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Living in the Shadows

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Living in the Shadows LIVING IN THE SHADOWS JORDAN HOME VISITS REPORT 2014 This report was principally authored by Frances Voon from the UNHCR Policy Development and Evaluation Service, with research assistance from Skandar Keynes. Thanks are due to the follow- ing people who provided support to the proj- ect: Haneen Abu-Sunbul, Rasha Batarseh, Hélène Daubelcour, Charlie Dunmore, Marta Ghezzi, Ghassan Hamad, Mohammad Hawari, Shadi Mhethawi, Marco Santacroce, Volker Schimmel, Ke Tang and Koen van Rossum. Thanks are due the outreach and assessment teams of International Relief and Development, who conducted the majority of the interviews which International Relief & Development underpin this report. UNHCR is grateful for the critical financial support provided by donors to its refugee response in Jordan as well as those who have contributed to UNHCR programmes with unearmarked and broadly earmarked funds. Donors who have contributed to the cash assistance programme in Jordan in 2014: Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection Cover: Rima1 looks out after her father as he leaves the house to sell coffee and tea in the streets. It is only through this work that he is able to pay the rent and keep a roof over his family’s heads. ©UNHCR / J. Kohler LIVING IN THE SHADOWS JORDAN HOME VISITS REPORT 2014 1 Names in this report have been changed to protect the identity of the refugees. CONTEXT “We are seeing Syrian refugees in Jordan having entered a downward spiral in terms of their ability to sustain themselves. We are concerned that this will deteriorate even further in 2015. We are all accountable for their protection and well-being.” – Andrew Harper, UNHCR Representative, Jordan “Life as a Syrian refugee in Jordan is like being in quick sand; whenever I move, I sink a little bit further.” – Mohammad, father of four children CONTEXT The Syrian crisis will soon be entering into its fifth year. The refugee crisis resulting from the conflict in Syria has been described as the “worst in modern history” by the High Commissioner for Refugees, António Guterres. Whereas 2011 and 2012 were marked by an incremental increase in refugee numbers, and 2013 by the largest sustained influx of Syrians into the Kingdom, 2014 has seen a stabi- lization in terms of the number of Syrian refugees in Jordan. At the same time, given the protracted nature of the crisis and the limited prospects for an imme- diate end of the conflict, time is not on the side of refugee families in Jordan. Many have used up or liquidated the few assets that they were able to bring along with them and their only way of surviving in Jordan is reliance on assistance or to work illegally. However, towards the end of 2014, cracks in this life-saving network of assistance have started to widen. With the required funding likely to become even more difficult to secure an increased level of poverty and subsequently vulnerability is to be expected. This report is based on findings from the first half of 2014 and will be seen in the months to come as a baseline against which drops in support and assistance are measured. Given the findings, it is undeniable that any downturn in sup- port will have immediate and very existential con- sequences of Syrians in Jordan. The bigger the drop in support, the more dramatic the fallout. 2015 will be a litmus test for the strength and lon- gevity of the support by all in the refugee response. Given the findings presented in this report, it is clear that a remotely dignified existence for Syrian refugees can only be guaranteed if the support is strong and lasting. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Israa, a Syrian refugee girl from Dar’a is warmed up under the coat of her father. ©UNHCR / B. Szandelszky EXECUTIVE SUMMARY It is increasingly recognised that the majority of erode with time, as the resources and hospitality the world’s refugees reside not in camps, but dis- of both refugees and host communities wear thin. persed amongst the community in the countries where they have sought asylum. This is the case for Cash assistance can be an effective tool for address- Syrian refugees in Jordan, of which 84% live out- ing refugees’ economic vulnerability. Evidence sug- side official refugee camps in urban and rural areas gests that UNHCR’s cash assistance programme has across the country.1 Understanding the needs, vul- improved the ability of refugee households to meet nerabilities and capacities of this dispersed refugee their basic needs, and reduced by 20% the number population is vital to ensuring their protection and of sampled beneficiaries below the programme’s access to services. poverty threshold.2 This report examines the situation of Syrian refu- Rent represents the largest proportion (57%) of gees living outside camps in Jordan, based on refugee households’ expenditure, followed by food data collected through UNHCR’s Home Visits pro- (24%) and utilities (8%). The majority of refugees gramme. Under this programme, interviews are (91%) live in rented accommodation. While most conducted with every refugee household regis- are living in apartments or cement houses, one in tering with UNHCR outside camps. This provides ten reside in informal housing, often in precarious an unparalleled source of information about the settings including tents, caravans, basements and situation of Syrian refugees in non-camp settings. rooftops. Almost half (47%) of refugee households In total, UNHCR and its partners have assessed over are in living conditions assessed as bad or urgent, 170,000 households throughout Jordan since the and two out of five live with poor sanitary con- project commenced in 2012. ditions. While 89% of households reported being connected to a piped water network and three Data for this report was collected from 41,976 quarters to a piped sewerage network, the pro- Syrian refugee households between January and portion is much lower amongst those in informal June 2014. Of these, the largest numbers live in shelters. Amman (33.6%), Irbid (28.4%), Mafraq (13.2%) and Zarqa (10.5%). The main governorates of origin of The majority of refugees have an asylum seeker visited households are Dar’a (37%), Homs (19%), certificate (99.2%) and a service card issued by the Rural Damascus (12%), Damascus (11%), Aleppo Ministry of Interior (95.4%), which, at the time of (10%) and Hama (6%). Female-headed households data collection, together entitled refugees to use represent one third of the refugee population. public services free of charge. Refugees’ access to both public health and education has increased The findings of this report indicate high levels of since 2013. Utilization of public healthcare by refu- economic vulnerability amongst Syrian refugees, gees has risen from 72% in 2013 to 77% in 2014, with two out of three living below the Jordanian while use of NGO health services fell from 20% to absolute poverty line of 68 JOD/person/month (96 16% and private health care remained around 8%. USD). Levels of poverty are higher amongst female- The proportion of Syrian school-aged children than male-headed households. Most families need enrolled in formal education increased from 44% to spend more than they earn in order to meet their in 2013 to 53% in 2014. Financial constraints and household needs, with average expenditure be- overcrowding in schools present barriers to educa- ing 1.6 times greater than income. Refugees must tion, and dropout continues to be a concern. While therefore resort to a range of coping strategies to efforts to strengthen refugees’ access to services survive. This includes selling jewelry or taking chil- should continue, the gains that have been made dren out of school, but most often means borrow- are a credit to the Government of Jordan’s policy to ing money or spending savings. Living with other date of providing free access to services for Syrian refugees and relying on help from family, friends refugees, and to the efforts of the international hu- and neighbours are also important sources of sup- manitarian community to strengthen and build the port. None of these coping strategies are sustain- capacity of public services, to the benefit of both able. Refugees appear to become more economi- refugees and local communities. cally vulnerable as their displacement is prolonged, with the risk that vital support networks will also 1 UNHCR Registration Database. 2 Improving Targeting and Welfare of the Syrian Refugees in Jordan, unpublished UNHCR-World Bank mimeo, April 2014. INTRODUINTRODUCTIONCTION POPUPOPULATIONLATION PPOOVVERTYERTY AND AND COPING STRATEGIES 1 PROFI2PROFILELE COPING3 STRATEGIES p. 13 Methodology p. 20 Population profile p. 28 Sources of income p. 21 Age and gender of heads of household p. 29 Poverty amongst Syrian households p. 22 Living together p. 33 Household budget p. 22 Living alone analysis p. 24 Arrival, registration and p. 41 Coping strategies documentation p. 44 Impact of UNHCR cash p. 24 Internal migration assistance on poverty Seedra, 6, and Nawaf, 2, asleep on floor mats in a former chicken barn in Mafraq, Jordan. After their family pay 175 JOD (247 USD) each month in rent, there is no money left to buy clothes, shoes and to furnish their room with anything other than a few mattresses, pillows and a modest carpet. ©UNHCR / J. Kohler LIVINGLIVING ACCESSACC TOESS TO CONCONCLUSIONCLUSION AND AND CONDITIONS SERVICES RECOMMENDATIONS CONDITIONS4 SER5VICES PLAN6 OF AcTION p. 50 Shelter p. 62 Health p. 73 Conclusion p. 55 Water p. 65 Education p. 75 Plan of Action p. 58 Sanitation Fatima, Syrian refugee woman from Homs, poses for a portrait in a rented flat in Northern Jordan, where she lives with her parents. © UNHCR / B. Szandelszky 1 - INTRODUCTION 1 - INTRODUCTION Jordan Home Visits Report 2014 - Living in the shadows INTRODUCTION 1 “Life is difficult but we hope that one day we’ll return to Syria.
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