from overcrowding, unemployment, poor housing conditions, inadequate infrastructure, as well as a lack of access to justice. Although previous research has identified several difficulties with living in a Palestinian refugee camp, this study takes a fresh look at life in the largest camp in Lebanon—Ein El Hilweh. In addition to identifying such problems and difficulties, it also explores the various strategies adopted by Palestinian refugees to handle them. While acknowledging that not all problems can be resolved, thes...