1. Addison Grace Burns
Syrian Refugees in United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees’ Za’atari Camp in Northern
Jordan
“They killed my son.He wasn’t involved in any demonstrations, just working the fields, when a sniper
shot himin the head. Even then,though,I didn’t want to leave.But then we heard stories of Assad’s men,
the shabbiha, raping women in Deraa, systematically using sexual violence as a weapon. I was scared for
my daughtersso we fled.We hid in the forests for three months, preparing to cross. We managed to avoid
any Syrian troops, and climbed over the border at night. Then we were stopped by a Jordanian soldier
and I was scared he might send us back as we had no papers. He just said ‘alf ahla’ [a thousand
welcomes]. I wept.” (Phillips pp.34)
Beginning in late 2010 with the Arab Spring, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA)
has undergone a continual socio-political and economic upheaval in varying degrees in nearly all
of its consisting countries - a region containing Egypt, Iran, Turkey, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Yemen,
Syria, United Arab Emirates, Israel/ Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon, Oman, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain,
Libya, Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria and Cyprus. The Syrian Civil War, a conflict that has lasted for
upwards of three years, has left an estimated six million displaced Syrians, with around two
million now residing in neighboring countries. An already resource poor country, Jordan, located
in the region known as the Levant, is now home to over five hundred and fifty thousand Syrian
refugees, with an average of one thousand crossing borders daily. Jordan, the country with the
highest refugee to indigenous population ratio in the world (Chatelard, 2010), fourth poorest
country in the world for water resources, and possessing a fourteen percent unemployment rate,
runs risk of political instability due to their growing inability to maintain an increasing refugee
population. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has poured six
hundred million dollars into aiding Jordan’s Syrian refugee crisis, to date, primarily through
establishing camps and supporting the majority of their upkeep. The most well known of these

2. Addison Grace Burns
camps is Za’atari Refugee Camp which is located in Northern Jordan in the Mafraq Governance.
With a current registered population of around one hundred and thirteen thousand, Za’atari is
considered Jordan’s fourth largest city. Issues of water resources, medical accessibility, asylum
statuses, and employment opportunities have led to economic strain on the host country, violent
rioting and demonstrations, and high tensions throughout the camp.
General Jordanian Refugee History
Jordan received its first significant wave of refugees in 1948 with the creation of the
Israeli state. The displacement of Palestinians left around nine hundred thousand Arabs to be
relocated to neighboring countries. “During the first Arab-Israeli war, Jordan received a large
influx of refugees and later annexed the West Bank of the Jordan River — a part of pre-1948
Palestine. Within two years, Jordan's population increased from 500,000 to 1.5 million, one-third
of them refugees.” (Chatelard, 2010) On June 5th 1967, the state of Israel bombed Egyptian
airfields, prompting a conflict which lasted until June 11th, now known as the Six Day War. The
results of this war lead to the Israeli occupation of the Gaza Strip and the displacement of an
additional four hundred thousand Palestinians. “Roughly 175,000 of them were also refugees
from the 1948 war. As of June 2010, Palestinian refugees and their descendants registered with
and clients of UNRWA numbered over 1.9 million of Jordan's total population of 6 million.”
(Chatelard, 2010) Other countries in the region with significant Palestinian refugee/ asylum
populations, as of 2013, include Lebanon with 445,144, Iran with 886,468 and Syria with
1,242,391. Jordan’s current Palestinian population is an estimated 2,430,589. (The World Bank,
2013)

3. Addison Grace Burns
Discussing Palestinian refugees in Jordan can be very a grey area to navigate through.
Though initially categorized under refugee status, shortly following the first population wave in
1948, the Jordanian government began to grant citizenship to all incoming Palestinians, giving
them access to Jordanian education, employment, health service opportunities, and legal rights.
This lack of definitiveness in citizenship between Jordanians and Palestinians, however, has led
to some economic issues for the Jordanian government. Because the majority of Palestinians are
not recognized under a refugee or asylum seeking title, international aid foundations donate a
significantly less about of money to development programs. All of the economic issues brought
on by this high population increase were then offset by the poor Jordanian government. As it
stands only one and a half million peoples of Palestinian descent are registered as refugees with
the United Nations Refugee Welfare Agency (UNRWA). (UNRWA for Palestine Refugees in
the Near East, 2013) The first Jordanian refugee camp for Palestinians was created in 1949, and
nine others have been conceived since then. However, these camps act as small, impoverished
suburbs rather than legitimate camps administered by development organizations or governance.
Some Jordanian Palestinians participate in a remittance system in the Gulf States.
However, during the Gulf War, Iraqi occupied Kuwait expelled all Palestinian workers back to
their countries of residence. Similarly, a number of Palestinians who resided in Iraq during the
Gulf War and 2003 Invasion were also displaced. Lastly, in 1988, for fear of a political
imbalance between Palestinian Jordanians and Jordanian Jordanians, the Jordanian government
began to revoke the citizenship status previously granted to them. “First of all, the Jordanian
Constitution, adopted in 1952, states that citizenship is a matter to be regulated by a law, and the
Jordanian Citizenship Law was indeed adopted in 1954, replacing that of 1928 and its
amendment. According to this law, it is possible to revoke the citizenship of a Jordanian citizen

4. Addison Grace Burns
who is in the civil service of a foreign authority or government. The citizen must be notified by
the Jordanian government to leave that service and, if the citizen does not comply, the Council of
Ministries is the body with the authority that is able to decide to revoke his citizenship. Even if
the Council does decide to revoke the citizenship, this decision must then be ratified by the King,
and even then, the citizen whose citizenship was revoked has the right to challenge the Council
of Ministries’ decision in the Jordanian High Court, and it is this court’s decision that is binding
and final. These procedures are being completely ignored when the citizenship of a Jordanian of
Palestinian origin is revoked.” (Jamjoum, 2013) These incidences continually increased the
number of Palestinian refugees and their descendents in Jordan.
Many upper class Iraqis during the Gulf War and 2003 Invasion chose to flee the
country for fear of political and economic ramifications from the Hussein administration. An
estimated two hundred thousand Iraqis have resided since then in Jordan at one point in time.
The difference between Palestinian and Syrian, which will be discussed later in this essay, and
Iraqi refugee status, was that the Jordanian government never officially recognized their
displacement. The Iraqi population in Jordan was simply classified under “guests” status under
the law. This limited Iraqi access to governmental services, education, medicine and
employment, along with any hope of help from international aid foundations. Though rarely
mistreated, Iraqis in Jordan are put at larger disadvantages than those placed who are officially
considered refugees. Displaced citizens of higher status in Iraq were now faced with lower end
jobs in Jordan. “Senior Iraqi doctors, who were top specialists in their own country, found
themselves working as junior doctors in Jordan. Some, such as junior doctors who are working to
specialize in Jordanian teaching hospitals, are not paid any salary as these hospitals take
advantage of the fact that most of these doctors do not have legal residency permits and thus are

5. Addison Grace Burns
not eligible to work.” (Sassoon pp.90) However, the wealth that these refugees brought into the
country from individual savings and the selling of their property in Iraq caused rising inflation in
the Jordanian economy. Iraqis were encouraged to use Jordan as a temporary living space while
they sought livelihood in other countries. Many chose to do this and would most commonly
depart from Jordan in less than five years. Remaining Iraqis, the majority being lower class,
often seek asylum status to remain in Jordan, while the wealthier minority buys residence
permits.
Syrian Civil War History and General Displacement
The Syrian Civil War began in early 2011 with minor demonstrations against President
Bashar al-Assad’s administration policies. Escalation of these demonstrations began in March of
that year with protestments over the federal detainment of children who wrote anti-governmental
graffiti. Concerns of human rights, torture, censorship, and police brutality fueled protests in
several cities across Syria. Handfuls of demonstrators were often killed due to Assad military
force attempts to contain riots. Despite disapproval from allies and neighboring countries,
allegations of governmental brutality and reports of large scale military occupations of major
cities continued to rapidly immerge. “In spite of the international outcry provoked by the
killings, the Syrian government launched new operations to silence protests, deploying large
numbers of troops equipped with tanks and armoured personnel carriers to the cities of Darʿā,
Bāniyās, and Homs, three centres of antigovernment protest. In several areas of the country, the
government imposed a communications blackout, shutting down telephone and Internet service.
In Darʿā security forces cut the town’s water and electricity supplies.” (Encyclopedia Britannica,

6. Addison Grace Burns
2013) The climax of alleged Assad brutality was on August 21st 2013, when neighborhoods of
the capital of Damascus were hit with chemical weapons, killing an estimated one thousand and
four hundred people. This elicited growing international concern and a temporary threat of
national intervention from France, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Intervention has
not been taken as of yet. The war between anti-Assad rebels and the established government
regime continues to this day.
The resulting displacement from the Syrian Civil War has been widespread. “Syria is in
an internal displacement crisis. For hundreds of thousands of men, women and children being
forced from their homes and livelihoods by the current violence, hunger and dehydration is as
much of a threat as the bombs and the bullets. IDMC’s monitoring suggests that over one in
every fifteen Syrians has been internally displaced following the 17 month conflict that has
started as a popular uprising and has turned into a full blown civil war. The magnitude of this
displacement means that it has now become intricately linked with the spreading of the conflict.”
(Charron, 2012) Excluding internal displacement, neighboring countries that receive a high
frequency of Syrians is Turkey with 519,938, Lebanon with 818,085, Egypt with 127,495, Iraq
with 202,976, and finally Jordan with 553,311. (UNHCR, 2013) Granted, these statistics only
consist of Syrian refugees registered with the United Nation High Commissioner for Refugees
and the actual number is suspected to be much higher.
Conditions for Syrian refugees in Turkey are reportedly much higher than those in
other countries. Due to Turkey’s larger GDP, the country has been able to maintain the growing
population with little aid from international development organizations. Turkey has established
refugee camps along its southern borders to support incoming citizens from Northern Syria.

7. Addison Grace Burns
However, it is speculated that, due to the increasing numbers of residents, camp conditions are
rapidly degrading. “Some refugees, who are free to travel around Turkey and speak to foreigners
outside the camps, are more ambivalent about camp life. ‘It is our prison!’ says Mohammad, a
teenage from Aleppo outside Kilis camp, ‘The guards treat us badly and life is too expensive.’
The Turkish government gives each refugee 20 Turkish Lira (£7) a week but, says Mohammad,
this is barely enough for food.” (Phillips pp.37) Lebanon is currently attempting to establish
refugee camps for their large rise in Syrian population, but it is speculated that this will be
difficult due to the Lebanese economy. “‘The Lebanese economy is facing difficult days as a
result of the deteriorating political and security situation in the Arab world in general,
particularly as a result of the Syrian conflict and its impact on Lebanon,’ Mikati told
economists.” (The Daily Star, 2013) In Egypt, around one and a half thousand Syrian refugees
are reportedly being detained and encouraged to return to Syria. “Palestinian refugees from Syria
are especially vulnerable because Egyptian policy prevents them from seeking protection from
the Office of the United Nation High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), contrary to
UNHCR’s mandate under the 1951 Refugee Convention.” (Human Rights Watch, 2013)
Syrians in Jordan and the UNHCR
Jordan has a population of 553,311 registered Syrian refugees out of a gross population
of 6.3 million. Initially, Jordan maintained its open border policy to Syrians just as it has to
Iraqis, Lebanese, and Palestinians in the past. Many enter the country without proper
documentation of resources with little governmental obstacles. However, this past month, the
rapidly rising number of Syrians entering the country daily has reportedly forced the Jordanian

8. Addison Grace Burns
government to begin denying those fleeing access across the border. Some who are already
residing in the country are now allegedly facing deportment. The Jordanian government denies
these allegations. “Jordanian government spokesman Dr Mohammed al-Momani told the BBC
that there was ‘no change of Jordan's position regarding refugees.’ ‘Refugees that reach our
borders are allowed in, in accordance with international law and Jordan's historical position of
providing safety to those who seek it,’ he said.” (BBC News, 2013)
Za’atari, a refugee camp located in Northern Jordan that opened June of 2012, is host to
over one hundred and thirteen thousand residents and is considered Jordan’s fourth largest city
by population. It is also considered the world’s second largest refugee camp. The UNHCR
provides basic living conditions and medical care to those registered at Za’atari and is funded
primarily through international donors. “It costs about $500,000 (£320,000) a day to run, with
half a million pieces of bread and 4.2 million litres of water distributed daily. This makeshift
piece of Syria has three hospitals – meaning that healthcare and mortality rates are significantly
better inside the camp than outside – and there are a number of schools, although attendance is
low. Just a quarter go to classes. There are also taxi services, children’s playgrounds and football
pitches.” (BBC News, 2013) Some residents have also opened up places of business within the
camp “… including the humorously named ‘Champs Elysee’ – selling a wide range of goods and
services, from groceries and fresh bread to wedding dresses and mobile phones.” (BBC News,
2013)
Resources are very hard to manage for residents and those that administer them. Jordan,
considered to be the world’s fourth poorest country in the world for water, has already been
under concern for their quick depletion of natural aquifers and rivers. There are some Non-
Governmental Organization attempts for water conservation, such as a desalination project for

9. Addison Grace Burns
the Gulf of Aqaba and the Dead Sea, but these are gaining too little ground too slowly. Jordan
must often purchase private water resources from other countries to compensate for their
growing water deficit. This has placed a significant amount of strain on those living in Za’atari.
Additionally, competition to earn income against Jordanian citizens, Egyptian migrant workers,
and fellow residents in camp creates a lack in ability to establish economic freedom in a country
with fourteen percent unemployment.
Because of these two factors and unsatisfactory living conditions, Za’atari has been
subjected to a growing number of riots, the most recent being late this past October. “A series of
riots over living conditions last month caused thousands of dollars of “extensive damage” at
Zaatari, according to the UN, as protesting refugees set fire to warehouses and vandalised
vehicles and a healthcare centre run by a local NGO.” (Luck, 2013) The recent events have led
the United Nation High Commissioner for Refugee’s Representative to Jordan, Andrew Harper,
to announce that Za’atari’s population limit will begin downsizing to around eighty to sixty
thousand. “Rioters’ targeting of property belonging to international relief agencies prompted
authorities to evacuate local and international staff from the camp, where the security situation
remains ‘tenuous’, according to Harper. In parallel with security and procedural upgrades,
Harper said relief officials are working to encourage Zaatari residents to take ‘ownership’ of
their newfound community by forming local committees and fostering dialogue between
refugees and the camp administration.” (Luck, 2013) The UNHCR and the Jordanian
government are actively trying to curb the growing violence in Za’atari. It is believed that
through encouragement to take control over their lives, residents will contribute to growing
living conditions rather than relying on the aid from UNHCR. However, as previously discussed,
this is difficult due to low economic prospects and opportunities.

10. Addison Grace Burns
With no end to the war in the foreseeable future, the growing Syrian displacement crisis
is only predicted to worsen. Though being helped by aid and development organizations like the
United Nation High Commissioner for Refugees, the Jordanian government is running a high
risk of being unable to support their growing population. Problems that the country faced before
such a high amount of refugees arrived have only been exasperated and have made camp life for
the displaced that much more difficult. Encouragement for economic independence and
responsibility are essential mindsets for every aid organization to keep, but an expectation of
gross positive results is unrealistic given the current situation.

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Bibliography
Phillips, Chistopher. "The Human Cost of Sanctuary." The World Today (2012): 34-37.Chatham
House. Web.
Chatelard, Géraldine. "Jordan: A Refugee Haven." The Migration Information Source. N.p., n.d.
Web.
"Palestine Refugees." UNRWA. N.p., n.d. Web.