Towards Durable and Inclusive Social Protection Policies for Syrian Refugees in Jordan (original) (raw)
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Vulnerability and integration in Jordan: Syrian refugees in their local environment
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The report examines the evolution of the Syrian refugees' legal status and living conditions in Jordan since their arrival in 2011/2011, considering the political and socioeconomic issues their integration poses for Jordan and for the Syrians as individuals and as a collective. The first section analyze the legal framework that has governed the modalities of integration of refugees (Syrians and non-Syrians) in Jordan in terms of opportunities and limitations this has imposed in terms of economic and social integration. The second section examines how vulnerability, in its various manifestations, has evolved since the beginning of humanitarian/ socioeconomic intervention on behalf of the Syrian refugees and their host communities in 2012. In doing so, it confronts related statistical data provided by the institutional actors according to standard indicators of vulnerability (poverty, coping strategies, access to public services, etc.) with the subjective "voices" of the assisted populations. The third section deals with the assistance policies engaged by Jordan and its international partners since the advent of the Jordan Compact in February 2016. Here we will highlight the challenge posed by the implementation of the “nexus”, namely the transit of humanitarian assistance programmes to a developmental assistance approach centered on employment within the context of the development policies launched by Jordan since the early 2000s. The fourth section puts forward recommendations aimed to thematically and operationally reposition the interventions of the Agence Française de Développement (AFD) in order to improve livelihoods and, beyond, Jordan’s stability.
Syrian Refugees in Jordan: Confronting Difficult Truths
Civil war in Syria has caused a refugee crisis in neighbouring Jordan, raising the latter's population by at least 8 per cent. For Jordanians, the highly visible presence of many thousands of refugees living in their midst -mostly in urban areas, rather than camps -has raised fears over competition for resources and opportunities.
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In a nutshell • Syrian refugees in Jordan are a very young population, disproportionately in female-headed households (23%), and living in host communities (87%) rather than official refugee camps. • Current food supports and work permit provisions are insufficient to ensure food and financial security among refugee households. • Despite provisions under the Jordan Compact to open work permits to refugees, refugees' participation in Jordan's labor force remains very limited. • Investments in the human capital of this very young population are essential; school enrollment is often late and drop-out occurs early. • Although most refugees are able to access healthcare, they are vulnerable to financial hardship in the case of illness due to a lack of health insurance (75% without insurance). • The initial humanitarian response to the refugee influx must shift to a developmental response to protect this vulnerable population and invest in the human capital that will allow them to contribute to the Jordanian economy and society, as well as the possible future reconstruction of Syria. ERF Policy Brief No. 34 | May 2018
Syrian Refugees in Jordan: a Reality Check
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As of February 2015, over 622,000 Syrians had registered with UNHCR in Jordan. The protracted nature of the Syrian crisis has been dramatic: both the Syrian refugees themselves and the host communities in Jordan are paying a high price. Further political and economic deterioration may follow as the number of refugees is simply too great for Jordan to deal with. The EU and its member states have been actively involved in responding to the Syrian crisis both in political and humanitarian terms. The European approach has primarily consisted in providing support to the countries bordering Syria, in order to contain the crisis within the Middle East. However, as of 2014 and early 2015, worrying changes in the Jordanian Government’s attitude towards Syrian refugees show how such an approach is becoming unsustainable.
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Refugee response planners no longer frame Syrian refugees merely as objects of humanitarian care. Increasingly they are portrayed as enterprising subjects, whose formal integration into labor markets simultaneously can create self-sufficient actors and cure the economic woes of host countries. However, bringing together humanitarian and economic agendas is not an easy task. This article analyzes the contradictions and frictions that have emerged in the process of implementing the Jordan Compact, a political commitment to integrate Syrian refugees into the formal Jordanian labor market, and which is supposed to showcase such win-win strategies. It argues that the Jordan Compact should be seen as a policy model that has achieved enough consensus and incorporated enough disparate objectives to be labelled a ‘policy success.’ Yet, central actors have neglected core features of Jordan’s political economy and labor market, and/or the lives and survival strategies of refugees, such that their radical blueprints of transformation have been disrupted. Despite the widespread commitment to the scheme, it is thus unlikely that the Jordan Compact will both reinvigorate the Jordanian economy and offer Syrians the prospect of a dignified, self-sufficient life, an important lesson for comparable schemes being rolled out across the globe.
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The Iraqi refugee population in Jordan has become a sustained humanitarian emergency, and Jordan must take new action to respond. The inability of Jordan to address the needs of Iraqi refugees causes not only the suffering of those refugees, but also that of the larger native populations, as needy Iraqis depend upon Jordan’s already strained resources. In addition, non-governmental organizations cannot keep up with Iraqi refugee needs due to funding restrictions. Moreover, the UNHCR and other aid agencies may not be suited to performing the task of addressing the Iraqi refugee crisis as a majority of this response relates to humanitarian aid, not addressing the political roots of the problem. There are also fundamental statistical issues relating to Iraqi refugees in Jordan. Numerical discrepancies and political connections make it difficult to determine whether the currently purported number of 450,000 Iraqi refugees in Jordan is accurate. The clear benefits Jordan receives from aid might give rise to suspicions of inflated reported numbers of Iraqi refugees. Also, reports make contrary claims about the average social level of Iraqi refugees, making it difficult to determine what type of aid is needed. Jordan should alter internal policy regarding Iraqi refugees to initiate a political solution for the crisis. It must also carry out up-to-date surveys of the numbers and needs of Iraqi refugees to address the significant gaps in current data, and additionally should push for increased social integration of Iraqis within society.
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Journal of Ethnic & Cultural Diversity in Social Work, 2020
Employment is a key issue for refugees, host states, and local communities, whose interests in this area often diverge. Based on an ethnographic qualitative study among Syrian refugees and Jordanian citizens, this research sheds much-needed light on the dynamics of employment of refugees in Jordan. Research findings demonstrate how Syrian refugees work in both the formal and informal sectors of the labor market with an emphasis on legal precarity, job insecurity, poor working conditions, and workplace discrimination. Refugee women face additional challenges due to gender roles and cultural sensitivities. Employment also brings opportunities to refugees with regards to access to sustainable livelihoods, self-sufficiency, socialization, and regaining of the sense of dignity. Growing Syrian refugee employment in Jordan makes an urgent need for social workers to focus their efforts on addressing workrelated problems and making advancements benefiting refugees, host communities, and policymakers.
Syrian Refugees in Jordan and Lebanon: between Refuge and Ongoing Deprivation? Sept 2016
Jordan and Lebanon have both generously received refugees from Syria since the outbreak of the crisis in 2011. Of all neighbouring countries they host the largest number of Syrian refugees relative to their overall populations. Yet after years of relative openness new regulations have made entry and movement more difficult while making lives more precarious. Syrian refugees have also been severely affected by funding shortages in the global humanitarian response. The resulting squeeze has led to an increasing sense of despair and many have attempted to leave both countries. The situation, however, is arguably worse in Lebanon than it is in Jordan. Syrian refugees in Jordan have experienced glimpses of hope since the February 2016 donors conference, which promised to facilitate their access to the labour market. This article introduces some parallels, as well as notable differences in the way the Syrian refugee crisis has evolved in both countries, particularly over the course of 2015-6.