DOI 10.2870/821248 ISBN 978-92-9084-236-1 ISSN 2363-3441 February 2015 2015/02 Syrian Refugees in Jordan: a Reality Check Luigi Achilli, Migration Policy Centre, EUI Abstract 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 BRIEF 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. POLICY Key Words: Syrian crisis, Jordan, Europe, Humanitarian Organisations, Protection, Resettlement. migrationpolicycentre.eu Introduction The protracted nature of the Syrian crisis and its “Syria has become the great tragedy of this century”, negative, real or perceived, impact on the living says UN High Commissioner for Refugees, António conditions of Jordanians has meant that Jorda- Guterres, “a disgraceful humanitarian calamity with nians, who, at first, welcomed refugees, have become suffering and displacement unparalleled in recent hostile: those who were originally dyuf (guests) are history.” Since the outbreak of the conflict in Syria, now laji’in (refugees). The belief that refugees are it is estimated that almost 4 million people have fled thriving on scarce local resources is widespread seeking refuge in neighbouring countries: Lebanon, amongst an increasingly resentful host community. Iraq, Turkey and Jordan1. The job market constitutes a clear point of friction. Principally due to prohibitive costs and adminis- As of February 2015, over 622,000 Syrians had regis- trative obstacles, work permits for Syrians are not tered with UNHCR in Jordan2. The large influx of being issued. Non-Jordanians with legal residency refugees over almost five years has had a serious and valid passports can obtain work permits only if impact on what were already meagre national the prospective employer pays a fee and shows that resources. According to the Jordanian Economic the job requires experience or skills not to be found and Social Council, the Syrian crisis cost the country among the Jordanian population. A recent UNHCR US$1.2 billion, and the financial burden is expected survey reports that only 1% of visited refugee house- to rise to $4.2 billion by 20163. Jordan’s international holds had a member with a work permit in Jordan6. trade has been gravely affected by the loss of one of the However, despite the official restrictions on working, principal points of access to regional trade through many refugees work informally. Jordanians often Syria. A recent study reveals that the Syrian crisis perceive Syrians as competitors for jobs7. This has has had a particular negative impact on Jordanian sparked protests and tensions between refugees and structural vulnerabilities. The influx of refugees has host communities. increased intolerably the demand on school, sanita- tion, housing, food, energy and water. In particular, the arrival of Syrian refugees seems to have had a negative impact on Jordan’s housing sector. Rent prices have tripled or even quadrupled in border zones and other areas of high refugee density. As the majority of Syrians do not live in camps, this rise can be explained by the sharp increase in demand for housing and by refugees’ capacity to afford higher prices by sharing housing with others to bring down costs4. It should be noted, however, that while rents continue to increase for both Jordanians and Syrians, the former tend to pay higher sums than Jordanian households5. 3Al-Kilani, K. 2014. A duty and a burden on Jordan, Forced Migration Review, 47, September, http://www.fmreview.org/ 1 This paper is largely based on the author’s field research in syria/alkilani#_edn2 [Accessed: 6 February 2015]. Jordan (May 2012 to December 2014). 4 REACH, 2014. Evaluating the Effect of the Syrian Refugee 2 UNHCR, Syria Regional Refugee Response: Inter-agency Crisis on Stability and Resilience in Jordanian Host Com- Information Sharing Portal, munities, http://www.reach-initiative.org/wp-content/ http://data.unhcr.org/syrianrefugees/country. uploads/2014/02/jeffrey.frankens-10022014-093154- php?id=107[Accessed: 6 February 2015]. note these numbers REACH-FCO_Syrian-Refugees-in-Host-Communities_Pre- are total ‘persons of concern’. liminary-Impact-Assessment.pdf. 2 ■ Migration Policy Centre ■ February2015 Further political and economic deterioration may To reach Jordan, asylum seekers traverse a long and follow as the number of refugees is simply too great for dangerous road, often across lines of fighting. Syrian Jordan to handle. Both Syrian refugees and the host refugees entering Jordan comes mainly from Dara’a, communities in Jordan are now paying a high price. Aleppo and Homs and most arrived through the eastern The EU and its member states have been actively border crossing. Many of the new arrivals are children involved in responding to the Syrian crisis at the and households with female heads (see figure 2). Refu- political and humanitarian level. The EU approach gees accessing Jordan through formal border crossings has primarily consisted in providing support to the are transported from the frontier to Raba’ al Sarhan (the countries neighbouring Syria in order to contain the transit centre managed jointly by the Jordanian govern- crisis within the Middle East. However, as of 2014 ment and UNHCR). There they are registered with and early 2015, a number of worrying trends in UNHCR and they are then transferred to one of several the Jordanian Government’s attitude toward Syrian camps: Zaatari, Azraq, the Emirati-Jordanian Camp refugees show how such an approach is becoming (EJC), King Hussein Park (KAP) and Cyber City. unsustainable. Open borders? The Jordanian government has often been praised for its open-border policy and humanitarian stance towards Syrian refugees8. Since the beginning of the crisis, Jordan has received a massive number of Syrian refugees (see figure 1&table 1). This large influx has been facilitated by several factors such as refugees’ kinship and friendship ties in Jordan, the 7 A recent report published by ILO shows not only that unem- political stability of the Hashemite Kingdom, and ployment rates are not correlated with the areas of large influx the historically tight cultural and geographical rela- of Syrian refugees, but also that Syrian refugees are mainly tionship between the two countries9. working in jobs in the informal sector commonly performed by non-Jordanian migrant workers such as Egyptians – e.g. That said, little information is available on the way agriculture, construction, food service and retail. ILO, 2014. Syrians cross the border, the criteria for access, and how The Impact of the Syrian Refugee Crisis on the Labour Market the kingdom manages the informal border crossing. in Jordan: Preliminary Analysis, http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/ groups/public/---arabstates/---ro-beirut/documents/publica- tion/wcms_242021.pdf [Accessed: 6 February 2015], p. 14. 8 It must be remembered that the Kingdom is not a signatory 5According to CARE International, “Shelter is reported as the state to the UN 1951 Geneva Convention on Refugees. Jordan single most pressing need. The average rental expenditure is receives Syrian refugees within the framework of its Law of JOD 166. Syrian households on average pay JOD 193 for rent, Residency and Foreigners’ Affairs (according to which Syrians indicating a 28% increase from the baseline data for urban are allowed to enter Jordan with their passport only, whereas areas outside of Amman. Jordanians report lower monthly visa and residency permit are not required) and it is subject to rental expenditure (JOD 107).” CARE, 2014. Lives Unseen: Ur- the principle of non-refoulement under customary law. Refu- ban Syrian Refugees and Jordanian Host Communities Three gees can receive temporary protection from UNHCR under Years into the Syria Crisis, http://www.care-international.org/ the framework of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) UploadDocument/files/CARE_Syrian%20refugee%20Assess- signed in 1998 with the Jordanian Ministry of Interior. ment%20in%20Jordan_April%202014(1).pdf [Accessed: 13 9 February 2015], p. 8. Olwan, M. and Shiyab. A. Forced Migration of Syrians to Jordan: An Exploratory Study, MPC Research Report 2012/06, 6 UNHCR, 2014. Living in the Shadow, http://www.unhcr. http://www.migrationpolicycentre.eu/docs/MPC%202012%20 org/54b685079.pdf [Accessed: 6 February 2015], p. 28. EN%2006.pdf [Accessed: 6 February 2015], p. 1. 3 ■ Syrian Refugees in Jordan: a Reality Check Throughout 2014, however, the daily arrival rate has Nonetheless, UNHCR and the International Organi- steadily decreased. It seems that the government has zation for Migration (IOM) concur that no new drastically limited access to Jordan. UNHCR has arrivals of Syrian refugees have been recorded since claimed, on several occasions, that local authorities have early October – with the exception of a limited refused to let Syrian refugees cross the border. Humani- number of women, children, and civilians with tarian organizations like Amnesty International and urgent medical needs. This seems to be confirmed by Human Rights Watch have also reported several cases the 43% increase in makeshift shelters on the Syrian of refoulement of vulnerable Syrian refugees back to side of the border from July to October 2014. It is also Syria in overt violation of international obligations10. suggested by the recent clearing of the land between All this seems to replicate a scenario already seen the Jordan-Syrian border where refugees used to with Palestinian refugees from Syria.