In 2011, anti-government protests began during a growing wave of the Arab uprising. Most of the protests were peaceful until government agencies reacted with violent crackdowns on opposition leaders and influential protestors.
Syria turned violent after rebels retaliated against the government’s violence with the help of army defectors. The Syrian crisis involved battles between the government and rebel groups, secular and Islamic extremists, as well as between different ethnic groups in the country. After several months of fighting, the Syrians caught in the war started moving out to neighboring countries as refugees.
Over 2.3 million Syrians have crossed the borders of their own country, while more than 6 million remained trapped in the country. More than 100,000 people died, property worth millions of dollars was destroyed, and over 6 million Syrians were displaced from their homes. The war attracted the attention of international communities, who are sending troops to fight rebels and Islamic extremists, as well as providing humanitarian aid to the affected families. The main concern of Homeland Security is the safety of Jordan and other countries from terrorist attacks of terrorists crossing borders disguised as refugees.
Syrian Refugees in Jordan and Bailout Program
According to Abrams, Jordan already hosts approximately 1 million Syrian refugees, some of who belong to ISIS and other Islamic jihad groups (par. 2). One of the biggest questions posed by security agencies is whether America has foolproof vetting processes on foreigners leaving Syria as refugees. In a statement by the Department of Homeland Security, Secretary Jeh Johnson states that foreign jihads are trained in Syria and later cross to Jordan, and then to Europe and America as refugees (Jones par. 2). Syria is already a major concern for Homeland Security due to reports of ongoing training of foreigners by extremists, who later return to their countries as terrorists.
The first cases of Syrian refugees started with the entry of Syrians into Jordan to live with families and friends. When the number increased, the country created transit centers and refugee camps. However, Jordanians cited security risks when Syrian refugees were allowed to live with strangers. Additionally, the Syrian crisis has expanded to some parts of Jordan, especially along the borders. The refugee situation in Syria is captured in photographs from Turkey and Jordan.
Different media companies use the refugee camps in the two countries to demonstrate the plight of refugees, although it is estimated that over 80% of the refugees in the two countries live with friends, families, and strangers in urban centers.
What is the Impact of Refugees Exemption Programs?
Marsden questioned the relevance of letting in Syrians affected by war, instead of helping to make Syria safe for its citizens (par. 2). The Syrian refugee crisis poses a major threat to national and international security due to the possibility of moving terrorists along with refugees, especially due to the exceptions set on specific refugees. Marsden notes that despite America’s antiterrorism frameworks, the government has failed in various instances to curb the entry of terrorists (par. 6).
In one instance, the American refugees plan allowed Shareef Hammadi and Waad Ramada into Kentucky as free and clean citizens, only to realize their involvement with terrorist activities when it was too late. Such an incident puts into question the recent rushed move by the Obama administration to invite refugees from Syria to its neighboring countries.
Currently, America has already issued over 16,000 exemptions to Syrian refugees without considering the potential threat held to other countries. In a report by Jeh Johnson, security agencies realized that Syria is turning into a training ground for Islamic extremists, who later travel to other countries or are imported as refugees to neighboring countries (Jones par. 4). Exemptions to the Syrian crisis are comparable to the Somali refugee situation in the 90s when President Clinton transferred thousands of Somalis to America to protect them from the civil war in their country.
Consequences of Refugees Living Outside Camps
In a report by Oskam, Jordan accepted a security border program to identify and eliminate smugglers and militants posed as refugees (1). However, the greatest challenge for the system is the inability to present reliable information about the refugees fleeing from the war. In another report by Richard is reported that Jordan is struggling to meet the escalating demands for public services brought about by a huge influx of Syrians in the country (par. 3).
The report identified a growing need for water, electricity, and sanitation. Jordan is struggling to meet energy and water shortage because of an increasing number of Syrians moving from Syria to the country. Increasing poverty rates are associated with the growing number of extremist training in Syria.
Homeland security should be concerned about the specific activities and locations of the Syrian refugees. Based on reports by the secretary of Homeland security on the ongoing extremist trainings, there is a high chance of inflow of more extremists to Jordan. The estimated number of foreign fighters believed to have been trained in Syria is over 8000 people (Jones par. 4). The number of foreign terrorists increases depending on the location of trained foreigners and governments’ initiatives to track their activities. Currently, seventy American jihadists are believed to be trained in Syria. When Syrians move from the country as refugees, security experts have a fear that some of them may be terrorists intending to expand their activities in the country.
Tucker claims that Jordan is under stress due to the regional upheavals (par. 2). The security expert notes that the rate of ISIS expansion beyond the borders of Iraq and Syria poses a huge threat to Jordan. Tucker notes that Jordan’s refugee status increases its susceptibility to attacks from ISIS or any other terrorist group (par. 5). The country’s main population is Palestinian, while the northern region hosts thousands of Syrian refugees.
Jordan’s sociopolitical issues have increased the country’s susceptibility to attacks. Currently, the urban centers are becoming overpopulated as Syrian refugees relocate from camps in search of public services. The increasing inflow of refugees is considered as a threat of more attacks by terrorist groups with the aim of undermining Amman’s stability.
Reports from Jordan and Turkey show that the largest number of Syrian refugees resides outside the designated refugee camps. The reports indicate the possibility of having some Syrians attached to extremist groups extending their activities in Jordan, with the aim of undermining its stability and extending the Arab crisis to the country. Similarly, Richard identifies the need to have restructured systems and policies that govern the movement and activities of the Syrian refugees (par. 23). The move by the Jordanian government that allows Jordanians host refugees increases the country’s vulnerability to attacks.
The US security agents have identified Jordanian borders among the porous in the region. According to survey findings reported by Neimat, a majority of Jordanians want borders closed to prevent more Syrians from entering the country (par. 2). The report identifies concerns among Jordanians over the activities of the Syrian refugees once they move from refugee camps to live with friends, families, and well-wishers. Most Jordanians claimed that the presence of Syrian refugees outside the camps could initiate their collaborative activities with Syrian extremists and lead to multiple attacks on the Jordan nationals.
Additionally, the effect of Syrian refugees in Jordan on public services and utilities leads to the possibility of having a rise in the number of Islamic extremist sympathizers. Currently, most of the extremist groups have taken control of properties and businesses in Syria. They have also taken control over many financial sources, hence making them powerful and highly influential. Syrian refugees living outside the designated camps have the opportunity to communicate and establish links with extremist groups in order to fund their fellow citizens living as refugees.
Abrams notes that America is not doing enough to sustain Jordan’s refugee program (par. 6). The situation pushes the country into serious socio-economic challenges. In some instances, some of the Syrian refugees in Jordan are using that opportunity to seek asylum in Europe and other countries. The process is influenced by the lack of efficient monitoring systems of Syrian refugees who currently live in the country. When the refugees are allowed to live among other Jordanians, they may be involved in extremist activities and create new identities to enable them to move to Europe or America (Ryan 148). However, the porous borders increase the rate of movement from Jordan to Syria by the unmonitored refugees, some of whom may be members of extremist groups.
The country’s bailout policy increases opportunities for refugees’ movement to other countries. One of the considerations should be a strict monitoring and evaluation of refugees to ensure that anyone involved with extremist activities is identified before being allowed to move into the country. Jordan’s policy creates opportunities for terrorism by failing to monitor or restrict the refugees’ movement once they cross the border. Homeland security should follow the immigration laws and support Jordan in containing the Syrian refugees in the country. Containment will facilitate the evaluation of activities and identifying those with suspicious or sympathetic actions against the extremist groups.
Currently, America and other European countries have joined forces to fight ISIS. Homeland security has already identified porous borders in Jordan. Additionally, the bailout policy allows refugees to integrate with Jordanians, increasing the possibilities of attacks from sympathizers. The Jordan security measures set to identify and apprehend smugglers and sympathizers are not very effective. Porous borders are allowing thousands of Syrians to enter Jordan while providing extremists with opportunities to recruit and train foreigners, who later seek diplomatic interference to take them to their respective countries.
Security Situation
Syrian refugees are vetted and evaluated at all transit centers established by the Jordanian government to identify their affiliation with any extremist groups. Once vetted, the refugees are offered opportunities to search for friends and families or remain in refugee camps waiting for humanitarian aid from the international community (Huff and Roth 23). In case a foreigner enters a transit center, the agents communicate to respective countries to facilitate transport to countries of origin.
However, if the claims by the secretary of homeland security are accurate, some of the foreign refugees may be attached to extremist groups. Similarly, when refugees are allowed to live as free citizens in Jordan, the government losses control of their activities and engagement with extremist groups at home. For example, a Syrian sympathizer or trainee may enter Jordan as a refugee in order to establish a link between extremist groups in Syria and sympathizers in Jordan.
Such a situation could establish shadow extremist groups in Jordan without knowledge of the Jordanian government. During American exemption practices, some sympathizers are transferred to Europe and America. However, since the bailout program allows Syrians to interact with Jordanians and to engage in multiple activities without any external monitoring system, there are possibilities of extremist groups interfering with security databases to create clean identities.
Conclusion
The analysis identifies major threats to national and international security from Syrian refugees. The Jordanian refugee program allows refugees to interact with Jordanians and other communities. When refugees are allowed to live outside designated camps, there are possibilities of engaging in sympathizers’ activities in support of Islamic extremists. The refugees are provided with time and resources to change identities and move out of the country as Jordanians.
Additionally, the porous borders can facilitate coordination of Syrian refugees with extremist groups by providing funds and resources required by either team. The analysis also finds faults with America’s exemption programs that allow many Syrians to relocate to Europe and America. Jordan should initiate refugee monitoring program to prevent coordination with extremist groups and reduce chances of terrorist attacks in Amman and other regions.
Works Cited
Abrams, Elliott. “Syria: Humanitarian Disaster—and Security Threat“. Council on Foreighn Relations. Web.
Huff, Mickey and Andy Roth. Censored 2013: The Top Censored Stories and Media Analysis of 2011-2012. New York: Seven Stories Press, 2012. Print.
As the conflict in Syria gradually turned into a massive humanitarian crisis, many of the world’s countries with better social welfare conditions started to grant shelter to the refugees from Syria. This paper is focused on examining this issue from the perspectives of three different countries, Turkey, Sweden, and Iraq, currently providing asylum and citizenship to the people of Syria, as shown in three different online newspapers.
The first article is called “Turkey debates citizenship for Syrian refugees,” and it was taken from an online newspaper called Today’s Zaman. The article elaborates on the importance of the issue of Syrian refugees’ status in Turkey, as they have been living there for several years now. According to the article, by the moment it was published, Turkey had been sheltering five hundred thousand refugees from Syria, and this number was likely to double by the end of 2013 (Turkey debates citizenship for Syrian refugees, 2013).
The debate about the status of the refugees divided the society into two groups, the protestors and the supporters of the decision to grant Syrian refugees Turkish citizenship.
The latter was convinced that the humanitarian crisis that forced thousands of people out of Syria could be turned into a positive change for Turkey and its welfare as well as the wellbeing of the refugees. At the same time, the protestors of this idea stated that such an enormous number of Syrian settlers on the territory of Turkey were likely to transfer all the Syrian instabilities to this country.
The second newspaper article was located on New York Times portal; it is called “Scandinavians Split Over Syrian Influx,” and its author is Hugh Eakin. This article states that among all West and North European countries, Sweden is the only one to receive tens of thousands of Syrian refugees and grant them citizenship, while such countries as Great Britain or Norway resettle mush fewer Syrians and provide them with temporary asylum only (Eakin, 2014).
The author explains that even though Swedish people deem themselves righteous and moral individuals as their country has not fought a war in two hundred years, it is not the basis for accepting an unreasonably large number of foreign refugees that the country would not be able to integrate.
Eakin (2014) points out that Sweden has high rates of unemployment and financially cannot afford supporting tens of thousands of newcomers. As a result, the country’s community protests the decision to grant citizenship to Syrian refugees as it might negatively impact the welfare of the country and create discomfort for both Swedes and Syrians.
The last article was found on Al-Jazeera, posted by Ali Al-Arian and called “Syrian refugees cling to stability in Iraq.” In this article, the author compares and contrasts between the conditions Syrian refugees currently have in Iraq camps and the ones Iraqis dealt with while resettling to Syria during the war in their country.
Al-Arian (2014) notes that Iraq stations two hundred and fifty thousand Syrians, who are glad to have found relative stability. This article is determined to present positive aspects of the Iraq reception compares to that of Lebanon and Turkey. Al-Arian (2014) emphasizes that even though the refugees live in tents, they enjoy a peaceful life and are in to rush to come back to Syria.
Among the three articles, only one reviewed the current issue of the status of the refugees from the perspective of the Syrians. It seems like the more advanced the receptionist country’s welfare is, the harder it becomes for it to accept and support refugees. Besides, it is important to notice that all of the receptionist countries are rather small, and their homogenous communities were not designed to accept and successfully integrate tens and hundreds of thousands of foreign settlers at once.
It is imperative to find a mutually acceptable solution to provide assistance and a permanent home for Palestinian refugees. The failure to address this problem inevitably creates a negative perception against Israel and other Arab nations that have direct and indirect impact on the said crisis. Israel and its neighbors need to create a positive image in the international stage. At the same time, a quick resolution to the crisis is needed, because terror groups utilize the human drama surrounding the plight of the Palestinian refugees to attract new members, and to encourage terror attacks against Israel. The best way to solve the crisis is to analyze the problem through an International Relations framework, such as, the application of knowledge gleaned from the study of the international system.
What Causes the Crisis?
The crisis was caused by the ongoing Arab-Israeli conflict that displaced millions of people in the region. According to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, one third of the registered Palestine refugees or 1.5 million individuals were scattered in at least 58 Palestine refugee camps located in Lebanon, Jordan, the Syrian Arab Republic, Gaza strip, and the West Bank of Israel (Stewart, 2013). The said UNRWA agency defined the status of the Palestinian refugee as an individual whose normal place of residence was a region called Palestine, in the period between 1946 and 1948 (Stewart, 2013, p.12). During the Arab Israeli conflict that ended on the 15th of May 1948, at least 750, 000 refugees were uprooted from their normal place of residence, and they were scattered in the said refugee camps.
The survivors and the descendants of the less than one million original refugees multiplied and grew to five million individuals (Stewart, 2013, p.12). Without a doubt, it has become a human rights crisis that has without precedence in world history. According to an international humanitarian group, recent statistics about the refugees are disheartening. For example, in Jordan close to two million refugees were registered in the database of the UNRWA (IRIN, 2015). In Lebanon, close to half a million refugees were registered with UNRWA (IRIN, 2015). In Syria, close to 430,000 Palestine refugees were registered with the said UN agency (IRIN, 2015). In Gaza, more than one million refugees were registered with the UNRWA (IRIN, 2015).
More than six decades after the eruption of the Arab-Israeli conflict in 1948, millions of Palestinian refugees were denied international protection. Furthermore, this group is considered the largest and longest-standing refugee population in the world (Akram, 2011). They suffer from multiple violations of human rights as they are the largest global population of individuals that are known as internally displaced and stateless (Akram, 2011).
It must be pointed out that the many of the problems faced by the Palestinian refugees are not new. In fact, similar problems exist when researchers look into conflict-induced mass exodus (Grayson, 2007). Just like their counterparts in Africa, Asia, and Europe, these refugees were victims of widespread violation of human rights, institutionalized discrimination against nationality, and discrimination against property rights. However, their situation is unique from the point of view of the persistent and severe denial of international protection (Akram, 2011). They also lack access to the resources that lead to the creation of durable solutions, as well as mechanisms that lead to the implementation of the same (Akram, 2011).
What Changes Can be made to Avoid Similar Problems in the Future
It is imperative to use diplomacy and avoid the use of military action to resolve conflicts. It is also important to appreciate the importance of international relations or IR. The search for an effective solution to the Palestinian refugees’ debacle will highlight the importance of international relations. The application of principles gleaned from the study of international relations will reveal its effectiveness in one of the toughest testing grounds in the world (Adler & Crawford, 2013). The displacement of refugees as a direct result of military or ethnic conflict is nothing new. However, the case of the Palestinian refugees is unique and distinct when compared to other conflicts around the world. However, the conflict between Arab nations and the state of Israel is an offshoot of deep-rooted quarrels and a long history political misunderstanding. As a result, “friendly relations between states and national groups are limited and transient” (Adler & Crawford, 2013, p.359) In addition, the impact of outside forces in the region is significant.
Policymakers and national leaders attempting to create reforms using tried and tested strategies in Africa, Asia, and Europe will probably experience discouragement and frustration. However, a more mature look at the issue and the application of principles gleaned from an international relations framework will encourage them to look at the issue from a different perspective. The international relations framework will make them appreciate the importance of looking at small developments. They must not despise small victories, and they need to continue developing cross-national alliances.
Policymakers must learn to consider other keys to success, and they should not rely on big ticket items such as: 1) peace settlement; 2) economic development; 3) international agreements that will ensure the exercise of the full set of human rights as defined in international covenants (Adler & Crawford, 2013). Without a doubt a peace settlement will drastically reduce violence between Palestinians and their neighbors. At the same time, economic development at a massive scale will inevitably improve the social welfare of the Palestinian refugees. In addition, it is imperative to end all forms of human rights violations. However, these big ticket items are unrealistic goals in the next few years.
The correct appreciation of international relations principle encourages national leaders and policymakers to continually pursue state interests, hence the pursuit of an acceptable peace settlement; the pursuit of an egalitarian economic development; and the desire to end human rights violations continues. However, they will also focus on less spectacular goals, such as the reduction of violence, misery and injustice.
The failure to develop a doable solution to the Palestine refugee problem is attributable to the inability to understand the ramifications of certain international relations principle. As a result many were frustrated by the lack of action when the solution seems easy to implement. However, a closer look at international relations principles will reveal that state interests prevail over the rights of ordinary individuals. Consider for instance the need of the Jewish people to establish their homeland after the Holocaust and after Arab nations used military action in the attempt to force them out of their present place of residence. Therefore, the simple solution that calls for the reabsorption of Palestinian refugees to their homeland does not seem like a simple solution after all, especially if it creates the wrong signal to the opponents of the Israeli government. In order to develop a practical solution that addresses the need to pursue national interests and the need of refugees, it is best to view the different factors that play out in the international system.
How Does the Nature/Structure of the International System Contribute to this Situation?
IR is a pragmatic way to study foreign affairs and global issues among states (Wolf & Ericksen, 2013, p.14). IR includes the study of the role of states, inter-governmental organizations, non-governmental organizations, and multinational corporations (Wolf & Ericksen, 2013, p.14). In a nutshell, IR is both an academic and public policy field, and one of the important branches of political science (Wolf & Eriksen, 2013, p.14). One of the key principles of international relations is found in the assertion that it is not limited to the politics of the international community and relations among states (Wolf & Ericksen, 2013). International relations or IR also includes the “totality of the relations among peoples and groups in the world society” (Wolf & Ericksen, 2013, p.2). Based on the aforementioned definition of international relations and its expected impact in the lives of ordinary individuals, the need to accomplish short-term goals becomes more urgent. In order to accomplish these goals, it is imperative to learn more about the limitations and obstacles created by the international system under the umbrella of international relations.
One of the most popular view concerning international systems is the perspective developed by proponents of the realist theory of international relations. According to realists, power is the currency of international politics (Mearsheimer, 2006). As a result, international players and national leaders pay careful attention to the amount of military and economic power they have in relation to their neighbors. One of the key goals according to this theory of international relations is to maintain the balance of power. From this point of view, it is critical to develop a solution to the Palestinian refugees’ problem without shifting the balance of power that compromises the national security interests of affected nations. It is also important to develop a solution that does not create a negative perception against another country.
The proponents of the realist theory also stated that the international system is anarchic. This does not mean that chaos characterizes the interaction of the participants in the international political scene; this simply means that there is no authority that exists above the state. As a result, national governments are compelled to look for their own interests above all others. At the same time, this principle implies that there is no political entity or structure that has the power to compel a rogue state to conform to a certain code of conduct.
The application of the realist point of view will enable students to understand the motivation of the Israeli government when it comes to its initial reaction to ban the reabsorption of Palestinian refugees in the aftermath of the military conflict. It means that the Israeli government was unwilling to do anything that will compromise their position from a military or international politics perspective. The admission of refugees back to their homeland was interpreted as the acknowledgement that the Israeli government had no right to occupy the sliver of land given to them by the international community in 1948.
The liberals have a different worldview when it comes to the international system that governs international relations. According to the proponents of the liberalism theory of IR, the state plays a critical role in the international political economy. However, aside from the state, there are other significant players, such as international organizations and multinational corporations. The liberalist view is an important contribution to the discussion of IR, because this particular view offers hope of harmony. The realist view seems to assure the future eruption of conflict; however, the liberals assured the possibility of harmony within the international system.
The application of the liberalist point of view will enable students to understand the motivation behind the change in Israeli policies when it comes to the decision to allow the admission of refugees. This theory enables policymakers to realize that there is a way to compel Israel and neighboring nations to work together and create a mutually acceptable solution to end the Palestine refugee problem.
The radical point of view on the other hand offers a unique perspective about the problem. According to the proponents of radicalism, the root cause of the problem is the class-based struggle between different players and stakeholders in the said conflict. From this perspective, capitalists from highly-industrialized countries have investments that will be affected by the policies created to solve the said refugee problem. In other words, key players will attempt to block or derail the solutions or strategies that will negatively affect the business interests of the said capitalists.
Resolving the Crisis
The different worldviews presented by realism, liberalism, and radicalism enables students of international relations to develop a comprehensive solution to the refugee problem. For example, through the help of the realist perspective, policymakers will understand why the Israeli government refused to allow the re-entry of refugees to their ancestral homeland. It was not the lack of compassion or insensitivity to the needs of the victims of war. The decision not to allow the re-entry of refugees was due to the perceived impact of the said decision. Israel was trying to establish their claim as the rightful owners and residents of a sliver of land found in Palestine. At the same time, the realist perspective enables students to see the problem associated with the absence of a higher power that could serve as an arbiter to resolve the conflict between Israel and its neighbors. The realist theory also helps to understand the motivation of certain Palestinian leaders when they refused the offer of Israel to finally allow the re-entry of refugees. The Palestinian leaders refused the offer of Israel, because they perceived the Israeli initiative as a power play that weakened their political position.
The application of both realism and liberalism encourages the creation of an international organization that will help deal with the problem. From this point of view there is hope that contending parties will solve the problem by dealing with the anarchic issue raised by realist. In other words, it is possible to work with an international organization or an arbiter to deal with some of the thorny issues between Israel and Arab countries.
The radical perspective is also an important contribution, because it enables students of IR to look into other factors that could derail the implementation of solutions or strategies to end the refugee problem in Palestine. At the same time, this perspective puts pressure on international players, specifically influential Western nations like the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, France, and Australia. This theory questions their motives when it comes to their support towards Israel and indifference towards the Palestine refugees (Kinsella, 2012). It enables ordinary individuals to work together and question the discrimination leveled against poor Palestine refugees (Guzzini, 2013). They need to know why Palestine refugees were treated differently than other refugees in other parts of the world (Brynen & El-Rifai, 2007).
Conclusion
There is a solution to the Palestine refugee problem, and that is the careful appreciation and application of insights gleaned from the study of international relations. Policymakers must look into how IR interprets the international system, and how it works in accordance to liberalism, radicalism, and realism. Using these theories, students will understand the motivation behind certain actions. It will also help them develop a comprehensive solution that deals with different aspects of the problem. These insights will help policymakers develop a solution that is mutually acceptable to all stakeholders. These insights will also help them develop short-term solutions to deal with more urgent problems.
References
Adler, E. & Crawford, B. (2013). Progress in post-war international relations. New York: Columbia University Press.
Akram, S. (2011). International law and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. New York: Routledge.
Baracsay, D. (2011). Palestine liberation organization. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC CLIO.
Brynen, R., & El-Rifai, R. (2007). Palestinian refugees. New York: I.B. Tauris.
Grayson, R. (2007). Liberals, international relations and appeasement. New York: Routledge.
Guzzini, S. (2013). Power, realism, and constructivism. New York: Routledge.
IRIN. (2015). Palestinian refugee numbers. Web.
Kinsella, D. (2012). World politics: The menu choice. Los Angeles, CA: Cengage Learning.
Mearsheimer, J. (2006). Structural realism. Web.
Stewart, D. (2009). The Middle East today. New York: Routledge.
Wolf, E., & Eriksen, T. (2010). Europe and the people without history. Los Angeles, CA: University of California Press.
The administration of President Barack Obama seems to lose the argument about Syrian refugees as the unity among the Democratic Party may be compromised by the terroristic attack in Paris (Lind par. 1). At the same time, French President Francois Hollande stated that his country would welcome 30,000 refugees in the next two years (Sandhu par. 2). Thus, the western world should continue to perform its humanitarian duty of assistance the refugees. Furthermore, it is not only a question of humanity for the USA to host the refugees but also a matter of its long-term interests.
The current strategy of the White House suggests resettling 10,000 Syrians next year in order to help the Old World to overcome the worst refugee crisis since the times of the Second World War. While the USA, because of its geographical location, has an option whether or not to host these refugees, crowds of desperate people are storming the borders of European and Asian countries. About four million Syrians were forced to leave their homes to Turkey, Lebanon, and Jordan, while hundreds of thousands have sailed across the Mediterranean Sea to Europe, and nearly 5000 have sunk to death trying.
Turkey has already hosted almost two million Syrians. Germany’s plan is to take up to 800,000 this year. 190,000 are expected in Sweden (Jacobsen par. 2). The U.S. has taken only 1500, and even the scheduled 10,000 is ridiculously low. Despite this, many politicians are skeptical about the idea. More than half of governors oppose letting the refugees into their states. It is the federal government’s authority to accept the refugees into the country, but the governors can still make the process more difficult. For instance, Texas Governor Greg Abbot suggests that “American humanitarian compassion could be exploited to expose Americans to similar deadly danger,” referring the Paris’ tragic events (Satlin par. 3).
Since the attack of September 11, the USA has admitted 1.5 million migrants and refugees from the Middle East, and it is not the time to close the border now. As was mentioned previously, it is not only a question of humanity and compassion. There are also several logical reasons for this. Concerning humanity, though, the United States was always a leader in terms of humanitarian response since it has left the policy of isolationism.
Following World War II, our country has resettled more refugees than other nations combined. Another reason to host more Syrians is the responsibility as the current crisis in the Middle East is closely tied to the Iraq operation, and many leaders of ISIS originate from the Baathist army, which was disbanded after the fall of Saddam Hussein’s regime (Alikhan par. 5). After all, the USA has taken about 750,000 Vietnamese in the aftermath of the Vietnam War. Tens of thousands of Europeans who were fleeing communism were accepted during the Cold War, and more came after the fall of the Soviet Union.
They all have become an important part of the American nation. Some of them were great scientists or successful businessmen. In this way, it is a matter of our own interest to host more refugees (Shapman par. 7). It is possible that one of the millions of children, who lack education in the refugee camps, may one day become a new Steve Jobs. Furthermore, these people, who would experience the American way of life, would know that the USA is not their enemy, as ISIS is trying to present.
In conclusion, I would like to say that I completely understand the fear of people who are scared by the tragedy in Paris, but fear should not influence questions like this. After all, it is hardly possible that terrorists will try to enter the country by the official channels.
Nowadays the world faces a great political and humanitarian crisis. The fact is that constant skirmishes between local governments, terrorist organizations and rebels, peculiar to the Middle Eastern region, transformed into the real war. Syria became the place where the war came into its most complicated phase. Various terrorist organizations, stimulated by some western governments to create another force that could be controlled and used to change the political situation, united in the great organization known nowadays as ISIS. Having become a great power in the region, it managed to occupy large Syrian territories. People, residing in these regions, were the first to suffer from the new merciless regime and they decided to leave their homes, aiming to find the new place to live and save their families. All these conditions led to the appearance of the humanitarian crisis as millions of refugees tried to reach Europe and settle there. That is why, 4 million people left their homes (Specia, 2015).
Pic. 1. Refugees in the region (Specia, 2015)
Being not able to shelter all these people, states of the EU faced a great problem as there was no efficient policy or strategy that could help to change the situation. Moreover, a great number of states decided to close their borders in order to protect their own population from the bearers of another culture. Under these conditions, appeals of the leaders of various states and media to the GCC countries become more and more intensive and pretentious. Very often, newspapers like Time publish articles in which they outline the unwillingness of the countries of the GCC to shelter Syrian refugees and help to find the needed solution (Maslin, 2015).
Accusations
Pic. 2. Refugees in the GCC countries (Gulf states refuse to open doors to Syrian Muslim refugees, 2015)
Thus, it should be said that the main sense of accusations connected with the unwillingness to shelter refugees lies in the following points. First of all, various means of media underline the fact that the majority of people, who want to settle in Europe, belong to Islam and it would be more natural and comfortable for them to stay in some Muslim countries of the region as the term of adaptation will be much shorter. Additionally, adherers of the idea that the GCC countries should participate in the crisis more, state the fact that the number of conflicts based on the religious and cultural reasons has increased significantly in last several months. Europeans are not ready to meet thousands of Muslims who could change their traditional world and culture.
That is why it is quite logical that other Muslim countries should shelter these refugees. Nevertheless, there is another fact provided by the adherers of this idea. The states like the UAE, Qatar or Saudi Arabia have great incomes obtained from the distribution and refining of crude oil. Moreover, their population density is not very high and these countries could shelter a great number of people. With this in mind, it is possible to state the fact, that various politicians and means of media underline the presence of all factors that are needed to create appropriate conditions for millions of refugees. Finally, the way will be not so long and complicated, which is also important, as the world was shocked by horrible accidents that happened during the trips of people who wanted to reach Europe. Under these conditions, it is possible to state the fact that from this perspective these accusations seem to be quite logic and fair enough.
Answer to accusations
However, it should be said that outlining beneficial conditions that exist in the countries of the Gulf, politicians and media prefer to look at the situation from the perspective which is adventitious for them. However, there is a great number of other facts that should not be omitted and which prove the fact that the GCC countries do not refuse to shelter refugees. According to the formal statement of Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, their borders are not closed for Syrian people who want to leave homes in order to find some peaceful region (Maslin, 2015). Moreover, about 2,5 million people are accepted by these countries, however, they are not called refugees and not placed in refugee camps in order to protect their dignity (Why aren’t rich Gulf states welcoming Syrian refugees… or are they? 2015). It is obvious, that this category is not mentioned by politicians while speaking about the unwillingness of the Gulf countries to help Syrians.
Additionally, the GCC countries stated that the procedure of border crossing was changed for people from Syria and it is much easier for them to reach their destination point (Why aren’t rich Gulf states welcoming Syrian refugees… or are they? 2015). Thus, despite all these measures, the official statistic states that there are no Syrian refugees on the territory of the GCC states (Maslin, 2015). The most important fact is that these people simply do not want to go to these countries, preferring some European regions. The reason for this choice lies in the beneficial legal basis that provides profitable status for refugees and guarantees them some allowance which is big enough for a person to survive without looking for a job. According to the last survey, Germany is the main aim of the majority of refugees (StMa, 2015). It is a prosperous state, with a stable economy and high allowance. All these factors make Germany very attractive to people.
Pic. 3 Refugees in Europe (StMa, 2015).
That is why, the countries of the Gulf, which do not have the same profitable laws, are not chosen by refugees. Under these conditions, the answer to these accusations resides in the fact that it is not the policy of the GCC countries that prevents people from coming to these states and creating settling there. However, Syrian refugees prefer to make a very dangerous voyage in order to obtain at least a vague possibility of reaching Germany or another prosperous European state. Finally, another important fact should be mentioned as the answer to unfair accusations.
Taking into account the already mentioned fact that the countries of the GCC do not accept the legal concept of refugees in order not to humiliate the dignity of a person, they suggest them the legal status that allows freedom of movement, the right for free healthcare and the right to work (Why aren’t rich Gulf states welcoming Syrian refugees… or are they? 2015). Additionally, Syrian workers, residing in the states of the GCC are suggested to replace their families to these very countries. With this in mind, it becomes obvious, that there are no barriers created by the countries of the GCC in order to prevent refugees from coming to these regions, however, people refuse to go there hoping to find some better conditions.
UAE participation
Nevertheless, it should also be said that among the countries of the Gulf, the UAE could be taken as the one which shows the greatest interest in the given issue and tries to take various steps to help people. First of all, it provided about $1,1 billion in order to support Syrians who suffered from the aftermath of the war with ISIS on the territory of Syria (Why aren’t rich Gulf states welcoming Syrian refugees… or are they? 2015). However, realizing the fact that this money is not enough to change the existing situation, the UAE also made some other steps.
Thus, about 17 thousands of Syrian students are now studying at local schools in the UAE (). Moreover, a great number of various projects whose main aim is to help refugees were created by the state. Due to the Al Mreijeb Fhoud Refugee Camp in Jordan about 10000 refugees obtained shelter (Why aren’t rich Gulf states welcoming Syrian refugees… or are they? 2015). Finally, several hospitals in Jordan were also founded by the UAE in order to provide medical services for Syrian people (Why aren’t rich Gulf states welcoming Syrian refugees… or are they? 2015). With this in mind, it is possible to state the fact that the UAE nowadays shows great interest in the situation connected with refugees and tries to help people in various ways.
Recommendations
Resting on the above-mentioned facts, it is possible to make a certain conclusion. Thus, is it possible to say that all accusations of various politicians connected with the countries of the GCC and their role in the Syrian crisis are groundless, as these countries do a lot to help people? However, they prefer European countries because of some vague advantages. Under these conditions, it is possible to suggest some campaign that will explain the benefits of the countries of the GCC for refugees and change their route. It is obvious, that various means of media should be used to show people that Europe is not able to shelter everyone and some Muslim countries could be chosen. This PR campaign supported by various media could help to improve the current situation.
References
Gulf states refuse to open doors to Syrian Muslim refugees. (2015). Web.
Maslin, J. (2015). Why Some Arabs States Refuse to Accept Syrian Refugees. Time. Web.
Specia, M. (2015). Syria’s refugee population reaches more than 4 million. Mashable. Web.
StMa. (2015). Obama to let in another 10,000 Syrian refugees despite no way of identifying terrorists. D.C. Clothesline. Web.
In this article, the author discusses the role of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in the Middle East, especially following the recent escape of Iraqis and Syrians into other neighboring countries in the Arab world. The author examines whether the role of these agencies concerning refugees in the Middle East is about human rights, needs, or they are simply seeking to offer assistance to the affected individuals. Ultimately, the author seeks to understand the concept of protection as defined by the UNHCR and how such definition plays out in the context of Syrian and Iraqis refugees in the Middle East.
Analysis
The main point that Stevens raises in this article is the examination of “the meaning of ‘protection’ as applied by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in its policy in the Middle East, with particular reference to Jordan and Lebanon” (264). The author argues that the definition of international protection as adopted by the UNHCR is confusing, especially when applied to refugees from Syria and Iraq in various Arab nations.
The main theoretical issues that arise from this article include the role of different international agencies, such as UNHCR and various NGOs in addressing the issue of refugees around the world. Additionally, the theoretical issues on relief and protection of human rights arise in this reading. Some of the questions that arise in this article include – Does the definition and interpretation of “international protection” of refugees by the UNHCR impede or promote the governments’ willingness to help Syrian and Iraqi refugees in the Arab world? Is the rights-based approach towards refugees an effective and practical tool?
I agree with the author that the definition of “protection” of refugees by the UNHCR according to the rights-based approach is narrow and it does not cover the reality of what happens on the ground, especially in the context of Syrian and Iraqi refugees in the Middle East. This reading challenges the commonly held view that there should be a one-size-fits-all approach when addressing the problem of refugees.
Since the beginning of the Syrian uprising in 2011, civilians in this country have paid a heavy toll on this crisis (Dinçer et al., 2013). According to the United Nations (UN) statistics, millions of people have been driven from their homes, and over 200000 have been killed in Syria (Doganay & Demiraslan, 2016; Phillips, 2015). Since then, the conflict in Syria between the government and other various forces continues to cause the displacement of millions of people either internally or externally (Carpenter, 2013). According to the UN estimation, the number of the Syrian people who were internally displaced is 7.6 million in 2014, and the number of those living outside the country exceeds 3.7 million (Memisoglu & Ilgit, 2017). The vast majority of those people are in dire need of help and support, and they have placed immense pressure on neighboring countries (i.e. Turkey, Iraq, Lebanon, Egypt, and Jordan) (Ostrand, 2015). By the end of 2017, Jordan, a country of approximately 8 million people, hosted around 671551 registered Syrian refugees (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), 2018). The majority of the refugees live below the Jordanian absolute poverty line, which is US$96 per month (Serrato, 2014). On the other hand, the United Nations argues that the people of Jordan are struggling with the unprecedented and protracted impact of Syrian refugees on their economy, societies, and infrastructure (Verme et al., 2015).
Jordan already suffers from weak infrastructure, lack of natural resources, and weak financial potential, and such displacement would create havoc and additional challenges for both the Jordanian government and its people (Connable, 2015; Helgens, 2016). In Jordan, a country with significant financial difficulties that pre-dated the Syrian crisis, the impact has been particularly devastating (Akgündüz, van den Berg, & Hassink, 2015). Government institutions in Jordan are unable to cope with the added volume of demands for public services (Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation, 2015). Jordanian national schools, hospitals, and other infrastructure services are overstretched, and as a result, locals are not getting the services they need (Haider & Olimy, 2018). In some areas, the demand for water, electricity, and waste collection far surpasses the capacity of the government to meet the needs of people (Lakshman et al., 2018). The lack of affordable housing poses another serious concern for both government and people in Jordan (Tan, 2015). Therefore, the relationship between Syrian refugees and Jordanian people is now complicated and aggravated.
A number of local and international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Jordan work to address the issue of Syrian refugees (Ay, González, & Delgado, 2016). In conjunction with the Jordanian government, the NGOs provide a broad spectrum of social services, including health, education, housing, employment, and welfare services (Chatty, 2017). They focus on helping and supporting low-income families to meet their basic needs (Ay et al., 2016). Although NGOs have been active in dealing with the Syrian refugees’ crisis in Jordan, their work and services have been a controversial issue (Kraft & Smith, 2018). All the conditions mentioned above have created tension between the Syrian refugees and their host communities. Such tension could escalate into armed conflict between the two groups if it is not addressed early (Immenkamp, 2017). This research study attempts to address that issue by first identifying factors that create the tension and second by providing means for removing or mitigating the tension.
Study Motivation and Justification
Over half a million Syrian refugees resettled in Jordan according to the UNHCR. The government of this country has been providing health care, educational services, accommodation, and many other services, but in such a poor country, the cost of providing these services is problematic (Dalal, 2015). The demand for public services has become tense, unstable, and sometimes chaotic (Anani, 2018). This issue creates a new situation, in which service demand is so high that it either results in low quality of services or long waiting times (Assaad, Ginn, & Saleh, 2018). An increasing number of people (locals and refugees) have been complaining about the lack of services and expressing their frustration and problems related to the competition over the services (İçduygu, 2015). In his study, Ostrand (2015) reported that the refugee issue in Jordan has shattered the country’s health and educational systems and infrastructure, leaving many locals in Jordan with little or no access to those basic services. According to Chica and Acosta (2018), the vast majority of the Jordanian people resent having their basic services cut off by Syrian refugees. This could lead to tension, which in turn can inflame the conflict between the two parties.
This study is also engendered by the personal motivations of the researcher who is a local Jordanian striving for the sustainable development of the community and the entire nation. The tension between refugees and local people is growing, which often results in conflicts of diverse intensity. In order to avoid major social upheavals and damage to the community or even people’s injuries and deaths, it is essential to implement effective policies that will mitigate the tension between the two groups. I am personally interested in the implementation of such projects as my and my close ones’ well-being depends on this.
Statement of the Problem
Since the outbreak of war in Syria, the Syrian refugees are scattered all over the world. A significant number of those refugees ended up in Jordan residing in either urban areas or camps (Wall, Campbell, & Janbek, 2017). Although the Jordanian government and NGOs provide constant basic humanitarian support such as food, health, education, and employment to the refugees, the support is not sufficient (Hoffmann, 2017). As Syrian refugees in Jordan have access to all public services and their children can go to school for free, a great deal of pressure has been placed on public services in Jordan (Alshoubaki, 2018). This, in turn, creates tension between refugees and their host communities (Tobin, 2018). Though many studies of Syrian refugees in Jordan have been carried out, there is no research so far on how to mitigate the tension (Al-Hawamdeh & El-Ghali, 2017; Cookson et al., 2015; El-Khatib, Scales, Vearey, & Forsberg, 2013). It is important and significant to study this topic as it has an impact on the lives of both refugees and Jordanian citizens. To mitigate the tension between the Syrian refugees and the surrounding communities in Jordan, the primary aim of this proposed research study is to investigate tension factors. There are many studies that found support for this argument (Shepard et al., 2017; Yasin, 2018; Yazgan, Utku, & Sirkeci, 2015).
Scope of the Study
Understanding factors that mitigate tension between Syrian refugees and the Jordanian host community frames the boundary of this research study. Based on the literature review, health and educational services, accommodation demand, and employment availability are deemed to cause tension between the two groups (see figure 1). According to Ryder et al. (2016), the tension between Syrian refugees and host communities in Jordan over access to public services is one of the largest issues facing the settlement and the conviviality currently. This issue could result in negative experiences among refugees and lead to conflict in Jordan (Fierros et al., 2016). The four stakeholders, refugees, locals, NGOs, and the Jordanian government are expected to provide a comprehensive sample for the scope of this study (Koerber & McMichael, 2008). Due to the financial and time constraints of the research, it is impossible to investigate the phenomena across the entire stakeholders (Zikmund, Babin, Carr, & Griffin, 2013).
Research Objectives
All people in this world have the right to be free of fear, violence, oppression, and discrimination (Lipman, 2018). In other words, a decent standard of living is a human right for all people, regardless of their race, ethnicity, religion, etc. (Kneebone, 2019; Mcloughlin, 2017). This can be applied to Syrian refugees who have been forced to move into Jordan. However, for many Syrian refugees in Jordan and in the neighboring countries, this right is at stake if the root causes of tension are not addressed. Notwithstanding the benefits of providing food and shelter for Syrian refugees in Jordan, social integration or conviviality depends more on groups’ cohesiveness (Kader, 2016). Thus, the overarching research objective of this study is to understand the factors that mitigate tension between the refugees and locals. This objective can be subdivided into two objectives as follows:
To understand the factors that cause tension between Syrian refugees and their host communities In Jordan.
To develop constructs that would mitigate the tension between the two groups.
Research Questions
A review of the recent literature reveals a limited interest in the tension between refugees and host communities in the world (Yazgan et al., 2015). While there is a growing number of studies that deal with refugees’ difficulties that they experience, little attention has been paid to how they live peacefully and integrate positively in their host countries, and no empirical research has been found on how to mitigate tension between refugees and local people in the host countries (Kumssa & Jones, 2014). The importance of mitigating the tension between the two groups is supported by many researchers (Berry, 2008; Walton, 2012; Yazgan et al., 2015). For instance, Yazgan et al. (2015) argue that mitigating tension between societies is an important aspect for social conviviality and for the common wheel. However, this topic is still neglected in the literature on refugees and migration (Brick et al., 2018). According to Yazgan et al. (2015) and Cochran (2018), mitigating tension between refugees and their host communities is an important area of research and it needs further investigation. Therefore, the main research question is as the following:
“What is causing the tension between Syrian Refugees and the host community in Jordan?”
Drawing on the main research question, the study has formulated the following two sub-questions:
RQ1. What are the major factors associated with education, health, employment, and accommodation, enhancing the tension between Syrian refugees and the host community in Irbid, Al-Ramtha, and Al-Mafraq in Jordan?
RQ2. What measures undertaken by the Jordanian government can mitigate the tension in the sphere of education, healthcare, accommodation, and employment between Syrian refugees and the host community in Irbid, Al-Ramtha, and Al-Mafraq in Jordan?
RQ3. What practices can non-governmental organizations utilize to mitigate the tension in the sphere of education, healthcare, accommodation, and employment between Syrian refugees and the host community in Irbid, Al-Ramtha, and Al-Mafraq in Jordan?
Literature Review
To provide a theoretical foundation for this study, the review of the literature is organized into three main sections. First, a general background about migration and refugees will be discussed. Second, the focus will be given to Syrian refugees in Jordan. Next, the role of NGOs assistance for the refugees in Jordan will be presented.
Migration and Refugees
Migration is one of the key forces of social transformation (Joly, 2017). There are two main types of migration: voluntary and involuntary. While the first type of migration refers to the movement of people from one country to another for the purposes of improving their lives (earning a livelihood), the second one indicates the forced movement of people as a result of political, environmental, and socio-economic reasons and events such as famines, droughts and epidemic, conflicts, civil wars, ethnic conflicts, religious turmoil, and human rights abuses (Kirisci, 1991; Lischer, 2007; Singthainiyom, 2016). In other words, the lack of welfare and security are the major driving motives behind involuntary migration (Soltau & Brockington, 2007; Wise & Veltmeyer, 2016). The term “Refugee” has been used in the literature to describe people who are forced and involuntarily have migrated (Matthew, 2012). According to migration studies, the existence of refugees is often associated with negative implications on host countries and the emergence of tension and conflicts with local people over many issues (Mwaruvie & Kirui, 2012). However, causes of tension and conflict are different from country to country due to the refugees’ situation and patterns of migration (Kumssa, Williams, Jones, & Marais, 2014).
The UNHCR estimates that the number of refugees who have involuntarily migrated to other countries since the Second World War exceeds 50 million (Curran & Stellern, 2018). Most of the refugee movements end up in the United State of America (USA), Canada, European countries, and Australia (Patil, Maripuu, Hadley, & Sellen, 2015). It is arguable that refugees living in those countries have access to a wide range of public services and benefits (Dwyer, Scullion, Jones, & Stewart, 2019; Fox, 2016; Morrice, 2007). For instance, Walker, Koh, Wollersheim, and Liamputtong (2015) claim that refugees have access to education, employment, housing, health services, and many other resources that help them meet their daily needs. However, there is often growing tension between the refugees and citizens of the host community, which sometimes results in conflict or violence (Evans, Parsons, Samadi, Seah, & Wallace, 2017). Reasons for such tension in those countries are racism-related stress, vicarious racism, and discrimination of religion (Butler, 2016). Ludwig (2017), highlighted Liberian refugees in the USA as an example for those who have experienced racism-related stress. This is consistent with the results of Gilhooly and Lee (2017) who examined Karen refugees in the USA, and his study suggested rural resettlement as an effective solution for the USA government and refugees themselves.
On the other hand, forced displacement in third world countries, especially in the Middle East, where a large number of refugees emanate, has become a global problem of unprecedented scale (Moore, Berry, & Garcia-Blanco, 2018). In many cases, those refugees do not have the wherewithal to move outside the region, so their displacement remains internal or moves to neighboring countries (Jacobsen, 2002; Sitaropoulos, 2000). According to László (2016), the existence of refugees in neighboring countries is seen as problematic that it could affect stabilization and pose serious risks to the social cohesion of the host countries in many ways. In this regard, Ratha, Mohapatra, and Scheja (2011) pointed out that refugees might create socio-economic problems due to competition with the host community over scarce resources and services. Moreover, Salehyan (2008), argued that refugees could also be unwelcome guests and could threaten the host countries’ culture. Gyeke and Adu (2017), provided an example of the tension between Liberian refugees and Ghana’s communities due to disputes over resources, high rate of unemployment, increased level of criminal activities, and disruption in social networks. Also, Atim (2013) reported that tension had emerged between Nakivale refugees and locals in southern Uganda over unequal distribution of power supplies between them. Another study found that the host community in North-eastern Kenya attributed the tension between refugees and locals to the loss of livelihood resources such as fuel-wood collection in their area (Kumssa et al., 2014).
Most recently, the Syrian civil war has caused an immense amount of forced migration and cast a shadow over all worldwide, notably neighboring countries such as Iraq, Egypt, Lebanon, Turkey, and Jordan. Lebanon, for instance, where there is a high ratio of refugees, the flows of Syrian refugees put high pressure on the economy (Knudsen, 2017; United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), International Labour Organization (ILO), & World Food Programme (WFP), 2017). Some research claims that the fragile economy of this country struggles to cope with the high demands of services from refugees and locals (Charles & Denman, 2013; Talhouk et al., 2016). As a result, growing signs of social tension between the two sides have manifested (Dionigi, 2016). The signs of tension include many cases of harassment and violence between them (Thibos, 2014; Yacoubian, 2014). Knudsen (2017), emphasizes that the general distress between the two groups has dramatically increased the crime rate and it could trigger more conflict. Likewise, Khalil and Milad (2015) highlight some elements of tension caused by competition over resources such as shelter, education and health, jobs, water, and municipal services. They also point out the importance of issues such as mutual misconceptions related to fear of security and safety, especially among Muslim refugees living in Christian areas. Madoré’s (2016), Boustani, Carpi, Gebara, and Mourad’s (2016) studies are consistent with other previous studies in which security reasons and the competition over services sectors are deemed to be the main source of tension between the two communities.
The tension between Syrian refugees and locals in Turkey was found to be caused by cultural differences, discrimination treatment, and competition over services (Baban, Ilcan, & Rygiel, 2017; Özden, 2013). In a study conducted by Altiok and Tosun (2018), he points out that the ambiguous state policies, perceived cultural threats, and economic competition with disfavor the presence of Syrian refugees as the main drivers of tension in Turkey. In another study, Çetin (2016) argues that the Syrians’ cheap labor in Turkey has forced the locals to accept lower standards of work, this, in turn, has created tension between locals and the refugees. This has also been reported by other scholars in this domain (Dinçer et al., 2013; Ekmekci, 2017; Kazour et al., 2017).
Based on the literature, the causes of tension between refugees and their host communities can be categorized depending on where the refugees are located (Khalil & Milad, 2015). The developed countries could easily embrace the influx of refugees whereas low-income countries could find difficulties with the issue (Hafeznia, Ghorbaninejad, Ahmadipour, & Ghavam, 2014). The influx of refugees into poor countries has a devastating impact on many aspects of those countries (Talhouk et al., 2016). This might explain why most countries with a sturdy economy can overcome the issues of tension between refugees and locals (Chan, Huxley, Chiu, Evans, & Ma, 2016; Serrao & Cavendish, 2018)
Syrian Refugees in Jordan
There are over half a million registered refugees in Jordan. The majority of them (83%) reside in urban areas in the north of the country, while the rest (17%) live in Za’atari, Marjeeb al-Fahood, Cyber City, and Al-Azraq camps (UNHCR, 2018). Serrato (2014) points out the refugees’ existence in Jordan is problematic and causes pressure on the locals. Refugees need shelter, food, water, health care, education services, land, and many other social services. (Farishta, 2014; Klingseis, 2016). The national supplies of water and electricity for instance are not enough to cope with the current population demands of locals and refugees (MercyCorps, 2014). Likewise, the education system faces many challenges that affect the adequacy, efficiency, and quality of education (Assaad et al., 2018). According to Krafft, Sieverding, Salemi, and Keo (2018), although the government has done many procedures to cope with the Syrian crisis, the education and health sectors in addition to other infrastructure services are not able to accommodate the number of Syrian refugees and Jordanian citizens too. The services sector is now overstretched, and the demand for the services surpasses the capacity of the government to meet the needs of people, especially with a lack of funding to support this sector (REACH, 2014a).
Since 2011, when the Syrian crisis first erupted, several active researchers have provided contributions to the earlier research of refugees. However, the review of the literature reveals a limited interest in Syrian refugees in Jordan. Health care issues, educational service issues, employment issues, and accommodation issues will be discussed respectively in the following sections.
Health care issues
For several years, the Jordanian health system had a great reputation for services based on local and international standards (Al Rubaiee, 2016). According to Oxford Business Group (2016), the massive influx of Syrian refugees has dramatically weakened the standard of these services. In this aspect, many locals claim that providing primary care services has been affected by the government plan for embracing the refugees (Aide Médicale International, 2014). Al Adem, Childerhouse, Egbelakin, and Wang (2018), found that some locals feel that the refugees receive additional preferential treatment from both the government and NGOs. The pressure on the already overstretched capacity of health services has made some people in Jordan complain about the inadequacy of professional health services (Harris, 2018). Al-Fahoum et al. (2015) highlighted a shortage of hospital beds, competent medical staff, and medicines. Access to health facilities has become more difficult for the refugees and locals alike as hospitals are overcrowded resulting in delays for essential services (Harris, 2018). Therefore, there is a drop in the quality of public health services after the Syrian refugees’ existence.
Jordanian authorities and local communities are also concerned about some diseases that have already been eradicated such as hepatitis, measles, cholera, tuberculosis, and polio. (Hiasat & Kurdi, 2015). According to Cookson et al. (2015), there have been cases of infectious diseases among Syrian refugees since the beginning of the Syrian displacement, the incidence rate of tuberculosis was very high. These diseases have been brought to the locals by the refugees (Nimer, 2018). Syrians’ refugees claim that the diseases have emerged as a result of not giving them proper health treatment, limited access to basic health services, and poor living conditions (A-lshadfan, 2015; Al-Rousan, Schwabkey, Jirmanus, & Nelson, 2018; Samari, 2017).
The decline in the quality of health services in the public sector has driven the Jordanian community to seek treatment at private hospitals (Francis, 2015). It is known that the cost of private health care is higher when compared with government health care (Shepard et al., 2017). This means that more financial burdens would be added on the locals. For some Jordanians, the refugees’ displacement makes healthcare services less accessible and more expensive (Farishta, 2014). This has created an increase in resentment among the Jordanian community (Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation and United Nations, 2013). These pressure aspects on the healthcare system and the emerging health issues have raised the tension between the Jordanian and Syrian refugee communities.
Educational service issues
In addition to the health services issues, the situation of refugees in Jordan has increased the demand for educational services. With the increasing number of refugees, many educational problems have emerged due to several reasons such as bullying, congestion in classrooms, and a low level of educational services (Al-Qdah & Lacroix, 2017; Berti, 2015; Culbertson & Constant, 2015). Congestion in classrooms is considered to be a significant factor that creates tension among locals and refugee students (Jalbout, 2015). According to Queen Rania Foundation (2017), there are approximately 215000 school-age refugees children in Jordan. Although only 130668 are currently enrolled in government schools, the number is far away from the schools’ capacity to provide a decent standard of educational services (Al-Hawamdeh & El-Ghali, 2017; Solis, 2016). The latest figures show that classes, which have been designed for 20 students, have more than 55 students in each.
Alongside students’ congestion, bullying in public schools is a serious problem affecting the wider community in Jordan. Bullying, as a phenomenon, refers to a specific form of aggressive behavior among students in schools (Furlong, Soliz, Simental, & Greif, 2004). The aggressive behavior can be physical such as hitting, pushing, and kicking, or verbal abuse such as threatening and teasing (Crick & Grotpeter, 1995; Roland, 2002). According to Culbertson et al. (2016) and Hamer, Abudoha, Omer, and Gubser (2017), bullying in schools has increased after the influx of Syrian refugees causing tension at the local level between the two communities. World Bank (2017) reported that almost 70% of Syrian refugee students in Jordan are bullied or verbally abused. As a result, many Syrian refugee families have forced their children, especially the girls to drop out of education (Khattab, 2017; Tarala, 2017). At the same time, the apprehension of bullying has led some Jordanian families to call for the division between their children and other refugees’ counterparts (Esveld, 2016). It is obvious that both communities have concerns about the safety of their own children and see schools as a hostile educational environment (Geannopulos, 2018).
To address the issues of congestion and bullying at schools, the Jordanian government and NGOs have adopted two main initiatives: a double-shift school and hiring a supplementary teaching staff (REACH and UNICEF, 2014). The educational authorities in Jordan decided to allocate afternoon-shift for Syrians’ children only. However, both communities are not satisfied with these initiatives. They claim that the arising problems of these initiatives have outweighed the benefit (Assaad et al., 2018; MercyCorps, 2012). It is true that the double-shift school could reduce the direct friction among students, and this, in turn, could solve part of congestion and bullying problems, but as Bervell, Sam, and Boadu (2013) argue that double shift school system would affect the quality of education, students’ performance and create social problems. Al‐Daami and Wallace (2007), emphasize that such changes in the educational system in Jordan could harm social cohesion.
In relation to hiring additional teaching staff, the Jordanian government and the key International actors highlight the lack of teachers’ availability, which is considered another major problem confronting the education sector (Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation, 2015). Significant numbers of this new teaching staff have no sufficient experience and are not well trained to deal with such situations (Ahmadzadeh, Çorabatır, Al Husseini, Hashem, & Wahby, 2014; International Alert, 2015). According to Sirin and Rogers-Sirin (2015), the Syrian refugees complained about the mistreatment of their children in school due to inexperienced teachers especially in addressing the needs of traumatized children. The Syrian refugee families see the teachers as a frustrating member of the educational process, for instance, some teachers use inappropriate descriptions to call the Syrian refugee children (Seeley, 2015). Geannopulos (2018), points out that both Jordanian students and teachers’ hostility is the main reason behind preventing Syrian refugee children to persist in school. As a result of the mentioned education issues, some Jordanian families have started to employ new strategies to keep their children away from schools and classes where refugee children reside such as moving their children into private schools to protect them from the araising problems of education, even so, Jordanian families struggle to afford schooling expenses which have become another additional financial burden (Betts & Collier, 2015; Esveld, 2016). Thus, this approach has left students of both sides at a considerable disadvantage and may contribute to tension between the two communities (Abu Hamad et al., 2017).
Employment issues
Competition over employment between Syrian refugees and Jordan people has increasingly become intense and to some extent problematic (Razzaz, 2017). Over the last decades, Jordan has been a destination for workers of neighboring countries (Wahba, 2014). The current Syrian crisis has brought a large number of skilled Syrian refugees to Jordan (organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), 2015). Those people are treated as foreign workers and they are subject to local labor laws in Jordan. According to the Ministry of Labour in Jordan, Syrian refugees are not legally allowed to work unless they are permitted (Howden, Patchett, & Alfred, 2017). In 2016, both the Jordanian government and the European Union (EU) signed an agreement (The Jordan Compact) that enables Syrian refugees to access the labor market without legal permission (Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation, 2015). Financial support grants and loans have been pledged by the EU as immediate support to Jordan for such an act (Barbelet, Zanker, & Ille, 2018). While this step brings welcome relief for Syrian refugees, most Jordanian people are against it (Lenner & Turner, 2018). In the perspective of Stave and Hillesund (2015), the labor market is saturated to the point that the unemployment rate in Jordan might radically go up because of intensive competition with Syrian refugees over jobs. What is more, jobs opportunity, wage levels, working conditions can be negatively affected too (David, Marouani, Nahas, Nilsson, & David, 2018). It is clear that there are a lot of public concerns over employment and work issues in Jordan after the Syrian crisis.
Recent research shows that many of the Jordanian people have lost their jobs in construction, trade, manufacturing, and agriculture due to the competition with the Syrian’s cheap labor (Bseiso, 2015). Berti (2015), reported that many Syrian refugees have established their own informal businesses that sell below-market prices, and thus have posed a threat to an equivalent business for Jordanian workers. Some local guilds are asking the authorities to prevent the Syrian workers from integrating into the local community and keeping their business within the markets allocated in camps (Lenner & Turner, 2018). These employment aspects are causing tension between the Syrian refugees and Jordanian host communities.
Accommodation
The Syrian displacement has affected negatively the Jordanian housing market. The number of houses has declined, and the rental prices have risen in an unaffordable way, especially in the north Jordan cities such as Irbid, Mafraq, and Ramtha where the number of Syrian refugees has exceeded the Jordanian population (Philips, 2016). The rental prices have increased to six times compared to the renting prices before the crisis (Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation and United Nations, 2013).
The struggle to secure satisfactory and affordable shelter for both communities has fuelled a tension that could contribute to deteriorating social cohesion (REACH, 2014b). The tension over accommodation between the two communities has escalated to some serious social issues such as “forced evictions” and “social frustrations” (CARE, 2017). The vulnerable people of both communities have been under threat of expulsion due to their financial difficulties in paying rent (REACH, 2014b). This has driven many people to live in shared accommodation where they have little or no privacy (Lakshman et al., 2018). The high rent impedes the ability of Jordanian young people to marry because they are unable to afford new housing, creating so-called social frustrations.
To conclude, the Syrian civil war has placed great repercussions on the capacity of the Jordanian government and its community too, especially in light of the limited international contribution which provides service to Syrian refugees (Human Rights Watch, 2017; Shteiwi, Walsh, & Klassen, 2014). According to Al-Arqan (2017) and Younes ( 2018), the weak of international contributions has left Jordan in a very critical situation and has raised the overall deficit of the state budget. To remedy the issue, the government decided to remove the subsidies for basic goods and services (Kumaraswamy & Singh, 2017). In addition to that, new taxes have been added to electricity, water, and some other basic goods (Anani, 2018; Idris, 2016). Therefore, people started to protest and many violent incidents occurred in the country (Doucet, 2016; Healy & Tiller, 2013). In the perspective of the host community, the Syrian refugees are seen as the main cause of almost all social and economic issues in Jordan (Lenner & Al-Khatib, 2015).
Non-government organizations (NGOs) role
The importance of NGOs has grown exceedingly over recent decades due to their significant role in providing humanitarian aid for people who are in need, especially in conflict-affected areas (Mathews, 1997; Olsen, Carstensen, & Høyen, 2003). According to Atkinson and Scurrah (2009) and Chandler (2001), the term NGOs refers to all organizations that are formally constituted, non-profit, self-governed, and private. The NGOs are part of civil society organizations (CSOs), but not vice versa. Examples of NGOs include but are not limited to, the Red Cross, Amnesty International, Oxfam, Save the Children, Religious, Peace, Environmental, and other Human Rights Groups. In Jordan, the NGOs work together with the government to help and provide a wide range of critical goods and services to the Syrian refugees such as health, education, shelter, employment, food (Ledwith, 2014; Zureiqat & Abu Shama, 2015). However, many researchers found that NGOs’ support might be problematic and could inflame tension between refugees and their host communities because they specifically address refugees and not local people (Ikanda, 2008; Members of the Development Assistance Committee, 2001). Agency for Technical Cooperation and Development (2013), reports the NGOs’ aid in Jordan is directed entirely toward Syrian refugees, while the Jordanian people are excluded.
The role of NGOs in helping and supporting Syrian refugees in Jordan has indirectly affected tension between all stakeholders (MercyCorps, 2012). As a result, many cases of an armed attack against some NGOs have occurred as a protest to stop delivering services to Syrian refugees (Klingseis, 2016). For instance, some Jordanian young attacked the warehouse of the Islamic Society organization in 2010 due to the exclusive focus on providing services to Syrian refugees. Another example was a governmental infrastructure project for water supply, which had been targeted by some locals due to the same reasons. In this incident, some armed people interrupted and attacked workers who were laying new water pipelines, and attackers stipulated that the project should include their poor areas and villages where locals Jordanians live too in order to allow them to continue the project (Klingseis, 2016). Therefore, the NGOs and Jordanian government need to address the challenges and underlying seeds of conflict for preventing the destabilization of the country (Kraft & Smith, 2018).
Gap in the literature
Previous studies have explored many aspects essential for Syrian refugees in Jordan, focusing on the basic needs of refugees and their status in this country. The literature of refugees has begun to explore multiple aspects of refugees’ experiences in their host communities. For instance, some researchers addressed issues related to the integration policies of refugees in host communities. In this aspect, they found that some refugees have major difficulties in accessing public services (Betts & Collier, 2015; İçduygu, 2015). Another interesting area of research considers refugees as valuable resources for their host communities (Doocy, Lyles, Akhu-Zaheya, Burton, & Burnham, 2016). In this literature, scholars tend to examine the importance of refugees’ contribution to the countries they live in and to the economy at large. In most common scenarios, refugees live for a long time in host countries that either permits them to work or allow them to receive assistance (e.g. cash or vouchers) from several local and international organization (mainly NGOs). This makes refugees, as stated by Pascucci (2017), independent people and they significantly contribute to the economy of the host countries. Yet, some researchers argue that refugees create havoc and they negatively affect the economy. This creates tension that may be problematic, between the two groups (Tobin, 2018). Inevitably, there is a growing literature in learning more about refugees’ effects on host communities.
The literature has contributed to our understating of the status quo of refugees in their host communities, but despite extensive studies conducted by the United Nations research and scientific centers on various aspects of refugees in the world, few studies about Syrian refugees in Jordan have been carried out in relation to issues with their host communities (Al-Qdah & Lacroix, 2017; Sak, Kaymaz, Kadkoy, & Kenanoglu, 2018). Furthermore, there is a paucity of research that examines the issue of tension that occurs between refugees with their host communities. Nevertheless, none of the research has addressed the issue in the context of the Middle East refugee crisis. This study is expected to provide a comprehensive theoretical model of factors that could mitigate tension between Syrian refugees and the host communities. Accordingly, it is important to understand this aspect at a deeper level (Ott, 2011). Based on the identified argument, the main research question of the study has been set as: Exploring factors that mitigate tension between Syrian refugees and their host community in Jordan.
Theoretical Framework
For the purpose of this study, the definition of tension that will be used among people refers to all types of hostile relations between two people/groups or rival powers due to their quest for survival (Flint, 2006). The tension was defined in the literature as “a set of attitudes and tendencies such as distrust and suspicion which refugees and locals have towards each other’s” (Hafeznia et al., 2014, p. 3). The tension in this study would also refer to the situation of hatred between refugees and their host community in Jordan. The term tension is commonly used in the literature of social science and international relations (Hafeznia et al., 2014). Accordingly, tension refers to the state in which two people or groups have a hidden hostility, fear, suspicion, or even a desire for dominance or revenge. It is arguable that tension often precedes conflict and it is always involved in it (Ali & Ocha, 2018). In the literature, causes of tension among people are likely to be related to a dispute over health services issues, a dispute over educational service issues, a dispute over employment issues, and other social issues (Ali & Ocha, 2018). Most of the tension among Syrian refugees and their host communities is formed due to the combination of these factors. Scholars in the field have yet to confirm or refute these factors (Yazgan et al., 2015). In addition to that, there might be additional factors associated with this tension and they have not been considered. Figure 1 shows the preliminary conceptual research model.
Figure 1: Preliminary Research conceptual framework
Thus, the main objective of this research study is to refute or confirm the factors derived from the literature and to expand the understanding of factors that could mitigate the tension between Syrian refugees and their host communities in Jordan.
Governments of many states, as well as international institutions, strive to create effective frameworks that could ensure the effective collaboration of people of diverse backgrounds as countries is strongly affected by globalization. The recent migration issues many nations have to face also make people concerned about the relationships between different groups (Fonseca, Lukosch, & Brazier, 2018). International agencies often employ the social cohesion concept to analyze some trends and phenomena related to interactions between groups and communities. These institutions attempt to create strategies and comprehensive plans for making collaboration between dissimilar groups possible.
The guiding theoretical framework for this study will be the group cohesion theory. It is noteworthy that the concept of social cohesion is analyzed through different lenses, including psychological, sociological, and political (Mekoa & Busari, 2018). The comprehensive theory of social cohesion is still non-existent as theorists tend to focus on rather specific facets of the notion. Jenson (2019) employs the definition of social conditions accepted by international financial institutions. Social cohesion is regarded as a set of “converging norms across groups that provide a framework within which diverse groups can coexist peacefully” (Jenson, 2019, p. 2). The research concerning the notion dates as far back as the end of the 19th century when scholars started describing and analyzing the peculiarities of groups’ behaviors (Fonseca et al., 2018). Theorists have focused on individuals’ beliefs and behaviors, as well as the influence of the beliefs prevailing within the group on people’s attitudes and behavioral patterns.
When analyzing nations and communities, scholars have employed such concepts as culture, values, identity, conflict, economy, family, education, and religion. For the purpose of this study, this perspective will be utilized to explore the peculiarities of the relationships between the target groups. Parsons’ view of social cohesion and the paradigm developed by Jenson and Beauvais will be utilized as the theoretical framework for this research. Parsons claims that social cohesion is achieved in a group that has shared values and norms that bring order, stability, and integrity (Fonseca et al., 2018). According to this functionalist approach, people united by shared values and ideas strive to collaborate and achieve certain goals. The wellbeing of the nation and its sustainable development is often regarded as the ideas uniting people. Parson also notes that social cohesion can be attained if a group of people adopts or accepts shared values at a certain period (Fonseca et al., 2018). This viewpoint can be relevant to address the research questions of this study, especially question 3 which is linked to the available opportunities to lessen the tension between Syrian refugees and Jordanian locals.
However, Parson fails to pay sufficient attention to the exact components of social cohesion in heterogeneous groups. The concepts discussed by Beauvais and Jenson can be helpful in understanding the collaboration between representatives of different cultural groups. The researchers stress that social cohesion is a dynamic process that is influenced by numerous external and internal factors (Jenson, 2019). The basic constituents of social cohesion are groups structures that are well-established, known levels of solidarity, shared values, as well as effective conflict management instruments.
The present case is consistent with this set of elements, so this theoretical framework can be applied to evaluate the level of the current and potential social cohesion between the two groups under analysis. The group structure is apparent as the stakeholders of the case under consideration can be seen as the elements of the new group comprising refugees, Syrian diaspora leaders, local people, NGO representatives, and officials. All these people have well-established roles and functions. The level of solidarity between the group is low and is the subject of this study. The values of the stakeholders are quite similar but have some peculiarities depending on the access to resources. However, the development of shared values and the introduction of effective conflict management strategies will be instrumental in achieving social cohesion among the target population.
The paradigm developed by Jenson and Beauvais also describes the basic dimensions of social cohesion, which equips this study with a specific framework to approach the issue under analysis. The researchers identify belonging, participation, inclusion, legitimacy, and recognition as five principal dimensions of social cohesion (Fonseca et al., 2018). When applying to the current context, it is important to pay specific attention to these dimensions and make sure that they are properly represented in the interventions used to improve the relationships between Syrian refugees and Jordanian locals.
Research Methodology
In scientific research, selecting the methodology is the most important to ask. There are many methodologies to choose from, but phenomenology, ethnography, case study, and grounded theory are the main methodological approaches used by researchers (Corbin, Strauss, & Strauss, 2014; Mason, 2017). Nonetheless, qualitative and quantitative methodologies have been used by researchers for either exploring people’s perceptions, building theories, or for a testing set of hypotheses (Zikmund et al., 2013). According to Fetters, Curry, and Creswell (2013) qualitative studies aim to comprehensively unearth any phenomenon of interest by summarizing experiences of individuals or groups in their natural settings. Refugee studies show that qualitative methods have been used for studying different aspects of refugees’ experiences and lives such as immigration status and rights, employment, education, health, and entitlements (Al-Arqan, 2017; Assaad et al., 2018). Therefore, a case study method can be useful for gaining a deeper understating of people’s experiences in order to draw theory regarding the status quo of Syrian refugees in Jordan.
The case study method is instrumental in addressing the research questions mentioned above due to certain components of this design. Ridder (2016) identifies some central components of the case study method that are all linked to the purpose of the present research. As described by Ridder (2016), real-life phenomena should be the case, which is true for this study. The relationships between two groups of people residing on a specific territory are the matter of the research. Boundaries are another important element of the case study method as the case should be confined to certain geographical and time boundaries. The focus is on the tension between two groups living in three Jordanian cities (Irbid, Al-Ramtha, and Al-Mafraq) that is apparent at the present moment (as of 2019).
In-depth analysis plays a central role in case of study implementation as the researcher concentrates on a complex phenomenon having certain dynamics. According to the concept of social cohesion, the relationships between people are dynamic as they undergo constant changes depending on a variety of internal and external factors (Mekoa & Busari, 2018). Therefore, the most appropriate approach to the exploration of such dynamic phenomena as the tension between groups is the case study method. The context is one of the major constituents of the case study methodology, so the focus is on social context and holistic comprehension. Such social aspects as education, health, accommodation, and employment are under analysis, hence, the social context is fully employed in this study. Triangulation is also an important peculiarity of the case study method as researchers utilize such instruments as interviews, observation, case description, and archives. The present research involves interviewing and in-depth descriptions of the case, which contributes to the study’s validity and reliability.
Case study methodology equips researchers with effective tools to describe, explore, and explain the issues under analysis. The purpose of this research is to examine the factors related to education, health, accommodation, and employment contributing to the increasing tension between two groups. Therefore, the exploratory case study will be helpful in addressing the established research questions. Exploratory case studies aim at examining factors affecting phenomena and trends (Ridder, 2016). This type is preferable as the primary goal of this study is to identify the reasons behind the existing trends and develop possible solutions to the current problems. The major factors that have an impact on the relationships between the populations have not been properly explored in the Middle Eastern context, so it is still unclear how exactly these factors interact and affect people’s behaviors (Al-Qdah & Lacroix, 2017; Sak et al., 2018). The most common tools used within the scope of the exploratory case study are interviews, observations, and surveys. The use of interviews and personal observation, as well as the overview of the case, will ensure the achievement of the established goal of this research. The use of these instruments will also enhance the validity and reliability of the findings.
Since the main aim of this study is to explore factors that might mitigate tension and maintain good relationships among Syrian refugees and host communities in Jordan, the case study method with interviews will be used for the purpose of this study. Corbin et al. (2014), defines this approach as a method in which qualitative data (i.e. Interviews, focus groups) can be used to identify factors or constructs in any given study.
Participants
The unit of analysis refers to what objects or things that researchers want to study or address. This could be staff members in an organization, households in a community, entities, animals, (Polkinghorne, 2005). For the purpose of this study, four primary stakeholders will be recruited through already existing contacts between the researcher and one NGO (Islamic relief in Jordan) through a mixture of purposeful and snowball sampling (Suri, 2011). The stakeholders will include samples of local community members, leaders of the Syrian diaspora in Jordan, heads of NGOs working in Jordan or their representatives and local government officers who are engaged with Syrian refugees in Jordan. The study justifies this selection on four grounds. First, local community members, who are aware of the issues and implications of refugees, can provide valuable data about what is and is not important for mitigating tension. Second, Syrian refugees could provide their experiences during their resettlement journey in Jordan. Third, NGOs in Jordan play an important role in meeting basic needs such as food, health, education, accommodation, and employment for Syrian refugees, and knowing what they go through while doing that is vital to understating how to mitigate tension. Forth, government workers can provide data about problems that they handle daily.
As mentioned earlier, a mixture of purposeful (judgment) and snowball sampling techniques will be used in this study. Zikmund et al. (2013, p. 393), define purposeful technique as “a nonprobability sampling technique when researchers select a sample that satisfies their specific purpose, even if it is not fully representative”. Furthermore, Collie, Zardo, McKenzie, and Ellis (2016) noted that if the study aims to develop or explore factors, purposeful sampling is the most common technique. On the other hand, the snowball sampling technique has been used for qualitative research when potential participants are hard to access or difficult to be identified and recruited (Koerber & McMichael, 2008). The proposed total sample will be 30 participants (8 for each Syrian and locals plus 7 for each NGO and Government officer in charge). Following the recommendations of Zikmund et al. (2013), this size is expected to be sufficient for some qualitative studies. However, the sample will be increased/decreased according to the saturation level as well as when more information about the main issue of the research is needed. The saturation level will be reached when no novel information is added (Suri, 2011). Potential participants will be recruited through personal invitation emails. Based on their willingness and availability, a suitable interview date will be chosen. All interviews will be recorded.
Data collection and analysis
Case study method with semi-structured face-to-face interviews will be conducted for the study. Four stakeholders will be invited to participate in the interview to achieve two purposes. First, to identify factors (not highlighted in the literature) that could cause tension between the refugees and host communities. This will help to refine and confirm the conceptual research model (Corbin et al., 2014). Second, to explore any mitigating factors which might help reduce the tension (Zikmund et al., 2013). The interview protocol will be designed based on previous studies and according to the main research question. According to Creswell and Poth (2017), the face-to-face interview approach allows respondents to describe and explain their situations and thoughts in real-time through communication and interaction with the researcher. The interviews are proposed to last approximately 20-30 minutes. An opening question followed by probing questions will help to explore common themes and obtain detailed information about the phenomena of interest (Taylor, 2005; Zikmund et al., 2013). The interview questions will be pre-tested with two academic specialists to make sure that the questions are clear and unambiguous.
Since the interviews’ duration will be rather limited, the participants will receive the background information set of questions along with the written consent form. They will complete brief questionnaires containing relevant demographic details prior to the interviews at any convenient time. Interview protocols include this set of questions so that the researcher could make sure that all the responses are available.
Table 1: Interview Protocol.
Leaders of the Syrian diaspora in Jordan
Local community members
Jordanian NGOs heads or employees
Local government officers engaged with Syrian refugees in Jordan
I.
Greeting
II.
Background Information
Age
Age
Age
Age
Gender
Gender
Gender
Gender
Marital status
Marital status
Job
Job
Children
Children
Education
Education
Job
Job
III.
Opening question
What challenges regarding the development of proper relationships between Syrian refugees and locals have the most detrimental effects?
What are your thoughts and ideas regarding Syrian refugees residing in this area? What kind of relationship between them and the local community has been established?
What challenges regarding the development of proper relationships between Syrian refugees and locals are the most detrimental?
What challenges regarding the development of proper relationships between Syrian refugees and locals are the most influential?
IV.
Probing Questions
1. What education-related issues do they address? How do these problems affect the relationship between refugees and locals?
1. Should refugees receive education-related assistance? How can this aid influence the relationships between locals and refugees?
1. What difficulties related to the implementation of educational projects exist?
1. What educational programs are available to Syrian refugees residing in the area? What impact do they have on the relationship between refugees and locals?
2. What health-related problems have they faced? What influence do they have on the relationship between refugees and locals?
2. What healthcare services or aid should refugees receive? How can it be implemented?
2. What issues are apparent concerning refugees’ health? How can these problems be solved?
2. What healthcare interventions are available to refugees? How influential are they regarding the relationships between locals and refugees?
3. What kind of problems regarding accommodation have they met? What are your thoughts or feelings regarding the matter?
3. What kind of assistance regarding accommodation (from NGOs, officials, or locals) can or should they get? How can it be implemented?
3. What accommodation-related projects are available to Syrian refugees? What are your suggestions regarding the matter?
3. How can existing accommodation-related projects for Syrian refugees affect the relationships between locals and refugees?
4. What programs associated with employment have they been involved in? If so, were they effective? If no, why was not they involved?
4. What programs associated with employment can or should refugees be involved in? How can it be implemented?
4. What employment opportunities are available to Syrian refugees? What role can NGOs play in helping these people land a job?
4. What employment opportunities are offered through governmental incentives? What is their impact on the relationships between refugees and locals?
V.
Termination (expressing gratitude, farewell, responding to questions if necessary)
At the beginning of the interview, the participant will provide the signed written consent form and the background questions with answers. The participants will answer five open-ended questions concerning health, education, accommodation, and employment as linked to the relationships between Syrian refugees residing in North Jordan (Irbid, Al-Ramtha, and Al-Mafraq) and local people. When interviewing the participants, field notes will be made in order to elicit more meanings and attitudes. Some non-verbal codes and emotions will be noted, and this information can be used in the thematic analysis. All interviews will be audio-recorded and verbatim transcribed. Nvivo software will be used to assist with data analysis (Bazeley & Jackson, 2013; Welsh, 2002).
In order to enhance the validity of the findings, the thematic analysis will be implemented manually and compared with the themes identified by the digital tool mentioned above. Creswell and Poth (2017) note that the development of codes is one of the central steps to be undertaken in this process. In order to come up with effective codes, the transcripts will be read many times. After the identification of the codes, they can be analyzed to develop the most recurrent themes. The codes and themes identified by the researcher will be compared with the ones outlined by the software. If some inconsistencies emerge, the data will be considered one more time to make sure that all aspects have been properly investigated.
As far as the trustworthiness of the research is concerned, it is important to mention such concepts as credibility, transferability, confirmability, and dependability. The credibility of a qualitative study is associated with the accuracy of findings that can be attained with the help of triangulation (Ridder, 2016). As mentioned above, the analysis of the case is one of the ways to cross-check the received findings. The extensive literature review will be instrumental in analyzing the current issues and people’s attitudes. The use of digital means of analysis will also enhance the credibility of data. Finally, the use of field notes can help in validating the obtained findings as they will unveil some facets of people’s perceptions regarding the relationship between certain groups.
Transferability is another element to concentrate on when validating the data. Transferability is concerned with the findings’ applicability in diverse settings (Creswell & Poth, 2017). Thick description is one of the primary strategies to achieve the necessary level of transferability. The data collection and analysis process will be described in detail. The description of the findings will also be rather meticulous to ensure the complete coverage of all possible themes, codes, ideas, concepts, and attitudes. The participants’ accounts will also be compared in order to identify similarities and shared ideas that are consistent with the research results. The inclusion of participants’ exact words will enhance the validity of the data and conclusions made.
Confirmability can be the most difficult goal to achieve in the present research as the researcher is a member of the community under analysis and is exposed to the issues in question. Ridder (2016) states that qualitative researchers can avoid this kind of bias in their studies with the help of trail auditing. Every step of data analysis and every decision made will be highlighted and justified, which will enhance the reliability of the findings. It is also critical to account for personal bias that can have an impact on the research. Such stages of research as designing, sampling, and data analysis are specifically vulnerable to the influence of personal biases. Nevertheless, the provision of all details and reasons behind every decision will minimize the adverse effects of personal biases. Dependability is another instrument to enhance the trustworthiness of the research results. According to Ridder (2016), qualitative researchers should provide thick descriptions of their methodology so that other investigators could replicate the study in other environments and settings.
Ethical Considerations
Ethics consideration has to do with guidance that makes researchers conduct trustworthy scientific research. In other words, a proper ethical protocol should ensure the rights, anonymity, and welfare of the subjects (people, animals, or environment). For the purpose of this research study, the (my university name) ethical guideline for human research will be followed. That is, in compliance with the (my university name) ethics procedures, the researcher will follow the process of conducting interviews. The research will only commence after ethical approval is granted by the (my university name) Human Research Ethics Committee. After ethical approval is obtained, invitations will be sent to the potential participants. They will be asked to provide written consent. Written consent forms must include the most important information as to the research, including its purpose, relevance, and methodology (Creswell & Poth, 2017). The expected implications and outcomes of the study will be mentioned in order to motivate the participants to be collaborative and sincere. The participants will also be informed about their right to withdraw from the project at any time. The confidentiality and anonymity of the samples’ data will be guaranteed. The interviews will be held outside the participants’ employment settings in order to avoid any negative outcomes for the samples. For instance, local NGOs and governmental institutions will be addressed as the researcher will be able to identify potential participants among one of the target groups. The invitations to participate can be sent through the organizational communication channels. Nevertheless, although some employees will be approached through their organizational structures, employers will not be informed about the people who will agree to take part in the study.
Any research must comply with a number of ethical standards. Scum ethical principles as nonmaleficence, responsibility, respect, and competence will guide this research. Creswell and Poth (2017) emphasize that respect is the key ethical guideline to follow when implementing a qualitative study. The researcher should respect the participants’ rights and make sure that no data is disclosed without people’s consent. The researcher should also ensure that the participants will not face any difficulties or issues due to their participation. According to Creswell and Poth (2017), the samples should be awarded for their participation, but due to the scarcity of resources, the award can take the form of sincere gratitude and acknowledgment of each participant’s contribution to the research, as well as the development of effective solutions to the existing problem.
Contribution to the literature
This study will make a number of contributions to refugees and their host communities’ research. Firstly, it will address a current gap in the body of knowledge regarding how governments and non-government organizations can mitigate the tension between refugees and their host communities. From a theoretical perspective, another contribution of this study will be to provide a research framework to explore factors that mitigate the tension between Syrian refugees and the Jordanian host community. Specifically, the study will examine the phenomenon of a hostile reaction of host communities towards refugees. Thus, this work is among the first to study the tension between refugees and their host communities. Examining the status of tension between the two groups is as important as or even more important than resettlement itself.
References
A-lshadfan, R. (2015). Host communities between solidarity and hardship. (Unpublished master’s thesis), Ain Shams University, Egypt.
Abu Hamad, B., Jones, N., Samuels, F., Gercama, I., Presler-Marshall, E., Plank, G.,… Sadji, J. (2017). A promise of tomorrow. The Effects of UNHCR and UNICEF cash assistance on Syrian refugees in Jordan. (Research Report). London: Overseas Development Institute (ODI).
Agency for Technical Cooperation and Development. (2013). Food security situation and livelihood intervention opportunities for Syrians refugees and host communities in north Jordan. (Assessment Report). Web.
Ahmadzadeh, H., Çorabatır, M., Al Husseini, J., Hashem, L., & Wahby, S. (2014). Ensuring quality education for young refugees from Syria. Retrieved from University of Oxford, Oxford Department of International Development. Web.
Aide Médicale Internationale. (2014). Syrian Crisis in Jordan. Health Needs Assessment Report. Web.
Akgündüz, Y., van den Berg, M., & Hassink, W. (2015). The impact of refugee crises on host labor markets: The case of the Syrian refugee crisis in turkey. (IZA Discussion Papers, No. 8841). Bonn: Institute for the Study of Labor.
Al-Arqan, A. (2017). The Negative effects of the Syrian asylum on the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan socially, economically and humanly. International Journal of Business and Social Science, 8(1), 161-173.
Al-Fahoum, A., Diomidous, M., Mechili, A., Archangelidi, O., Theodoromanolakis, P., & Mantas, J. (2015). The provision of health services in Jordan to Syrian refugees. Health Science Journal, 9(2), 1-6.
Al-Hawamdeh, A., & El-Ghali, H. (2017). Higher education and Syrian refugee students. The Case of Jordan: policies, practices and perspectives. (Research Report). Web.
Al-Qdah, T., & Lacroix, M. (2017). Syrian refugees in Jordan: Social workers use a participatory rapid appraisal (pra) methodology for needs assessment, human rights and community development. International Social Work, 60(3), 614-627.
Al-Rousan, T., Schwabkey, Z., Jirmanus, L., & Nelson, B. (2018). Health needs and priorities of Syrian refugees in camps and urban settings in Jordan: Perspectives of refugees and health care providers. Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal, 24(3), 243-254.
Al‐Daami, K., & Wallace, G. (2007). Curriculum reform in a global context: A Study of teachers in Jordan. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 39(3), 339-360.
Al Adem, S., Childerhouse, P., Egbelakin, T., & Wang, B. (2018). International and local NGO supply chain collaboration: An Investigation of the Syrian refugee crisis in Jordan. Journal of Humanitarian Logistics and Supply Chain Management, 8(3), 295-322.
Al Rubaiee, L. (2016). The effect of corporate social responsibility on marketing performance via customer value and corporate image : Analytical study in Jordanian private hospital in Amman. (Unpublished master’s thesis), Middle East University, Jordan.
Ali, J., & Ocha, W. (2018). East Africa refugee crisis: Causes of tensions and conflicts between the local community and refugees in Kakuma refugee camp, Kenya. Journal of Social Science Studies, 5(1), 298-315.
Alshoubaki, W. (2018). A Synopsis of the Jordanian governance system in the management of the Syrian refugee crisis. Journal of Intercultural Studies, 39(5), 596-603.
Altiok, B., & Tosun, S. (2018). How to Co-exist? Urban Refugees in Turkey: Prospects and Challenges. (Policy Brief). UNESCO Chair on International Migration & Yaşar Universit. Web.
Anani, J. (2018). Jordan’s Fiscal and Monetary Policies. The Jordan Times. Web.
Assaad, R., Ginn, T., & Saleh, M. (2018). Impact of Syrian refugees in Jordan on education outcomes for Jordanian youth. (Working Paper Series No.1214). Egyp: Economic Research Forum.
Atim, G. (2013). The Impact of refugees on conflicts in Africa. Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, 14(2), 4-9.
Atkinson, J., & Scurrah, M. (2009). Globalizing social justice: The Role of Non-government organizations in bringing about social change. UK: Palgrave Macmillan’s.
Ay, M., González, P., & Delgado, R. (2016). The perceived barriers of access to health care among a group of non-camp Syrian refugees in Jordan. International Journal of Health Services, 46(3), 566-589.
Baban, F., Ilcan, S., & Rygiel, K. (2017). Syrian refugees in Turkey: Pathways to precarity, differential inclusion, and negotiated citizenship rights. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 43(1), 41-57.
Barbelet, V., Zanker, J., & Ille, D. (2018). The Jordan compact: Lessons learnt and implications for future refugee compacts. (Policy Brief). Overseas Development Institute (ODI). Web.
Bazeley, P., & Jackson, K. (2013). Qualitative data analysis with NVivo. London: Sage Publications Limited.
Berry, L. (2008). The Impacts of environmental degradation on refugee—host relationships. African Security Studies, 17(3), 125-131.
Berti, B. (2015). The Syrian refugee crisis: regional and human security implications. Strategic Assessment, 17(4), 41-53.
Bervell, B., Sam, A., & Boadu, K. (2013). The nature of the shift schooling system in Ghana: Implications on pedagogy. Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, 4(4), 25-37.
Betts, A., & Collier, P. (2015). Help refugees help themselves: Let displaced Syrians join the labor market. Foreign Affairs, 94(1), 84-94.
Boustani, M., Carpi, E., Gebara, H., & Mourad, Y. (2016). Responding to the Syrian crisis in Lebanon. (IIED Working Paper). London: International Institute for Environment and Development.
Brick, C., Hadfield, K., Dajani, R., Eggerman, M., Ager, A., & Ungar, M. (2018). Resilience in context: A Brief and culturally grounded measure for Syrian refugee and Jordanian host‐community adolescents. Child development, 89(5), 1803-1820.
Bseiso, N. (2015). Informally employed Syrian refugees, working under harsh conditions, further strain Jordanian labour market. Web.
Butler, R. (2016). Local Kids Refugees and Publics of privilege: Children’s mediated and intercultural lives in a regional Australian city. Journal of Intercultural Studies, 37(4), 339-354.
CARE. (2017). 7 years into exile: How urban Syrian refugees, vulnerable Jordanians and other refugees in Jordan are being impacted by the Syria crisis. (A Summary Report).
Carpenter, T. (2013). Tangled web: The Syrian civil war and its implications. Mediterranean Quarterly, 24(1), 1-11.
Çetin, İ. (2016). Labor force participation of Syrian refugees and integration: Case of Adana and Mersin cities. Journal of Social Sciences, 15(4), 1001-1016.
Chan, K., Huxley, P., Chiu, M., Evans, S., & Ma, Y. (2016). Social inclusion and health conditions among Chinese immigrants in Hong Kong and the United Kingdom: An exploratory study. Social Indicators Research, 126(2), 657-672.
Chandler, D. (2001). The road to military humanitarianism: How the human rights NGOs shaped a new humanitarian agenda. Human Rights Quarterly, 23(3), 678-700.
Charles, L., & Denman, K. (2013). Syrian and Palestinian, Syrian refugees in Lebanon: the plight of women and children. Journal of International Women’s Studies, 14(5), 96-111.
Chatty, D. (2017). The Syrian humanitarian disaster: Understanding perceptions and aspirations in Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey. Global Policy, 8(1), 25-32.
Chica, N., & Acosta, P. (2018). Psychosocial support to foster social cohesion between refugee and host communities in Jordan. Intervention-Journal of Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Conflict Affected Areas, 16(2), 147-153.
Cochran, J. (2018). Jordan’s solution to the refugee crisis: Idealistic and pragmatic education. British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies, 46(2), 1-19.
Collie, A., Zardo, P., McKenzie, D., & Ellis, N. (2016). Academic perspectives and experiences of knowledge translation: a qualitative study of public health researchers. Evidence and Policy, 12(2), 163-182.
Connable, B. (2015). From negative to positive stability: How the Syrian refugee crisis can improve Jordan’s outlook. (Technical Report). Santa Monica: RAND Corporation.
Cookson, S., Abaza, H., Clarke, K., Burton, A., Sabrah, N., Naoum, M.,… Odeh, N. (2015). Impact of and response to increased tuberculosis prevalence among Syrian refugees compared with Jordanian tuberculosis prevalence: Case study of a tuberculosis public health strategy. Conflict and health, 9(18), 7-13.
Corbin, J., Strauss, A., & Strauss, A. (2014). Basics of qualitative research (Fourth illustrated ed.). USA: SAGE.
Creswell, J., & Poth, C. (2017). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches. USA: Sage Publications.
Crick, N., & Grotpeter, J. (1995). Relational aggression, gender and social-psychological adjustment. Child development, 66(3), 710-722.
Culbertson, S., & Constant, L. (2015). Education of Syrian refugee Children: Managing the crisis in Turkey, Lebanon, and Jordan. Santa Monica: Rand Corporation.
Culbertson, S., Ling, T., Henham, M., Corbett, J., Karam, R., Pankowska, P.,… Baruch, B. (2016). Evaluation of the Emergency Education Response for Syrian Refugee Children and Host Communities in Jordan. Jordan: Unicef.
Curran, T., & Stellern, M. (2018). Refugees. Journal of Case Studies, 36(3), 53-63.
Dalal, A. (2015). A socio-economic perspective on the urbanisation of Zaatari Camp in Jordan. Migration Letters, 12(3), 263-278.
David, A., Marouani, M., Nahas, C., Nilsson, B., & David, A. (2018). The Economics of the Syrian refugee crisis in neighboring countries. The Case of Lebanon. (Working Paper Series No. 1249). Egypt: The Economic Research Forum.
Dinçer, O., Federici, V., Ferris, E., Karaca, S., Kirişci, K., & Çarmıklı, E. (2013). Turkey and Syrian refugees: The limits of hospitality. Washington: International Strategic Research Organization (USAK).
Dionigi, F. (2016). The Syrian refugee crisis in Lebanon: State fragility and social resilience. (Working paper series.15). London: Middle East Centre, LSE.
Doganay, M., & Demiraslan, H. (2016). Refugees of the Syrian civil war: Impact on reemerging infections, health services, and biosecurity in Turkey. Health security, 14(4), 220-225.
Doocy, S., Lyles, E., Akhu-Zaheya, L., Burton, A., & Burnham, G. (2016). Health Service access and utilization among Syrian refugees in Jordan. International journal for equity in health, 15(108), 15-29.
Doucet, L. (2016). Syria Conflict: Jordanians ‘at boiling point’ Over Refugees. Web.
Dwyer, J., Scullion, L., Jones, K., & Stewart, A. (2019). The impact of conditionality on the welfare rights of EU migrants in the UK. Policy & Politics, 47(1), 133-150.
Ekmekci, P. (2017). Syrian refugees, health and migration legislation in Turkey. Journal of immigrant and minority health, 19(6), 1434-1441.
El-Khatib, Z., Scales, D., Vearey, J., & Forsberg, B. (2013). Syrian refugees, between rocky crisis in Syria and hard inaccessibility to healthcare services in Lebanon and Jordan. Conflict and health, 7(18), 3-5.
Esveld, B. (2016). Barriers to Education for Syrian Refugee Children in Jordan.“We’re Afraid for Their Future”. (Research Report). Web.
Evans, C., Parsons, A., Samadi, M., Seah, J., & Wallace, C. (2017). Leveraging humanitarian technology to assist refugees. Web.
Farishta, A. (2014). The impact of Syrian refugees on Jordan’s water resources and water management planning. (Unpublished master’s thesis), Columbia University, New York.
Fetters, M., Curry, L., & Creswell, J. (2013). Achieving integration in mixed methods designs. principles and practices. Health services research, 48(6pt2), 2134-2156.
Fierros, C., Jaloway, K., Jones, A., Mason, M., Shtepani, C., Shuler, M.,… Ruyle, L. (2016). Do NGOs Deliver? The Role of NGOs in responding to the Syrian refugee crisis in Jordan. Retrieved from Texas A&M University, The Center on Conflict and Development. Web.
Flint, C. (2006). Introduction to geopolitics: Tensions, Conflict and Resolutions. Britain: Routledge.
Fonseca, X., Lukosch, S., & Brazier, F. (2018). Social cohesion revisited: A new definition and how to characterize it. Innovation: The European Journal of Social Science Research, 32(2), 231-253.
Fox, C. (2016). Unauthorized welfare: The origins of immigrant status restrictions in American social policy. Journal of American History, 102(4), 1051-1074.
Francis, A. (2015). Jordan’s refugee crisis. Washington: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
Furlong, M., Soliz, A., Simental, J., & Greif, J. (2004). Bullying and Abuse on School Campuses. USA: Academic Press.
Geannopulos, M. (2018). Education: Developing Self Reliance for Female Syrian Refugees in Host Communities. Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection. 2822.. University of Michigan.
Gilhooly, D., & Lee, E. (2017). Rethinking urban refugee resettlement: A Case study of one Karen community in rural Georgia, USA. International Migration, 55(6), 37-55.
Oxford Business Group. (2016). Jordan’s Health Care Sector is Adapting to Influx of Syrian Refugees. Web.
Gyeke, M., & Adu, E. (2017). Challenges and coping strategies of refugees: Exploring residual Liberian refugees’ experiences in Ghana. Qualitative Social Work, 16(1), 96-112.
Hafeznia, M., Ghorbaninejad, R., Ahmadipour, Z., & Ghavam, A. (2014). Tension and conflict theories between countries: Review, critique and presenting. Geopolitics Quarterly, 9(4), 1-35.
Haider, A., & Olimy, S. (2018). The Representation of Laji’een (Refugees) and Muhajireen (Migrants) in the headlines of Jordan news agency (PETRA). International Journal for the Semiotics of Law, 32(1), 155–186.
Hamer, M., Abudoha, R., Omer, Y., & Gubser, M. (2017). Evaluation of Norway’s Support to Education in Conflict and Crisis through Civil Society organizations. Jordan: Case Study. (Research Report). Evaluation Department in Norad. Web.
Harris, M. (2018). The Impact of Syrian Refugees on Jordan: A framework for Analysis. Journal of International Studies,, 11(2), 154-179.
Healy, S., & Tiller, S. (2013). A Review of the humanitarian response to the Syrian refugee crisis in jordan,2012-13. Analysis of the emergency response capacity of the humanitarian system – case study 3.
Helgens, A. (2016). The adolescent refugee experience: Cultural attitudes of high school Burmese refugees living in Iowa. (Honors Program Thesis), University of Northern Iowa, USA.
Hiasat, A., & Kurdi, H. The National strategy for health sector in Jordan 2015- 2019. (Research Report). Web.
Hoffmann, S. (2017). Humanitarian security in Jordan’s Azraq camp. Security dialogue, 48(2), 97-112.
Howden, D., Patchett, H., & Alfred, C. (2017). The Compact experiment. Push for refugee jobs confronts reality of Jordan and Lebanon. (Research Report). Web.
Human Rights Watch. Jordan Events of 2017. (Research Report). Web.
İçduygu, A. (2015). The Long Road Ahead. Syrian Refugees in Turkey. A Project of the Migration Policy Institute. Washington, DC. Web.
Idris, I. (2016). Economic Situation in Jordan. (K4D Helpdesk Research Report). Brighton, UK: University of Birmingham, Institute of Development Studies.
Ikanda, F. (2008). Deteriorating conditions of hosting refugees: A Case study of the Dadaab complex in Kenya. African Study Monographs, 29(1), 29-49.
Immenkamp, B. (2017). Syrian crisis: Impact on Jordan. (Briefing). European Parliamentary Research Service (EPRS). Web.
International Alert. (2015). The Impact of the schooling system of Lebanese and Syrian displaced pupils on social stability. (Background paper). London: Author.
Jacobsen, K. (2002). Livelihoods in conflict: the pursuit of livelihoods by refugees and the impact on the human security of host communities. International Migration, 40(5), 95-123.
Jalbout, M. (2015). Opportunities for Accelerating Progress on Education for Syrian Children and Youth in Jordan. (Research Report). Web.
Jenson, J. (2019). Intersections of pluralism and social cohesion. Web.
Joly, D. (2017). International migration in The New millennium: Global movement and settlement. UK: Routledge.
Kader, S. (2016). New refugees-old rules: An analysis of Jordanian refugee policies and their effects on humanitarian. (Honors Thesis. 165), Union College, New York.
Kazour, F., Zahreddine, N., Maragel, M., Almustafa, M., Soufia, M., Haddad, R., & Richa, S. (2017). Post-traumatic stress disorder in a sample of Syrian refugees in Lebanon. Comprehensive psychiatry, 72(2017), 41-47.
Khalil, A., & Milad, L. (2015). Syrian refugees and Lebanese Christians, together against the turmoil. (Unpublished master’s thesis), Lebanese American University, Lebanon.
Khattab, L. (2017). School for stability: Examining the role of education in fostering social stability in Lebanon. (Research Report). Web.
Kirisci, K. (1991). Refugee movements and Turkey. International Migration, 29(4), 545-560.
Klingseis, S. (2016). Syrian refugees: Are they a non traditional threat to water supplies in Lebanon and Jordan. (Unpublished master’s thesis). Naval Postgraduate School Monterey. United States.
Kneebone, S. (2019). Humanitarianism, refugees, human rights, and health. In The Health of Refugees: Public Health Perspectives from Crisis to Settlement (Secound ed.). UK: Oxford University Press.
Knudsen, A. (2017). Syria’s refugees in Lebanon: Brothers, burden, and bone of contention. In Lebanon facing the Arab uprisings (pp. 135-154). London: Palgrave Pivot.
Koerber, A., & McMichael, L. (2008). Qualitative sampling methods: A Primer for technical communicators. Journal of business and technical communication, 22(4), 454-473.
Krafft, C., Sieverding, M., Salemi, C., & Keo, C. (2018). Syrian refugees in Jordan: Demographics, livelihoods, education, and health. (Working Paper Series No.1184). Egypt: The Economic Research Forum.
Kraft, K., & Smith, J. (2018). Between international donors and local faith communities: Intermediaries in humanitarian assistance to Syrian refugees in Jordan and Lebanon. Disasters, 43(1), 24-45.
Kumaraswamy, P., & Singh, M. (2017). Population pressure in Jordan and the role of Syrian refugees. Migration and Development, 6(3), 412-427.
Kumssa, A., & Jones, J. (2014). Human security issues of Somali Refugees and the host community in Northeastern Kenya. Journal of Immigrant and Refugee Studies, 12(1), 27-46.
Kumssa, A., Williams, J., Jones, J., & Marais, E. (2014). Conflict and migration: The Case of Somali refugees in Northeastern Kenya. Global Social Welfare, 1(4), 145-156.
Lakshman, R., Lintelo, D., Mansour, W., Soye, E., Ficcarelli, T., & Woodward, W. (2018). Wellbeing and protracted urban displacement: Refugees and hosts in jordan and Lebanon. Web.
László, E. (2016). The impact of refugees on host countries: A case study of Bangladesh under the Rohingya influx. (Unpublished master’s thesis), Aalborg University, Denmark.
Ledwith, A. (2014). Zaatari: The Instant city. (Research Report). Boston: Affordable Housing Institute.
Lenner, K., & Al-Khatib, B. (2015). Alternative voices on the Syrian refugee crisis in Jordan. Web.
Lenner, K., & Turner, L. (2018). Making refugees work? The Politics of Integrating Syrian refugees into the labor market in Jordan. Middle East Critique, 28(1), 65-95.
Lipman, P. (2018). Segregation, The Black spatial imagination and radical social transformation. Democracy and Education, 26(2), 1-8.
Lischer, S. (2007). Causes and consequences of conflict-induced displacement. Civil Wars, 9(2), 142-155.
Ludwig, B. (2017). Looking for refugees in the Other New York city: Liberian refugees in Staten Island. In Maintaining Refuge: Anthropological Reflections in Uncertain Times. USA: American Anthropological Association.
Madoré, M. (2016). The Peaceful Settlement of Syrian Refugees in the Eastern suburbs of Beirut: Understanding the causes of social stability. Lebanon: Civil Society Knowledge Center.
Mason, J. (2017). Qualitative researching. London: SAGE.
Mathews, J. (1997). Power shift. Foreign Affairs, 76(1), 50-66.
Matthew, P. (2012). What you are depends on where you’re standing: How expanding refuge protections to the internally displaced through the refugee act of 1980 violates international law. Internally Displaced, 74(1), 107-129.
Mcloughlin, C. (2017). Sustainable Livelihoods for Refugees in Protracted Crises. (Helpdesk Report). UK: Institute of Development Studies. Web.
Mekoa, I., & Busari, D. (2018). Social cohesion: Its meaning and complexities. Journal of Social Sciences, 14(1), 107-115.
Members of the Development Assistance Committee. (2001). The DAC guidelines: Helping prevent violent conflict. Paris: Publications de l’OCDE.
Memisoglu, F., & Ilgit, A. (2017). Syrian refugees in Turkey: Multifaceted challenges, diverse players and ambiguous policies. Mediterranean Politics, 22(3), 317-338.
MercyCorps. (2012). Analysis of host community-refugee tensions in mafraq, Jordan. (Research Report). Web.
MercyCorps. (2014). Tapped out: Water scarcity and refugee pressures in Jordan. (Research Report). Web.
Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation. (2015). Jordan response plan for the Syria crisis 2016-2018. (Research Report). Web.
Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation and United Nations. (2013). Host community support platform. Needs assessment review of the impact of the Syrian crisis on Jordan. (Assessment Report). Web.
Moore, K., Berry, M., & Garcia-Blanco, I. (2018). Saving refugees or policing the seas? How the national press of five EU member states framed news coverage of the migration crisis. Justice, Power and Resistance, 2(1), 66-95.
Morrice, L. (2007). Lifelong learning and the social integration of refugees in the UK: The Significance of social capital. International Journal of Lifelong Education, 26(2), 155-172.
Mwaruvie, J., & Kirui, P. (2012). The Dilemma of hosting refugees: A Focus on the insecurity in North-eastern Kenya. International Journal of Business and Social Science, 3(7), 161-171.
Nimer, N. (2018). A Review on Emerging and Reemerging of Infectious Diseases in Jordan: The Aftermath of the Syrian Crises. Canadian Journal of Infectious Diseases and Medical Microbiology, 2018. Article ID 8679174, 1-8.
Olsen, G., Carstensen, N., & Høyen, K. (2003). Humanitarian crises: What determines the level of emergency assistance? Media coverage, donor interests and the aid business. Disasters, 27(2), 109-126.
organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). (2015). Is this humanitarian migration crisis different? Migration Policy Debates. Web.
Ostrand, N. (2015). The Syrian refugee crisis: A Comparison of responses by Germany, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Journal on Migration and Human Security, 3(3), 255-279.
Ott, E. (2011). New issues in refugee research. Get up and go: Refugee resettlement and secondary migration in the USA. (Research Paper No. 219). Switzerland: United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
Özden, S. (2013). Syrian refugees in Turkey. (MPC Research Report 2013). Italy: European University Institute.
Pascucci, E. (2017). The Humanitarian infrastructure and the question of over‐research. Reflections on fieldwork in the refugee crises in the Middle East and North Africa. Area, 49(2), 249-255.
Patil, C., Maripuu, T., Hadley, C., & Sellen, D. (2015). Identifying gaps in health research among refugees resettled in Canada. International Migration, 53(4), 204-225.
Philips, M. (2016). The effects of Syrian refugees on Jordan’s economy: A Critical case study. (Unpublished master’s thesis). The American University. Cairo.
Phillips, C. (2015). Sectarianism and Conflict in Syria. Third World Quarterly, 36(2), 357-376.
Polkinghorne, D. E. (2005). Language and meaning: Data collection in qualitative research. Journal of counseling psychology, 52(2), 137-145.
Ratha, D., Mohapatra, S., & Scheja, E. (2011). Impact of migration on economic and social development: A review of evidence and emerging issues. (Policy Research Working Paper No. 5558). Washington, D.C: World Bank Group.
Razzaz, S. (2017). A Challenging market becomes more challenging: Jordanian workers, migrant workers, and refugees. (Research Report). Beirut: International Labour Organization.
REACH. (2014a). Evaluating the effect of the Syrian refugee crisis on stability and resilience in Jordanian host communities. Preliminary impact assessment. (Assessment Report). Web.
REACH. (2014b). Housing and tension in Jordanian communities hosting Syrian refugees. (Assessment Report). Web.
REACH and UNICEF. (2014). Access to Education for Syrian Refugee Children in Zaatari Camp, Jordan. (Assessment Report). Jordan: Author. Web.
Ridder, H. (2016). Case study research: Approaches, methods, contribution to theory. Mering, Germany: Rainer Hampp Verlag.
Roland, E. (2002). Aggression, depression, and bullying others. Aggressive Behavior, 28(3), 198-206.
Ryder, J., Bolme, D., Celustka, K., Conklin, S., Engstrom, D., Kono, M., … Sandoval, A. (2016). A Comprehensive response to the Syrian refugee crisis: Highlighting the United States’ role in the international effort. (Task Force Report). Web.
Sak, G., Kaymaz, T., Kadkoy, O., & Kenanoglu, M. (2018). Forced migrants: Labour market integration and entrepreneurship. Economics, 12(32), 1-13.
Salehyan, I. (2008). The externalities of civil strife: Refugees as a source of international conflict. American Journal of Political Science, 52(4), 787-801.
Samari, G. (2017). Syrian refugee women’s health in Lebanon, Turkey, and Jordan and recommendations for improved practice. World Medical and Health Policy, 9(2), 255-274.
Seeley, M. (2015). Jordanian hosts and Syrian refugees: Comparing perceptions of social conflict and cohesion in three host communities. (Research Report). Generations of Peace Institute Research. Web.
Serrao, R., & Cavendish, J. (2018). The Social functions and dysfunctions of Brazilian Immigrant congregations in “terra incognita”. Review of Religious Research, 60(3), 367–388.
Serrato, B. (2014). Za’atari camp and host communities in Jordan: Refugee Perceptions Study. (Research Reports). Web.
Shepard, D., Halasa, Y., Al-Halaseh, I., Fardous, T., Jrasat, M., & Abu-Shaer, M. (2017). The Cost and financial impact of expanding the civil insurance program to vulnerable Jordanians and Syrian refugees. (Research Report). Jordan: Unicef.
Shteiwi, M., Walsh, J., & Klassen, C. (2014). Coping with the crisis: A Review of the response to Syrian refugees in Jordan. (Research Report No. 4939). Jordan: Center for Strategic Studies.
Singthainiyom, P. (2016). Forgotten people: Desirable solutions for protracted refugee in Thailand. (Unpublished master’s thesis), The State University of New Jersey, Newark, New Jersey.
Sitaropoulos, N. (2000). Modern Greek asylum policy and practice in the context of the relevant European developments. Journal of Refugee Studies, 13(1), 105-117.
Solis, L. (2016, 20 May). Why Refugee Education is A Problem – and Six Solutions.
Soltau, K., & Brockington, D. (2007). Protected areas and resettlement : What scope for voluntary relocation? World Development, 35(12), 2182-2202. Web.
Stave, S. E., & Hillesund, S. (2015). Impact of Syrian refugees on the Jordanian labour market. Findings from the governorates of Amman, Irbid and Mafraq. (Research Report). Geneva: International Labour Office and Fafo Institute for Applied International Studies.
Suri, H. (2011). Purposeful sampling in qualitative research synthesis. Qualitative research journal, 11(2), 63-75.
Talhouk, R., Ahmed, S., Wulf, V., Crivellaro, C., Vlachokyriakos, V., & Olivier, P. (2016). Refugees and HCI SIG: The role of HCI in responding to the refugee crisis. Paper presented at the Proceeding CHI EA ’16 Proceedings of the 2016 CHI Conference Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems (pp.1073-1076). France: ACM. Web.
Tan, C. (2015). The Syrian refugee Crisis: Conflicts in the making. IEMed. Mediterranean Yearbook. Web.
Tarala, K. (2017). Jordanian education system struggles to educate Refugees. Web.
Taylor, C. (2005). Interviewing. UK: McGraw-Hill Education.
Thibos, C. (2014). One million Syrians in Lebanon: A Milestone quickly passed. (Policy Brief). Florence, Italy: The Migration Policy Centre at the European University Institute. Web.
Tobin, S. (2018). Vernacular politics, sectarianism, and national identity among Syrian refugees in Jordan. Religions and Refugee, 9(7), 225-238.
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), International Labour Organization (ILO), & World Food Programme (WFP). (2017). Vulnerability Assessment of Syrian Refugees in Lebanon 2016. (Research Report). Web.
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). (2018). Jordan. (Fact Sheet). Web.
Verme, P., Gigliarano, C., Wieser, C., Hedlund, K., Petzoldt, M., & Santacroce, M. (2015). The Welfare of Syrian refugees: Evidence from Jordan and Lebanon. Washington: The World Bank.
Wahba, J. (2014). Immigration, emigration and the labor market in Jordan: The Jordanian labour market in the new millennium. (Working Paper Series No. 671). Egypt: The Economic Research Forum.
Walker, R., Koh, L., Wollersheim, D., & Liamputtong, P. (2015). Social connectedness and mobile phone use among refugee women in Australia. Health & social care in the community, 23(3), 325-336.
Wall, M., Campbell, M., & Janbek, D. (2017). Syrian Refugees and Information Precarity. SAGE, New Media & Society, 19(2), 240-254.
Walton, O. (2012). Preventing conflict between refugees and host communities. (GSDRC Helpdesk Research Report). UK: University of Birmingham, Governance and Social Development Resource Centre.
Welsh, E. (2002). Dealing with data: Using NVivo in the qualitative data analysis process. Paper presented at the Forum Qualitative Sozialforschung/Forum: Qualitative Social Research.
Wise, R., & Veltmeyer, H. (2016). Agrarian change migration and development. Canada: Practical Action Publishing.
World Bank. (2017). Jordan education reform program: Program for result information document (pid) appraisal stage. (Report No. PIDA0131205). Web.
Yacoubian, M. (2014). Renewed conflict in Lebanon. Web.
Yasin, M. M. (2018). Understanding Trauma faced by Syrian refugees: Challenges and community solutions. Syrian Studies Association Bulletin, 23(1).
Yazgan, P., Utku, D., & Sirkeci, I. (2015). Syrian crisis and migration. Migration Letters, 12(3), 181-192.
Younes, A. (2018). Jordanians Protest Proposed Income Tax Legislation.
Zikmund, W., Babin, B., Carr, J., & Griffin, M. (2013). Business research methods. USA: Cengage Learning.
Zureiqat, G., & Abu Shama, H. (2015). Social Protection and Safety Nets in Jordan. (Research Report). Institute of Development Studies. Web.
People rarely create something for no reason. Houses are built for a purpose, and a life-saving station and a house of refuge in Crane’s novel are no exception. Despite the fact that both a life-saving station and a house of refuge in Crane’s novel seemingly share common features, their distinction comes in full blue when viewed through the lens of different social strata.
Even though both of the houses are referred to as the symbol of both physical and spiritual salvation, the shelter where one can survive a storm and at the same time reconcile with the foes: “At these times they were uncanny and sinister in their unblinking scrutiny, and the men hooted angrily at them, telling them to be gone” (Crane), the two houses bear a clear distinction from each other in terms of what exact ideas they embody.
It is quite remarkable that the difference between the two houses comes into the limelight as the correspondent, who clearly incorporates the elements of media as the author perceived it, cunning, two-faced and at the same time all-embracing, knowledgeable and resourceful, the cook, who plays the role of a comic relief in the story, strike a conversation: “In disjointed sentences the cook and the correspondent argued as to the difference between a life-saving station and a house of refuge” (Crane).
Seeing how the two opponents represent different social roles, with the correspondent obviously being one of the members of the élite, and the cook belonging to a less glorified third class, the opponents offer a very interesting method of differentiating between the two buildings, which is practically based on the structure of a society.
Indeed, while for a white-collar that the correspondent is, the difference between the houses lies in the purpose of the houses, i.e., the reason that they were built for: “As I understand them, they are only places where clothes and grub are stored for the benefit of shipwrecked people” (Crane); in his turn, the cook is only able to recognize the difference according to which they are run and organized, as well as the services that they provide: “Houses of refuge don’t have crews” […] “’Oh, yes, they do,’ said the cook” (Crane).
Famous Cost Guard Photos n. d. Web.
Therefore, the two characters provide two different ways to compare the houses in question. From the point of view of the cook, the houses have solely one difference, which, in fact, may be questionable, seeing how the cook is not quite sure whether the food is provided in both houses or only in the house of the refugees. The given means to compare the houses can be described as a consumerist one, since these are only the services that are under consideration.
The correspondent, on the other hand, offers a sociological method to compare the two houses; according to the given method, the key difference concerns the purpose of the two buildings, the Life-saving station being built to provide for people’s needs by offering them a kind of a “bed and board,” while the house of refugees clearly services only one purpose, i.e., offering people a place to spend a night in.
House of the Refugee. Web.
While a life-saving station and a house of refuge might seem similar at first, Crane’s novel puts everything into place. Sociologically, these buildings are nothing alike. Though there might be less difference between the two, with similar services offered to its visitors in each house, people’s weird classification does not allow for unintentional charity.
In the book Refugee, Alan Gratz tells three stories of refugees at different times. They are all similar and undoubtedly very tragic. These are the stories of people who have endured all sorts of hardships of fleeing from their homeland with the sole purpose of surviving somewhere else. The attempt to link three rather diverse stories into a single whole is successful due to the similarity of the characters. Despite the different reasons that prompted Isabel and Josef to leave their native country, and the fate of their loved ones that affected the emotional state of the children, they are similar in that the road to a new life is not easy for them, but they have to go through it to escape from death.
Both Isabel and Josef left their native country to survive. In 1939, Josef and his family boarded the ship St. Louis to find refuge from the Nazis in Cuba (Gratz 35). The official who issued the visas fell out of favor, and the President of Cuba decided to recoup himself in this way: they retroactively canceled visas for Jews. The story of Isabel takes place in 1994 during the collapse of the USSR and the rebellion in Cuba. Isabel, like many other Cubans, decided to sail with her family on a homemade boat 90 miles from Havana to Florida.
Both Isabel and Josef risk a lot on the way to a new life, and this path is not easy for them. Isabel and her family face all kinds of dangers, such as the threat of imprisonment in a Cuban prison, hurricanes, storms, drowning, sharks, dehydration and starvation (Gratz 74). The burden of waiting, the injustice and the consequences of staying in Dachau are so terrible that people would rather end their lives by suicide than go there again. Therefore, Josef also finds himself in a difficult life situation due to the need to change the country of residence.
The reasons of the outside world that forced Isabel and Josef to leave their native countries are different. A Jewish boy, Josef, flees Hitler’s Germany, and his mother has to make a terrible choice which of the children to save. Even if they make the journey successfully, neither Cuba nor America refuses to accept refugees. Isabel and her family have a chance to escape: Clinton announced that those who have already landed are not subject to deportation (Gratz 131). In addition, unlike Josef, Isabel is not fleeing from the war, but from the political regime, and her race is not being destroyed.
What happens to the heroes’ family is also different. Isabel lost both her friend and grandfather in the open ocean in a few days. However, at the same time she found a younger brother, which allowed the Cuban girl to find hope (Gratz 163). At the same time, 13-year-old Josef’s father goes crazy after Dachau, and the child is forced to watch his family disintegrate.
The main characters of the book Refugee by Alan Gratz are children who have long become adults. Despite the fact that Isabel and Josef are representatives of different countries, different nationalities, and different times, they are united by a thirst for life. The characters must escape from their country to save their lives, but they are at no less risk of death on this journey. Even there is no place for these people in their native country, they have a hope to survive.
Peace is continuously becoming scarce in many parts of the world, with many people fleeing to areas where they can get assistance or live without worry. The U.S. and several other European nations are critical destinations for many individuals seeking asylum around the globe. America is a vital target for many people facing domestic issues because of the country’s significantly stable political and socioeconomic status. However, the countless factors affecting the U.S. lead the country to exhibit excessive protectionism by ignoring some fundamental aspects concerning humans’ need for a belonging and safe home. The issue, therefore, leads to immeasurable immigration concerns that can only be understood through the analysis of the refugee act of the U.S. The present work thus covers America’s Refugee Act intending to pinpoint the various bottlenecks that can be removed to make the process of accepting ‘needy’ and qualifying persons into the country smooth.
Problem Statement: The Refugee Act
The American Refugee Act is a 1980 law that governs the issue of refugees’ acceptance into the country. The law defines who a refugee is and the various requirements to qualify to become a permanent citizen of the U.S. through naturalization. A refugee is incapable of returning to their home state due to justifiable fear of oppression based on race, political outlook, affiliation to specific social clusters, national origin, or religion (“Public Law 96-212,” n.d.). The definition finds its origin in the United Nation’s definition of the same group of individuals. The American Refugee Act determines who becomes a legal refugee in the nation and who can never realize considerations for the same.
Review of Literature
The Refugee Act was enacted by the U.S. Senate in 1979 and became an act in April 1980, after President Jimmy Carter signed it into law. The Act replaced the earlier versions of laws touching on the issue of refugees, mainly the Migration and Refugee Assistance Act and the Immigration and Nationality Act (“Refugee timeline,” 2021). Moreover, the Refugee Act of 1980 established a special office that handles refugees’ issues, the U.S. Coordinator for Refugee Affairs, and the Office of Refugee Resettlement (Pryce, 2018). The law requires that the coordinator reports directly to the president while the Office of Refugee Resettlement takes care of the group’s funding issue (“Public Law 96-212,” n.d). Better still, the 1980 law also increased the number of refugees accepted in the U.S. in a specific fiscal year to fifty thousand, from the previous cap of 17,400 individuals (“Public Law 96-212,” n.d). Thus, the law promotes America’s contribution to humankind by the elimination of suffering.
The Refugee Act continued to operate and received several amendments to accommodate new developments since 1980. The first such change was the Lautenberg Amendment in 1990, which cushioned specific groups from excessive evidentiary scrutiny by the American administration for refugee considerations (“Refugee timeline,” 2021). However, the most critical changes to the Refugee Act of 1980 occurred between 2002 and 2003. Such was after the creation of the Department of Homeland Security, which includes CBP, ICE, and USCIS, as a reaction to the 9/11 incident (Conconi et al., 2020). As a result of the 2002-2003 changes in the law, the number of people allowed to enter the U.S. as refugees now is about fourteen thousand, from fifty thousand plus, in the 1980s. The reduction contradicts the ever-growing number of persons wishing and qualifying to become refugees in the U.S.
The tightening of issues at the Department of Homeland Security also causes noteworthy delays. The American Immigration Council (2021) reports that the refugee status processing duration at the Department of State currently takes between eighteen and twenty-four months to end. The issue leaves many refugee applicants stranded in dangerous conditions that worsen their state (American Immigration Council, 2021). Worse still, the new definition of a refugee by the Refugee Act (of 1980) leads to a dangerous blander in the struggle to offer safety to the many people seeking such in the U.S. The term’s definition comes from the UNHCR Refugee Protocol’s meaning, which uses ‘persecution’ as the sole reason for refugee consideration (Menjivar et al., 2019). UNHCR, however, disregards persons leaving their home nations due to resource shortages and life-threatening weather occasions, despite the existence of a justifiable reason for their search for a better place to live.
The mistake in the Refugee Act affects many individuals going to the U.S. to seek refuge. For example, the American Immigration Council (2021) says that none of the about four million displaced Venezuelan citizens seeking shelter in the U.S. in 2020 qualify as asylum seekers or refugees. That is because of the absence of the ‘persecution’ facet in their description as persons seeking protection in the U.S. Disregarding individuals fleeing harsh natural calamities in Venezuela (in 2020) contradicts the nation’s implementation of the Azorean Refugee Act (of 1958). Consequently, America’s Refugee Act (of 1980) hurts many refugee seekers by exposing them to extended delays through prolonged refugee processing procedures. Additionally, the Act exhibits a myopic definition of a ‘refugee,’ thus leaving many qualifying ‘needy’ people unattended. The two mistakes cause several other problems in the U.S., such as creating a pool of desperate and vulnerable unregistered immigrants who fall prey to drug lords and human traffickers in the nation.
The issue of immigrant management in the U.S. is never new. America is often referred to as the ‘new’ land by many scholars and populations worldwide. Almost ninety-nine percent of the nation’s occupants are immigrants based on their ancestry (Schoenholtz et al., 2021). However, persons who arrived in the U.S. earlier, mostly Caucasians from Britain, tend to feel like the real owners of the land (Schoenholtz et al., 2021). However, the sense of ownership developed significantly after the nation’s independence in the eighteenth century. The Americans opted to control the inflow of persons to the nation through their parliament and legal system. The existence of policies touching on the issue of immigration and refugees, as early as 1891, for example, proves this aspect.
The Literacy test of 1917 also exists as another American law limiting the number of persons entering the U.S. as refugees. Together with the ‘Quota Acts’ of 1921 and 1923, all these laws reveal a deliberate move by the American administration to block some people with genuine needs and the desire to become Americans. Trump’s administration and its handling of immigrants through the existing Refugee Act further revealed the real interest behind the many bottlenecks in the law (Schoenholtz et al., 2021). Nonetheless, America needs to realize the need to embrace brotherhood, especially due to the world’s conversion into a neighborhood by technological innovations and the purpose of acting genuinely toward humankind.
Policy Analysis Specifics
The Refugee Act of 1980 makes converting eligible individuals into Americans significantly difficult. The law, thus, seems to promote the very adverse effects that it promises to resolve. The American Senate enacted the Refugee decree in 1980 to facilitate people’s entry into America and the realization of a better life among refugees. The then legislators appreciated the need to protect the world and its citizens from hostile situations that made life difficult. The legislators also understood America’s vantage position to help the world realize stability and respect humanity. Therefore, the 1980 law established a specific council that ought to advise the president on the issue of immigrants’ and refugees’ needs.
The council also exhibits the mandate to provide adequate finances to support refugees’ issues in the U.S. However, changes experienced over the years cause substantial deviation from the law’s original meaning. Instead of making the issue of refugees straight, the Refugee Act now complicates issues and makes accessing refuge in America very difficult (Micinski, 2019). The law also remains fixated on an original error to date, where it only defines refugees as persons fleeing persecution. The issues caused by the law’s negligence and poor implementation result in other grave consequences like the growth of illegal drug business and human trafficking in America. The Refugee Act, thus, contributes to homeland insecurity instead of security as of now.
Discussion and Conclusion
The main purpose of the 1980s Refugee Act is to make the process of refugees’ adoption into the U.S. easy, precise, and maintainable. During its enactment, the then-American legislators purposed to protect as many global citizens from domestic suffering as possible. The law’s bright prospects, however, never lasted long enough. Today, millions of eligible refugees languish in the U.S., awaiting their adoption for months and years. The number of acceptable refugees nowadays is also very low relative to the time of the law’s enactment. The current situation implies the need for legislators and all the concerned agencies to rectify the issue. Finding the link between the Refugee Act’s bottlenecks and the drug business and human trafficking issues in the U.S. constitutes a crucial research topic to understand the present matter further.