community dialogue

context

The arrival of more than 2 million Syrian refugees to the neighboring Jordan has caused a dire impact on the country’s socio-economic environment. While Jordanians were initially welcoming toward refugees, their patience has grown thin and there is now a noticeable feeling of resentment in the air.

Many of the host communities blame refugees for driving up the living costs and leaving Jordanians without jobs by desperate Syrians, who will work for a fraction of the price in order to feed their families. Inter-group tensions between refugees and their hosts have emerged as a result, and several incidents of violent acts and everyday discrimination are reported.

The situation is perhaps most striking in the city of Mafraq and in its surrounding villages, where the population has almost doubled as a direct result of the Syrian crisis. Both refugees and hosting populations are now struggling to meet their daily ends, and trying to secure their living space and continuity of cultural practices in the newly constituted social infrastructure.