Syrian Refugees In Jordan Research Articles

A Sense of No Future in an Uncertain Present: Altruism and Risk-Seeking among Syrian Refugees in Jordan

Abstract An unprecedented number of refugees from Syria have sought refuge in both the Middle East and Europe since the beginning of the civil war in Syria in 2011. We analyse the level of altruism and risk-seeking among Syrian civil war victims in Jordan. Our participants are university students who interact with both Jordanians and other Syrians. We find systematic variations in the revealed levels of altruism and their willingness to accept risk among Syrian refugees: feeling as if having no future coincides with both more egoistic and more risk-seeking behaviour. Refugees’ behavioural responses and their sense of no future correlate with their current personal living experiences. Our findings suggest that both the sense of no future and the accompanying behavioural responses are primarily associated with their current living conditions rather than with experiences directly related to the civil war in Syria.

Impact of socio-demographic factors on knowledge, attitude and practices toward scabies among syrian refugees in Jordan: A prospective cross sectional study

BackgroundScabies is one of the prevalent dermatological conditions, accounting for a substantial proportion of skin diseases in developing countries. It represents a significant health challenge when an outbreak appears in homecare and refugee camps as it may lead to enormous morbidity and high treatment costs. Because Scabies can be easily prevented through education, the purpose of this study was to assess the impact of socio-demographic factors on the level of knowledge, attitude, and practices among Syrian refugees in Jordan's northern region. MethodsA prospective cross-sectional study was conducted among Syrian refugees attending primary health centers in northern Jordan, Ramtha, Mafraq, and Irbid, from February 2021 to May 2021. The targeted population was adult Syrian refugees above the age of 18. Two thousand participants were included in this study using simple random selection. The study questionnaire included socio-demographic characteristics and knowledge questions such as hearing about Scabies, causes of Scabies, signs and symptoms of Scabies, and its way of transmission. The data was analyzed using (SPSS) version 25. ResultsFemales with a mean age of 37.9 years old comprised the majority of the participants. The majority of the participants were married and had intermediate levels of education. The knowledge about Scabies lacked among the majority of the respondents (N = 1259); 321 respondents had moderate knowledge, while only 650 had good knowledge. A statistically significant association was found between knowledge scores and all demographic characteristics, including gender, marital status, income, and educational level. ConclusionThe general knowledge about Scabies among Syrian refugees is relatively low, with 1259 out of 2000 participants having a bad knowledge score. Moreover, the level of knowledge, attitude, and practices toward Scabies is highly affected by the demographic factors of the Syrian refugees' Health education for refugees is needed to improve their knowledge and help implement prevention programs.

\u2018I Dream of Going Home\u2019: Gendered Experiences of Adolescent Syrian Refugees in Jordan\u2019s Azraq Camp

Although the influx of Syrian refugees in Jordan initially attracted considerable international humanitarian support, funding has declined recently, and labour market restrictions have tightened. Adolescents in Azraq refugee camp face particular challenges due to its unique characteristics, including strong surveillance and security measures and a remote desert location, which affords only limited mobility and income-generating opportunities. Instead of offering protection and security for displaced Syrians, the camp has become a ‘violent space’. This article explores the experiences of younger (10–12 years) and older (15–17 years) adolescent girls and boys in Azraq camp. It provides insights into their gendered experiences in four capability domains—education, voice and agency, bodily integrity and freedom from violence, and psychosocial wellbeing—highlighting key vulnerabilities that need to be addressed to deliver the Leave No One Behind agenda. The findings suggest that when planning programmes and services, the government, international community and civil society actors working with adolescent refugees in Azraq need to take into consideration spatial dimensions of vulnerability. Such efforts should ensure that programmes are designed and implemented in an inclusive and accessible way so that male and female adolescents in specific camp settings can overcome the constraints that they uniquely face.

Skewed Allegiances: Recalibrating Humanitarian Accountability towards Gender

Abstract Humanitarian actors often face competing accountabilities that may skew “upwards” in favour of donors. With increasing requirements on humanitarian actors to demonstrate efficiency and impact, accountability has often become depoliticised, reduced to technical frameworks and bureaucratic processes. Within humanitarian work focused on promoting gender equality, the problems in how accountability is framed have particular ramifications, affecting how gender issues are positioned, how gender-related data are presented and the assumptions underlying interventions that seek to address gender inequality. This article is based on ethnographic research in Jordan, specifically interviews with humanitarian practitioners and Syrian refugees. It explores how accountability for gender issues is positioned within the humanitarian sector. The article challenges the fixation on collecting quantitative data on gender-based violence and suggests that humanitarian assumptions about refugee populations may lead to stereotypical and homogenous representations about refugees that fail to recognise complexity. It provides examples of gaps in humanitarian assistance experienced by Syrian refugees in Jordan. The article also suggests that accountability for social transformation and change may be shifting from humanitarian actors towards refugees themselves. The article recommends that approaches to humanitarian accountability should prioritise listening, and being honest about failures and gaps in knowledge.

Syrian Refugees’ Integration Policies in Jordanian Labor Market

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.

Impact of restricting access to health care services on Syrian refugees in Jordan: evidence from cross-sectional surveys

PurposeAccess to health-care services for refugees are always impacted by many factors and strongly associated with population profile, nature of crisis and capacities of hosing countries. Throughout refugee’s crisis, the Jordanian Government has adopted several healthcare access policies to meet the health needs of Syrian refugees while maintaining the stability of the health-care system. The adopted health-care provision policies ranged from enabling to restricting and from affordable to unaffordable. The purpose of this paper is to identify the influence of restricted level of access to essential health services among Syrian refugees in Jordan.Design/methodology/approachThis paper used findings of a cross-sectional surveys conducted over urban Syrian refugees in Jordan in 2017 and 2018 over two different health-care access policies. The first were inclusive and affordable, whereas the other considered very restricting policy owing to high inflation in health-care cost. Access indicators from four main thematic areas were selected including maternal health, family planning, child health and monthly access of household. A comparison between both years’ access indicators was conducted to understand access barriers and its impact.FindingsThe comparison between findings of both surveys shows a sudden shift in health-care access and utilization behaviors with increased barriers level thus increased health vulnerabilities. Additionally, the finding during implementation of restricted access policy proves the tendency among some refugees groups to adopt negative adaptation strategies to reduce health-care cost. The participants shifted to use a fragmented health-care, reduced or delayed care seeking and use drugs irrationally weather by self-medication or reduce drug intake.Originality/valueUnderstanding access barriers to health services and its negative short-term and long-term impact on refugees’ health status as well as the extended risks to the host communities will help states that hosting refugees building rational access policy to protect whole community and save public health gains during and post crisis. Additionally, it will support donors to better mobilize resources according to the needs while the humanitarian actors and service providers will better contribute to the public health stability during refugee’s crisis.

A paradise without people. Ambivalence in representations of migration and its outcomes when Syrian refugees talk about secondary migration to Europe

ABSTRACT This article investigates perceptions of secondary migration to Europe and North America among Syrian refugees in Jordan and Lebanon. Building on Ann Swidler's (1986) theory of cultural repertoires, I approach migration as one of several strategies that refugees may choose from, and ask which kinds of life goals they link to a strategy of secondary migration. The refugees' narratives reflect ambivalence in their perceptions of what secondary migration to Europe may entail; the economic security of refuge in Europe is tempting for many, but migration to Europe is also negatively associated with aid dependence. Although some think access to education and European labour markets can secure the future for their children, many talk of Western individualism as a negative influence that may lead to family dissolution. While some thirst for the liberal rights available in Western democracies, there is also fear that moving to Europe will limit their opportunities to practise their Muslim faith. The article demonstrates that secondary migration is not only associated with positive outcomes and suggests that there may be self-selection effects in what subgroups of refugees seek migration to Europe. The article draws on qualitative interviews among Syrian refugees in Jordan and Lebanon conducted in 2019.

Improving diabetes control for Syrian refugees in Jordan: a longitudinal cohort study comparing the effects of cash transfers and health education interventions

BackgroundCash transfers are an increasingly common intervention in the Syrian refugee response to meet basic needs, though there is little known of their potential secondary impact on health outcomes in humanitarian settings.MethodsA quasi-experimental prospective cohort study was implemented from October 2018 through January 2020 to assess the effectiveness of multi-purpose cash (MPC), community health volunteer (CHV)-led education, combined with conditional cash transfers (CCT) with respect to health measures among Syrian refugees with type II diabetes in Jordan.ResultsCHV + CCT participants had the highest expenditures at endline and were the only group with statistically significant increases in payments for outpatient diabetes care (25.3%, P < 0.001) and monthly medication costs (13.6%, P < 0.001). Conversely, monthly spending on diabetes medication decreased significantly in the CHV only group (− 18.7%, P = 0.001) yet increased in the MPC and CHV + CCT groups. Expenditures on glucose monitoring increased in all groups but significantly more in the CHV + CCT group (39.2%, P < 0.001).The proportion of participants reporting regular diabetes care visits increased significantly only in the CHV + CCT group (15.1%, P = 0.002). Specialist visits also increased among CHV + CCT participants (16.8%, P = 0.001), but decreased in CHV only participants (− 27.8%, P < 0.001). Decreases in cost-motivated provider selection (− 22.8%, P < 0.001) and not receiving all needed care because of cost (− 26.2%, P < 0.001) were significant only in the CHV + CCT group.A small significant decrease in BMI was observed in the CHV + CCT group (− 1.0, P = 0.005). Decreases in HbA1C were significant in all groups with magnitudes ranging from − 0.2 to − 0.7%. The proportion of CHV + CCT participants with normal blood pressure increased significantly from baseline to endline by 11.3% (P = 0.007).ConclusionsCombined conditional cash and health education were effective in improving expenditures, health service utilization, medication adherence, blood pressure, and diabetes control. The lower cost health education intervention was similarly effective in improving diabetes control, whereas unconditional cash transfers alone were least effective. Study findings suggest that conditional cash or combined cash and health education are promising strategies to support diabetes control among refugees and that where the purpose of MPC is to improve health outcomes, this alone is insufficient to achieve improvements in the health of refugees with diabetes.

Displacement, humanitarian interventions and gender rights in the Middle East: Syrian refugees in Jordan as a case study

ABSTRACT The article focuses on a particular type of Islamic marriage, so-called imam marriages, which are not recognised by the Jordanian state but widely practised among and with Syrian refugees since their influx to Jordan in 2011. State institutions and feminist humanitarian organisations advocate a registration of these marriages on the basis of fulfilling UN conventions on gender and human rights protection. I, however, argue in this article that the enforcement of marriage registration and the implementation of a hegemonic moral order in Jordan give rise to the contradictory deployment of gender and human security protection these state and non-state actors claim to ensure. Imposed policies undermine the safety and social standing of Syrian refugee women in Jordan, in particular, by exposing them to increased public hypervisibility. This article analyses imam marriages within their multi-layered local and transnational socio-political contexts, highlighting thereby the wider complexity of power relations in which intersecting and, very often conflicting, structures place women in more vulnerable positions. The article provides new insights into the impact of humanitarian interventions on gender rights and the safety of displaced people in the Middle East by taking Syrian refugees in Jordan as a case study.

The impact of the international crisis on the entrepreneurial intentions of refugees

PurposeWe investigate the entrepreneurial intentions of a population under crisis — namely, recent Syrian refugees in Jordan — and Jordanian citizens to start small businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic.Design/methodology/approachUsing a structured two-part survey, data were collected through online self-reported questionnaires in which respondents subjectively reported self-perceptions. The first part dealt with respondents’ characteristics and the second with their entrepreneurial intentions. The survey took place in Jordan, sampling Jordanian citizens and Syrian refugees. A nonprobability sampling technique was used to collect the data.FindingsThe results show that net desirability for self-employment, tolerance for risk and self-efficacy are related to entrepreneurial intentions. We find significant differences between the Syrian refugees and the Jordanian citizens in terms of risk-taking and self-efficacy as determinants of engagement in entrepreneurial activities.Originality/valueThis study offers guidance to institutions working with refugees during times of crisis. Implications are discussed.

No Longer a ‘Lost Generation’? Opportunities and Obstacles of Online and Blended Learning Programmes for Syrian Refugees in Jordan and Lebanon

Abstract The displacement of a large number of Syrians has resulted in interrupted and protracted education pathways for many young Syrians. Although access to higher education (HE) has been recognised as central to avoid creating a ‘lost generation’, refugees in host countries face considerable barriers to access HE, such as cost, capacity and lack of documents. Online and blended learning opportunities have been proposed as one solution in resource-constrained environments. However, refugees’ online learning capabilities and preferences remain poorly understood, as existing research has mainly relied on key stakeholders without involving refugees directly. This article presents results from a survey of 350 secondary level educated Syrian refugees in Jordan and Lebanon conducted in 2017. We assess their online learning capabilities and subject preferences, and show how adapting online learning materials to enable smartphone learning with low bandwidth would significantly increase the potential pool of online education students. We discuss how educational organisations can best adopt these findings to improve access to HE for refugees.

Integrating community health volunteers into non-communicable disease management among Syrian refugees in Jordan: a causal loop analysis

ObjectivesGlobally, there is emerging evidence on the use of community health workers and volunteers in low-income and middle-income settings for the management of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), provision of out-of-clinic screening,...

Does Money Really Matter? Lab-In-The-Field Evidence from Syrian Refugees in Jordan

The use of monetary incentives in behavioral experiments has been debated between economists and psychologists for a long time. This paper extends the question of the differences in behavior to a very specific population, namely Syrian refugees in Jordan. Syrian refugees lost a lot because of the civil war which might make them particularly sensitive to monetary incentives. Alternatively, after having experienced many potentially traumatizing events, monetary incentives might be of secondary importance. We examine the levels of altruism and the levels of trust among two samples, one incentivized through hypothetical points and the other incentivized through monetary payoffs. Members of the two groups do not differ in altruism levels and show the same degrees of trust suggesting that monetary incentives are of only secondary importance in behavioral experiments with refugees.

Human rights education in humanitarian settings: opportunities and challenges

Human rights education in humanitarian settings provides an opportunity for adolescent refugees to understand and exercise their human rights, respect the rights of others, and gain active citizenship skills. This paper examines non-formal education programmes and the extent to which they embed education about, through and for human rights; it draws on mixed method data from two diverse contexts–Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh and Syrian refugees in Jordan. We find stark differences in how human rights are reflected in non-formal education programming for refugees. In Jordan, the Makani programme integrates human rights across subjects and teacher pedagogy, and fosters skills for active citizenship. By contrast, in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, a lack of basic rights hinders the delivery of meaningful human rights education for Rohingya adolescents. We conclude that human rights education should be a core pillar of humanitarian responses, but that it requires significant adaptations to contextual realities.

A desire for normality: (early) marriage among Syrian refugees in Jordan between waiting and home‐making

This paper discusses practices of early marriage in protracted displacement, among Syrian refugees in Jordan, while drawing from ethnographic research with one extended family in Amman. The dominant form of early marriage is often glossed over as a common, traditional practice. The increase of early marriage among Syrians in Jordan is often explained as the result of a search for economic relief by the family. This article adds to this analysis by offering a new in-depth reading of early marriage practices. it first shows how an emit differentiation is made between ordinary and ethically challenging forms of early marriage. Second, it aims to render visible additional dimensions of early marriage by showing how refugees actively shape their lives in the liminal state between waiting and home-making. I argue that marriage can act as a normaliser and signify a desire for an ordinary family life that fulfils social and affective needs of home-making in contexts of forced displacement.

Oral health status and risk determinants in adult Syrian refugees in Jordan.

Lack of data regarding the oral health of Syrian refugees represents a crucial gap in the literature. This study aimed to investigate the oral health status of Syrian refugees and related socio and behavioral factors. Cross-sectional study from June to September 2019 at Zaatari refugee camp, Jordan. An experienced, calibrated field investigator performed an oral clinical examination of 505 Syrian refugees (18-60 years) using the WHO criteria. DMFT, SiC, oral health indices and socio-demographic variables were recorded. A total of 264 males and 241 females were included. The prevalence of caries was 96.0%, of which 76.0% had 4-17 carious lesions. The mean number of decayed, missing and filled teeth was 5.76, 2.55 and 1.88 respectively. The mean DMFT score was 10.19 (100% had DMFT⟩0), SiC was 17.09, and the mean simplified Oral hygiene index score was 2.18. The most common chief complaint was pain (92.7%). Nearly half of the participants were smokers (45.7%). There was a negative association between level of education and oral health (P=0.011). Most participants did not brush their teeth regularly (87.5%). Females had better oral hygiene practices than males (P=0.015). Syrian refugees had a high prevalence of caries, high unmet dental treatment needs and poor oral hygiene practices. Preventive programs and focused interventions may reduce the burden of disease in this underprivileged population, on funding agencies and host countries as well.

Socio-demographic Predictors of Perceived Health among Syrian Refugees in Jordan

The purpose of this study is to investigate the association between socio-demographic characteristics andperceived health among Syrian refugees in Jordan.Method: A cross-sectional quantitative descriptive design was adopted, where a sample of 151 Syrianrefugees living inside and outside camps in Amman,Jordan was surveyed for physical, psychological, socialand environmental perceived health using a 12-item questionnaire.Results: Each domain’s score was computed out of 60. The mean perceived physical health was 27.6±11.5;perceived psychological health 27.1±10.1; perceived social health 32.6±10.3; and perceived environmentalhealth 30±9.1. Predictors of perceived physical health included age group F(2) = 3.12, p = .012, maritalstatus F(3) = 4.71, p = .004, and income level F(2) = 1.75, p = .047. Predictors of perceived psychologicalhealth included income level F(2) = 2.79, p = .005, place of living t = 3.32, p = .007, and marital status F(3)= 4.09, p = .034. Predictors of perceived social health included gender t = 2.04, p = .026, age group F(2) =3.64, p = .000, living place t = -3.61, p = .031, and household size r = .61, p = .048. And the only predictorof perceived environmental health included was place of living t = 5.64, p = .000.Conclusion: Living inside refugee camp, large household, poverty, older age, and being divorced or widoware associated with lower perceived health. Modifying some factors may help improve perceived healthamong Syrian refugees in Jordan and beyond.

Tertiary Education Initiatives for Educating Syrian Refugees in Jordan − Obstacles and Inappropriate Practices

With a high percentage of Syrian refugees population in Jordan aged 18 - 35 years, the number of refugees that are willing to access the job market is very high. Therefore, many organizations try to make these refugees qualified by enrolling them within many educational and training programs in order to enhance their skills, thus make them able to find jobs. However, with the presence of many challenges that are facing Syrian youths in accessing the tertiary education system in Jordan, many organizations that offered scholarships at the tertiary education level couldn’t achieve the highest possible number of beneficiaries. Accordingly, this study aims to highlight the obstacles and inappropriate practices of many tertiary education initiatives that led to a low number of beneficiaries, in order to overcome repeating such practices in the future.

Early marriage among Syrian refugees in Jordan: exploring contested meanings through ethnography

Early marriage remains a central concern among reproductive and sexual rights advocates worldwide. Mainstream researchers have often focused on the negative effects of early marriage on young women, presenting them as powerless victims of social and cultural traditions. Yet the voices and perceptions of young women remain strongly absent in many studies on early marriage. Our study addresses this knowledge gap by utilising participatory and ethnographic methodologies to better understand what early marriage means to those who have experienced it and how these emic perspectives may diverge from humanitarian paradigms. Since the war began in 2011, Syrians have become one of the largest groups of refugees worldwide, with over 5.5 million individuals seeking asylum abroad. Humanitarian organisations have called attention to high rates of early marriage within this population and its unique drivers in the specific context of displacement. We draw upon data collected between 2018 and 2020 during 90 individual interviews and 14 participatory action research meetings to explore how Syrian refugee women conceptualise the practice of early marriage and its drivers after displacement. Our findings reveal that early marriage is perceived as a practice that benefits young women and is justified in terms of its beneficial effects. Participants described early marriage as a rational solution to present-day problems, many of which they associate with the unique context of displacement. Our findings echo prior qualitative studies that illustrate the complexity of attitudes towards early marriage and the importance of understanding the specific contexts in which it is practised.

War, Religiosity, and Punishment: Evidence from Syrian Refugees in Jordan

Does religion play a positive role in helping people cope with the terrible experiences they have been through? Does the level of resorting to religion differ depending on the conditions trauma victims live in? We shed some light on these questions by having Syrian refugees play a modified ultimatum game in which they can punish their interaction partner and investigate whether their level of religiosity and their place of residence (inside a refugee camp in Jordan or among Jordanians) vary according to these traits. We find that neither religiosity nor place of residence explain differences in punishment behavior.