Research Notes

Number 13 — April 2007 RESEARCH NOTES T H E W A S H I N GTO N In S T I T U T E F O R N E A R E A S T P O L I C Y Iraqi Refugees in Jordan: Cause for Concern in a Pivotal State By Nathan Hodson f the 2 million Iraqi refugees, it is estimated these Iraqis were middle class, including doctors, intel- that at least 700,000 are in Jordan, an enor- lectuals, and teachers. Between 250,000 and 00,000 O mous figure for a country of less than 6 were thought to have been already living in Jordan at million. Officials from the Jordanian Ministry of the the start of the 200 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. This Interior put the number around 500,000 but point figure is typically included in estimates of Iraqis cur- out that it can fluctuate in either direction because rently residing in Jordan, many of whom are not tra- of the large number of Iraqis who move in and out ditional refugees but long-term residents who had of Iraq conducting business. Aid officials, however, remained in Jordan to work, often doing business in give estimates as high as 1 million. Most Iraqis in Iraq. The 1991 Gulf War initially sent between 1 mil- Jordan live in urban centers rather than in rural areas lion and 2 million Iraqi refugees into Jordan, largely in or refugee camps, but despite having been moder- response to Saddam’s brutal repression of Iraqi Shiites ately integrated into Jordanian society, their lives are and Kurds. Throughout the 1990s and into the early diverse and increasingly complicated. For Jordan, years of this decade, many were resettled in Iraq and their arrival has magnified internal security concerns, other Arab countries, but a large number claimed asy- strained social services, and aggravated economic and lum and settled in Europe, Australia, and Canada. environmental problems. In addition to Iraqis who fled Iraq in the wake of the Gulf War, about 60,000 Jordanian citizens— Background Jordan has received two primary waves of Iraqi refu- 5. Hassan M. Fattah, “Uneasy Exiles Await Those Who Flee the gees; the first arrived after the 1991G ulf War. Many of Chaos in Iraq,” New York Times, December 8, 2006, p. A18; Géral- dine Chatelard, “Jordan as a Transit Country: Semi-Protectionist Immigration Policies and Their Effects on Iraqi Forced Migrants,” 1. Michael Gabaudan (regional representative for the U.S. and UNHCR Working Paper no. 61, Robert Schuman Centre for Caribbean Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Advanced Studies, European University Institute, Florence, Italy, Refugees), testimony before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, August 2002, p. (available online at www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/ hearing on “The Plight of Iraqi Refugees,” January 16, 2007 (avail- vtx/research/opendoc.pdf?tbl=RESEARCH&id=d57aa757). able online at judiciary.senate.gov/testimony.cfm?id=2470&wit_ 6. Human Rights Watch, “Iraqi Refugees, Asylum Seekers, and Dis- id=5994); U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI), placed Persons: Current Conditions and Concerns in the Event of World Refugee Survey 2006, “Jordan” (Washington, D.C.: USCRI) War,” Human Rights Watch Briefing Paper,F ebruary 1, 200, p. 15 (available online at www.refugees.org). (available online at www.hrw.org/backgrounder/mena/iraq02120/ 2. “The Silent Treatment: Fleeing Iraq, Surviving in Jordan,” Human index.htm); U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants, World Rights Watch 18, no. 10(E) (November 2006), p. 19. Available online Refugee Survey 2003, “Jordan”; James Drummond, Nicolas Pelham (www.hrw.org/reports/2006/jordan1106). and Heba Saleh, “Shock and Anger across Region,” Financial . Sudarsan Raghavan, “War in Iraq Propelling a Massive Migration; Times (London), April 11, 200, p. 4. Wave Creates Tension across the Middle East,” Washington Post, 7. Julian Borger, “Iraq Crisis: Amman Faces Rising Anger,” Guardian February 4, 2007, p. A1. (London), February 1, 1998, p. 12; John Donnelly, “Jordan’s Crown 4. Bill Frelick, director of refugee policy at Human Rights Watch, Prince Criticizes U.S. for Lack of Communication with Saddam,” e-mail correspondence with author, February 26, 2007; “Patience Knight Ridder Washington Bureau, February 10, 1998; Chatelard, with Iraqi Refugees Running Thin,” Agence France-Presse, Febru- “Jordan as a Transit Country,” p. ary 19, 2007. 8. Chatelard, “Jordan as a Transit Country,” p. Nathan Hodson is a research assistant at The Washington Institute, working under the supervision of Dr. Robert Satloff. In 2005–2006, he studied in Jordan as a Fulbright fellow. The opinions expressed in this report are his own and not necessarily those of the Institute, its Board of Trustees, or its Board of Advisors. RESEA RCH NOTES #13 mostly Palestinians who had been living in Kuwait, grew worse and poorer Iraqis began to stream into Iraq, and other Gulf countries—were involuntarily Jordan, rising prices began to be an issue not only for returned to Jordan. Their emigration was, in part, tied poor Jordanians but also for Iraqis who were unable to the war itself, but it was also the result of persecu- to sustain themselves in Jordan. tion, insecurity, and the enforcement of new residence Many of Iraq’s political and business elite have regulations in Kuwait. About 60,000 of those who found sanctuary in Jordan. Al-Sabil, a Jordanian left moved on to the West Bank, immigrated to third Islamic weekly, reported in January 2007 that Amman countries, or went to work elsewhere in the Gulf, leav- has become home to a number of political and party ing approximately 00,000 who settled permanently leaders, parliamentarians, tribal leaders, and even cur- in Jordan. Although evidence exists that the arrival of rent ministers in Maliki’s government.15 According a large number of skilled professionals and an inflow to this report, the first president of the republic after of financial resources may have had a net positive Saddam, Ghazi Ajil al-Yawar, settled in Amman after effect on the Jordanian economy, these Palestinian leaving Iraq. Ayad Allawi, the head of the interim returnees also created economic and social problems. government and leader of the Iraqi National Accord Heavy burdens were placed on water resources, and party, spends a great deal of time in Amman, where demand for educational, health, and other social he holds meetings and runs his business and the party. services greatly increased.0 The unemployment rate Amman has also become home to Sheikh Harith al- also rose, which helped fuel resentment toward the Dhari, president of the Muslim Scholars Association, newcomers.11 Along with Jordan’s economic troubles and Sheikh Adman al-Dulaymi, former head of the of the late 1980s, the mass arrival led to a decline in Sunni Endowment. The current Iraqi interior minis- living standards among the poorer sectors of society. ter, Jawad al-Bulani, has frequented Amman since he Even though the majority of the Palestinians had purchased a villa there and transferred his family to lived in the Gulf for more than a decade, they were the city. Two of Saddam Hussein’s daughters, Rana still Jordanian citizens with rights and status not and Raghad, also settled in Jordan and used the coun- afforded Iraqis. try as a base to organize their father’s defense team. After the American invasion of Iraq in March In the immediate aftermath of the invasion, con- 200, the demographics of those fleeing Iraq for Jor- trary to initial expectations, Iraqis left Iraq at no more dan were similar to those of the first wave. They were than a trickle. Nevertheless, media attention focused businessmen and former government officials who on several thousand ethnic and religious minorities brought with them billions of dollars in investments. who were stuck in three camps near the Jordanian This influx of cash helped boost the Jordanian econ- border and in a “no-man’s land” between Jordan and omy, but it also fueled inflation and shortages, which Iraq.17 Those carrying Palestinian documents in addi- aggravated existing inequalities.14 As violence in Iraq tion to a number of Kurds, Iranians, and Sudanese found themselves with nowhere to go. Many of those 9. Nicholas van Hear, “The Impact of the Involuntary Mass ‘Return’ refugees have been resettled, but a group of Iranian to Jordan in the Wake of the Gulf Crisis,” International Migration Kurds is still trapped between Jordan and Iraq and, as Review 29, no. 2 (Summer 1995), p. 52. 10. Ibid., p. 65. of January 2007, 119 were living in the al-Ruweished 11. Ibid., p. 65. camp about fifty kilometers from the Iraqi border.18 12. Ibid., p. 57. 1. Jay Solomon, “Trouble Next Door: In Jordan, Bombs Highlight Changes Wrought by War; Influx ofI raqis and Their Wealth Bring 15. “Jordan Report Says Iraqi Elite Flee to Amman as ‘Safe Haven,’” Growth and Tension to a Key American Ally; Worries at the Tex- BBC Monitoring Middle East, Al-Sabil (Amman), January 22, tile Plant,” Wall Street Journal, November 10, 2005, p. A1; Sultan 2007. Hattab, “The Iraqis in Jordan: What Kind of Addition?” Al-Rai 16. Solomon, “Trouble Next Door.” (Amman), in Arabic, February 24, 2007, translated by Mideastwire; 17. For more information, see “Jordan” in the 2004 and 2005 editions Thanassis Cambanis, “Exodus from Iraq Unsettles Mideast Neigh- of U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants, World Refugee bor States Fear Instability,” Boston Globe, December , 2006, p. A1; Survey. Fattah, “Uneasy Exiles.” 18. “Iraq-Jordan: UNHCR Upbeat about Future of Ruweished 14. Solomon, “Trouble Next Door.” Refugees,” IRIN, January 10, 2007 (available online at www.irin- 2 www.washingtoninstitute.org Iraqi Refugees in Jordan However, these groups are a fraction of those fleeing resettled and that individuals recognized as refugees Iraq, who are found overwhelmingly in urban centers.

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