Alexandra Tamayo
GLBL 100
15 December 2017
Final Paper
Jordan’s Refugee Crisis
The Syrian refugee crisis has worsened widespread political, economic, and social challenges in Jordan. As of December 5th, 2017, Jordan has now 655,558 Syrian refugees registered with the United Nations Refugee Agency, but hosts an estimated 1.3 million Syrians in total (UNHCR Syria Regional Refugee Response). The crisis began as part of the Arab Spring uprisings against Middle East dictators in 2011. Violence resulted after a group of boys took part in political graffiti, starting the anti-government protests. Soon after, the protests escalated and the government brought in armed forces to fight back. By 2012, the revolt turned into a full-blown war causing Syrians to struggle for survival in Syria or to flee their country and disperse into neighboring ones to create a new home for themselves. Turkey is now hosting the largest number of refugees at 1.9 million, with Lebanon and Jordan in the following (CNN).
The influx of Syrian refugees has had critical effects on Jordan’s economy, more specifically on government funds, increased prices on basic necessities, and unemployment. According to the World Bank, the cost of hosting these refugees is over $2.5 billion a year, which is estimated to be around 6 percent of Jordan’s GDP, being 38.65 billion USD as of 2016. The crisis has brought much attention to the human rights concerns as well. The conditions in which Syrian refugees are being forced to leave their country are brutal and unjust. Also, because of the vast number of refugees, it is causing strain on Jordan’s public services which does not do much help to the people of Jordan and even less to the Syrian refugees. Although the issue seems to be affecting mainly the lives of people in the middle east, the country’s dependence on international support makes this crisis a global problem. Without help from neighboring countries and those outside of the middle east region, there will be dire economic and political challenges affecting Jordan and the bordering countries, essentially leaving Jordan to close their borders on Syrians and forcing them to look elsewhere for asylum. No country can manage this refugee issue on their own, there is a vital need for global cooperation.
To further explain the economic stress in Jordan and how it relates to the Wealth and Poverty module, it should be recognized that the country was experiencing negative economic conditions prior to the arrival of Syrian refugees. If anything, their arrival benefits Jordan with an increase in new jobs and foreign aid. The preexisting economic instability was caused by the global financial crisis of 2008, followed by the Arab uprisings that started a downfall through “declining global commodity prices, restricted exports, and reduced remittances” (Francis). As a result, Jordan’s gross domestic product, in regard to foreign direct investment, went down from 15.8 percent in 2005 to 6.4 percent in 2010, clearly showing a struggle before the arrival of Syrians in 2011 (Human Development Reports). The fact that both the economic crisis and refugee crisis rose to their most critical points almost simultaneously, gives way to the idea that the influx of migrants was the primary reason for the country’s regional instability. This is the impression that most articles based on the Jordanian economy give based on conversations with Jordan natives, but really, this economic crisis was already underway. Nonetheless, their arrival more so revealed Jordan’s preceding and continuing negative economic developments in three evident ways; unemployment, strains on government funds and a lack of basic necessities.
According to the Human Development Reports from the United Nations Development Programme, the percentage of the population that is unemployed grew from 12.5 in 2010 to 12.8 in 2015 (Human Development Reports). This contradicts the many claims made by Jordanians that Syrians have been taking jobs from them. The unemployment rate rose but only by .2 percent. It is more likely that the preexisting economic issues Jordan had are responsible for this increase. Also, Syrians cannot legally work there, so they must have been hired for informal jobs, making it even less likely for them to have been the reason for this unemployment rate. However, after discussing the issue with a Jordan native, Naemh Rawajih, she states that the Syrian refugees “have influenced the quantity of available jobs for the Jordanian youth because they accept the job at very low salaries. Jordanian youth became unemployed compared to the Syrians who are spread throughout the region with various types of jobs from restaurants, to shopping centers, cafes and gas stations”. In addition, according to Alexandra Francis, “in 2004, over 50 percent of Jordan’s population was under fifteen years old. Given the youth bulge, Jordan would have had to sustain a growth rate of 7 percent to 8 percent just to keep the unemployment rate constant” (Francis). Therefore, the working age population is what seems to have affected this change of unemployment for Jordanian people and has triggered competition for jobs.
Aside from the safety of being in a different country and away from the ongoing war, Syrian refugees have had the opportunity to receive food, water, and urgent medical care among other assistance through the help of foreign aid. However, “public debt has risen by a staggering 82.8 percent to exceed USD 34.5 billion in 2016 (92.9 percent of GDP) and foreign direct investment experienced an accelerated decrease, declining by a rate of 42.6 percent during the period 2011-2016” (Jordan Response Platform for the Syria Crisis). This decrease in foreign direct investment is taking a toll on Jordan’s economic growth. Globalization offers developing countries the opportunity to achieve faster economic growth precisely through trade and investment. If these numbers continue to decrease, the strain on Jordan’s government funds will stretch even further with them having to carry out direct costs and an average of US$3.1-3.5 billion per year from the indirect costs of the Syrian refugee crisis (Jordan Response Platform for the Syria Crisis). There has been an overwhelming response of support from foreign countries, but unfortunately, the amount of aid being given now is not enough to keep up with the needs and requirements for hosting the refugees in Jordan.
The resources in Jordan are being threatened with the influx of Syrian refugees. The most scarce of them all is water. With the rapid growth of the refugee population, the amount of water needed a day per person to satisfy basic needs is 80 liters, but it has fallen below 30 liters where the largest concentration of refugees is (Francis). Due to this scarcity, the competition over water amongst Jordanians and Syrians has brought fear to the citizens that whatever resources aren’t used will go straight to the Syrian refugees. And to make matters worse, the Syrian refugees are mainly sheltered in the driest regions where achieving the national standards of water is a priority. From 3,600 cubic meters of water per person in 1946, it has dropped to 145 cubic meters per person as of 2008 (Francis). Without improving old infrastructure, there is a slim chance of improving the water supply system that has affected the cubic meters of freshwater per person.
Although I have listed many of the negatives that the Syrian refugees bring to Jordan’s economy, there are positive impacts and opportunities that they bring too. Naemh Rawajih stated, “in terms of sources of income, Syrian refugees work hard in the professions that they were doing at home. For assistance, they receive a card at the beginning of every month with a certain amount for the family to shop from only specific shopping centers, they also provide assistance to others with personal commitments in general.” She is expressing the hard work and thrive to do better that these Syrian refugees are portraying in her country. They came in need of help, not to worsen the country’s social, political or economic issues. Syrian refugees have helped the communities they now live in by assuming the jobs they would’ve had back in Syria. They could have filled the jobs that some Jordanians were not qualified to partake in, bettering the economy and work force in Jordan. The public may have any opinion on this crisis because it can affect everyone in different ways, but when you look at the numbers on the Human Development Reports site, compared to what journalists have gotten from Jordanian citizens, not a lot of it will add up. The crisis is complex and still very much ongoing, it is important to take into consideration every aspect of the issue and look at it from a collective point of view.
The human rights aspect of the Syrian refugee crisis has highlighted the economic stress Jordan has experienced and vice versa. According to the Human Rights Watch, “Jordanian officials stated that the country did not receive enough international financial assistance in 2016 to cope with the effects of the refugee crises on its public infrastructure, especially in the areas of public education and health” (Human Rights Watch, “Jordan”). Regarding public education, overpopulated host communities are going to experience overcrowded classes, shorter class times and an increase in tension. One third of Syrian children are not attending school due to a lack of space and not enough money for books or transportation (ReliefWeb). The economic adversities are affecting the human right of education for these Syrian children and children of the host communities. Healthcare in the host communities was structured and heavily supported for the incoming refugees towards the beginning of the crisis, however, the number of Syrians that continue to seek asylum is threatening the viability of these healthcare facilities. As of November 2014, “the government repealed free medical services for Syrian refugees, citing an overburdened health sector and budget” (Francis). Here, we can make the connection that the government funds are crucial to the healthcare system. Without proper regulation of the government budget, Syrian refugees will face having to assume the responsibility of paying for healthcare.
What heightens this problem and causes more fear for the Syrian refugees is the under expressed refugee policy that essentially gives Jordan no international obligation to take in refugees. If the circumstances worsen, for the sake of the country’s stability, I would assume they would start to close their borders on any incoming refugees or perhaps send some away. These are families that have made their home after 7 years of being settled there. It would be against the international standards of refugee treatment under the united nations human rights to turn away those seeking asylum from persecution in their own country. Unfortunately, it seems that the deportations of Syrian refugees have already started. According to an article on the Human Rights Watch site, “I have no idea why they sent us back”, Jordanian officials started to deport about 400 registered refugees in the first 5 months of 2017. Also, mentioned in this article is the “voluntary return after the head of household has been deported,” which matches with what Naemh Rawajih mentioned about refugees returning to Syria. She expressed that she “thinks the war is going to end shortly and no more refugees will travel to Jordan, some of them have started to go back to Syria. [She] hope[s] that this situation occurs, but if not, [she] think[s] the king will keep helping Syrians, just as he did with the Iraqi people in the past.” This does not necessarily match what has been expressed on the news however. Among those Human Rights Watch interviewed, “Rouqiya” shared her story of deportation.
“They deported all of us back to Syria. Me, my husband, and my three kids. They never gave us a reason. And when we asked them, ‘Where are you taking us?’ they didn’t even tell us they were taking us back to Syria. They told us not to worry and that we won’t be returned, we will only be asked some questions. Then we found ourselves in the Naseeb checkpoint in Syria. Until this very day we don’t know the reason behind our deportation.” (Human Rights Watch)
It may be that most citizens of Jordan are blind to what is really happening to the refugees, or they may not care since most news articles claim Jordanians blame the economic struggles on the influx of Syrian refugees. Either way, this story proves violation of their human rights.
In response to the crisis and the many aspects of the Jordanian economic, political and social issues, the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation has provided the “Jordan Response Platform for the Syria Crisis,” which contains an overview of the crisis, along with strategic, development responses to the crisis. The international support to Jordan consisted of many outside countries providing foreign aid, and resettlements. The United States has given the most amount of aid at more than $574 million (31% of total aid donated) to the refugee crisis (Martinez). What is most frustrating, in my opinion, is that most high-income countries are giving absolutely nothing. According to a CNN article, “Syrian refugees: Which countries welcome them, which ones don’t,” countries such as Russia, Japan, Singapore and South Korea have offered zero resettlements. This global crisis has not gained the attention and concern of some of the most capable countries to help. If they were to take on some responsibility, the middle east would not be in the economic and political distress that it is in. The aid given was enough for the first few years of the crisis, but it will not be sufficient to sustain the number of refugees in Jordan anymore.
This crisis is solvable. We need the cooperation of many more countries especially the wealthiest. But even then, there are various ways to create a safe haven for the refugees still seeking asylum. Three of which I found exceptionally promising; Offer work visas or employment, offer resettlement, and sponsor refugees. Granting people asylum is a human right declared by the United Nations, so this is clearly the first step before any of these other ideas can be used. Offering work will provide them with a strong foundation to build their life around. Resettlement will give the opportunity for refugees to evade torturous situations, but only 30 countries currently offer this. If every country were to take some part in helping the refugee crisis, this can be possible. It is unbelievable that Jordan, being under the economic circumstances it was already undergoing before the crisis, out of all the wealthiest countries, could take in the third largest number of Syrian refugees in a country. Sponsoring refugees has already occurred in the UK, Australia and Ireland. Sponsoring allows for non-profit organizations to raise money for refugees to travel into their country for asylum. This does not require the use of government funds, which should make the governments of other countries more prone to accepting the arrival of refugees. These ideas, among many more, were presented by people worldwide on the Amnesty International site (Ways to Welcome). This is just another way of creating more awareness of the issue and promoting the importance of global networking to resolve a global crisis.
Millions have been killed or have fled their homes because of one of the most tragic humanitarian crisis of our time. Since 2011, Jordan and the international community underwent drastic changes to support the displaced Syrian population. The most pressing request amongst the middle east region, is a continuing flow of international aid and willingness to provide protection space for refugees fleeing Syria. The decision Jordan made to cut back on the space provided for refugees must not have been an easy one, but was necessary for the sake of their country’s stability. As the support from regular donors continues to pour in, it is encouraged that other countries open their borders and provide aid to asylum seekers fleeing the civil war in Syria in hopes of solving this global crisis.