Syrian Refugees’ Integration Policies in Jordanian Labor Market

Ahmad AlShwawra

doi:10.3390/su13137234

Abstract

The Government of Jordan declared that there are more than one million Syrian refugees in Jordan while UNHCR statistics show that the number is about 700,000. Nonetheless, it is still a large problem for Jordan, especially since there is no real solution that seems to be looming on the horizon for the Syrian crisis. Consequently, that means that those refugees’ stay in Jordan is indefinite. This fact requires Jordan to work towards solutions to avoid the warehousing of those refugees in camps and to integrate them in Jordanian community to ease their stay in Jordan. To achieve that integration, Jordan must facilitate the Syrians’ access to the Jordanian labor market so they can achieve self-reliance. In February 2016, donors gathered in London for the ‘Supporting Syria and the Region’ conference, known as the London Conference, to mobilize funding for the needs of the people affected by the Syrian crisis. In that conference, Jordan pledged to facilitate Syrian refugees’ access to the labor market. This paper will study the process of Syrian integration in Jordanian society by discussing the policies and the procedures that Jordan has developed to facilitate the Syrians’ access to the labor market. The event study method combined with interviews and desk research were used to evaluate the new policies and procedures developed to facilitate this access. It was found that Jordan succeeded in creating a legal and procedural environment that facilitates Syrians’ access to formal jobs, and the Syrians went a long way toward integration in Jordan. Nonetheless, they are still not fully integrated.

Highlights

This fact requires Jordan to work towards solutions to avoid the warehousing of those refugees in camps and to integrate them in Jordanian community to ease their stay in Jordan
This study aims to answer the question of what impact the policies and procedures adopted by the Jordanian government have had on the Syrian refugees’ access to the Jordanian labor market
The changes are sought in the variations of the number of work permits issued to Syrian refugees per month extracted from the Jordanian

Summary

Introduction

This fact requires Jordan to work towards solutions to avoid the warehousing of those refugees in camps and to integrate them in Jordanian community to ease their stay in Jordan. Jordan must facilitate the Syrians’ access to the Jordanian labor market so they can achieve self-reliance. This paper will study the process of Syrian integration in Jordanian society by discussing the policies and the procedures that Jordan has developed to facilitate the Syrians’. The event study method combined with interviews and desk research were used to evaluate the new policies and procedures developed to facilitate this access. Access to formal jobs, and the Syrians went a long way toward integration in Jordan. Historical evidence shows that such bloody, protracted, and long conflicts keep refugees in limbo, and without any durable solution, those refugees find themselves with no future but being “warehoused” in refugee camps for ever (for example, Kakuma and Ifo refugee camps)

Objectives

Methods

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Conclusion