This project was launched in August 2013 to help shed light on the tensions that have emerged as a result of the influx of Syrian refugees into Jordanian communities. This report provides an account of the findings of this project so far, including results from a desktop review and primary data collection undertaken across the four northern governorates of Jordan (Ajloon, Al Mafraq, Irbid, and Jarash) as well as the governorates of Balqa and Zarqa between September and November 2013.

Main Findings

Preliminary findings suggest that the key drivers of tension at the micro-level are safeguarding livelihoods and competition for income-generating opportunities; the struggle to find adequate, affordable housing; and challenges in the education sector such as difficulty in accessing education and a deteriorating quality of education. In fact, the cumulative percentage of communities reporting drivers stemming from all remaining sectors was lower than the proportion of communities that highlighted each of the aforementioned drivers respectively. These drivers of tension are also prevalent on the macro-level. However, other sectors like access to healthcare, access to water, and solid waste management, also drive tension on the macro-level. In other words, the drivers of tension on macro-level do not directly correspond to those found on micro-level. This may be due to the fact that these services are non-discriminatory by nature and thus shared across the community to a different extent than housing and income-generating opportunities. As a result, blame for lack of these services is not associated with any individual or group, but rather seen as a challenge for the community as a whole.