Refugees in Jordan

Refugees in Jordan rose with the uprising against the Syrian government and its President Bashar al-Assad. Close to 2000 Syrians per day began pouring into Jordan to reside in its refugee camps.

As a small, aid-dependent country already suffering from financial and environmental issues, the number of Syrians seeking refuge in Jordan has created a strain on the country's resources, especially water and agriculture. As one of the top ten driest countries in the world, Jordanians' livelihood is already at risk, and the influx of new residents has only exacerbated the issue of water scarcity.

In the wake of the uprising against the Syrian government and its President Bashar al-Assad, beginning in 2011, close to 2000 Syrians per day began pouring into Jordan to reside in the first refugee camp near Mafraq, created by the UNHCR. As a small, aid-dependent country, already suffering from financial and environmental issues, the number of Syrians seeking refuge in Jordan has strained the country's resources especially water and agriculture. Jordan is one of the top ten driest countries in the world which endangers its citizens' livelihoods. The huge number of refugees has resulted in humanitarian aid organizations requesting more money and assistance from international powers. As of November 2015, UNHCR reported that there are 4,289,994 Syrian "persons of concern" of whom 630,776 are registered as refugees in Jordan. There are about 1.4 million Syrian refugees in Jordan, only 20 percent are living in the Za’atari, Marjeeb al-Fahood, Cyber City and Al-Azraq refugee camps. With the majority of the Syrian refugees interspersed throughout the state, especially in Amman, Irbid, Al-Mafraq, and Jerash, environmental resources are scarce for both Syrians and their Jordanian hosts. This increases pressure on Jordan’s infrastructure, specifically the provision of water supplies, sanitation facilities, housing, and energy.

As Syrians continue to flow into Jordan, tensions continue to rise and create pressure on its society. Tensions between Jordanian hosts and Syrian refugees are most prevalent in the cities and surrounding areas outside of refugee camps, where the majority have been relocated. In absorbing space, resources, jobs, and water over an extended period of time, these Syrian refugees might soon come into conflict with Jordanian residents. The "true" cost of hosting the refugees includes electricity and water subsidies costing the Jordanian government around $3,000 per year, per Syrian, as well as half of the Health Ministry's budget for medical care or $350 million. Roughly 160,000 jobs have been given to illegal Syrian workers while 20 percent of Jordan's citizens remain unemployed.

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