An Uncertain Homecoming Views of Syrian Refugees in Jordan on Return, Justice, and Coexistence
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An Uncertain Homecoming Views of Syrian Refugees in Jordan on Return, Justice, and Coexistence INTERNATIONAL CENTER FOR TRANSITIONAL JUSTICE An Uncertain Homecoming Views of Syrian Refugees in Jordan on Return, Justice, and Coexistence RESEARCH REPORT Acknowledgments The International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ) acknowledges the support of the UK Department for International Development, which funded this research and publication. ICTJ and the authors of the report also gratefully acknowledge all of those who generously gave their time to be interviewed for this report and contributed their experiences and insights. About the Authors Cilina Nasser wrote sections V through XII of this report and led the development of the Introduction and Recommendations. Nasser is a Beirut-based independent researcher and expert on human rights who also works on transitional justice issues. She has worked extensively on investigating human rights abuses and violations of international humanitarian law, primarily in Syria, but also in other countries in the Middle East and North Africa region, such as Yemen, Libya, and Saudi Arabia. She was a researcher at Amnesty International focusing on countries in crisis and conflict from 2009 to 2015 and, before that, a journalist who covered major events in Lebanon. Zeina Jallad Charpentier wrote sections III, XIII, and XIV of this report. Jallad Charpentier is a legal consultant, researcher, and lecturer in law, whose work focuses on the intersection between international law, human rights law, social mobility, access to justice and resilience of disenfranchised populations, refugees, and impact litigation. She has worked in the United States, Tunisia, Morocco, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, and Turkey. She is a member of the Palestinian Bar Association and the New York City Bar Association, where she previously served as Secretary of the Committee on Middle East and North Africa. She is a J.S.D candidate at Columbia Law School. About ICTJ The International Center for Transitional Justice works across society and borders to challenge the causes and address the consequences of massive human rights violations. We affirm victims’ dignity, fight impunity, and promote responsive institutions in societies emerging from repressive rule or armed conflict as well as in established democracies where historical injustices or systemic abuse remain unresolved. ICTJ envisions a world where societies break the cycle of massive human rights violations and lay the foundations for peace, justice, and inclusion. For more information, visit www.ictj.org This material has been funded by UK aid from the UK government; however, the views expressed do not necessarily reflect the UK government’s official policies. The people who appear in the photographs throughout this publication neither were interviewed nor participated in any way in the research conducted for this study. ©2019 International Center for Transitional Justice. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without full attribution. I An Uncertain Homecoming Contents Executive Summary ............................................................................................................................. 1 I. Introduction ................................................................................................................................5 II. Methodology ...............................................................................................................................9 III. Refugee Situation in Jordan .......................................................................................................11 IV. Summary of Findings and Recommendations ...........................................................................13 Views on Return ...................................................................................................................................................13 Views on Justice ...................................................................................................................................................13 Views on Coexistence ........................................................................................................................................ 14 Views According to Age and Gender ...............................................................................................................15 Intersectional Vulnerabilities ............................................................................................................................ 16 Experiences in Jordan ........................................................................................................................................ 16 Recommendations ...............................................................................................................................................17 V. Refugees from Daraa: Bosra al-Sham ....................................................................................... 21 Sunni-Shi’a Hostilities ........................................................................................................................................ 22 Refugee Views on Sunni-Shi’a Relations ........................................................................................................ 23 Refugee Views on Return ..................................................................................................................................26 Refugee Views on Justice .................................................................................................................................. 27 Refugee Views on Coexistence ........................................................................................................................29 VI. Refugees from Daraa: Bosr al-Harir .......................................................................................... 32 Refugee Views on Return .................................................................................................................................. 32 Refugee Views on Justice .................................................................................................................................. 33 Refugee Views on Coexistence ........................................................................................................................ 33 VII. Refugees from Swayda ............................................................................................................. 35 Druze Concerns over Opposition Goals .......................................................................................................... 35 Refugee Views on Abductions .......................................................................................................................... 37 Refugee Views on Return .................................................................................................................................. 37 Refugee Views on Justice ..................................................................................................................................39 Refugee Views on Coexistence ....................................................................................................................... 40 VIII. Refugees from Homs ................................................................................................................42 Refugee Views on Return ................................................................................................................................. 44 Refugee Views on Justice ................................................................................................................................. 44 Refugee Views on Coexistence ........................................................................................................................45 IX. Children and Youth Refugees from Homs ............................................................................... 48 Children’s Accounts of Protests and Violence ...............................................................................................48 Children’s Views on Return and Resettlement ..............................................................................................50 Children’s Views on Justice ................................................................................................................................51 An Uncertain Homecoming II Children’s Views on Coexistence ......................................................................................................................51 X. Male Adult Refugees .................................................................................................................54 Detention, Torture, and Enforced Disappearance .........................................................................................54 Accounts of Detention, Torture, and Enforced Disappearance .................................................................. 55 Forced Conscription ...........................................................................................................................................56 Accounts of Forced Conscription ..................................................................................................................... 57 XI. Female Adult Refugees