Syrian Refugees in Jordan: Carefully Watched
Syrian Refugees in Jordan: Carefully Watched
The Economist, 18 Jun 2014
URL: http://www.economist.com/
JORDANIANS are quick to note that hosting more than 600,000 Syrian refugees has put a strain on their economy, government services and scarce water supplies. But a different threat keeps officials up at night. The refugee crisis “is turning into a security situation,” says Abdallah Abu Romman, a former minister of information.
The authorities worry that armed fighters, regime intelligence agents and smugglers hide among the refugees. Security services in the largest refugee camp, Zaatari, blamed riots there in April on "Assad sleeper cells", according to the Saudi-owned daily Al Hayat. A resident who liaises between refugees and the Jordanian police says anyone who causes trouble in the camp is investigated. Someone deemed a moderate rebel is sent back to Syria but “if they suspect he is from an extremist group, he is immediately detained,” says the resident.
Smuggling networks have built up around Zaatari. Some 400,000 refugees have entered the camp since 2012, but only 85,000 remain. About 110,000 of those went back to Syria, and another 50,000 left for Jordan’s cities legally with the sponsorship of a relative or local. But 150,000 more departed Zaatari in a way the UN's High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) cannot account for, says Kilian Kleinschmidt, who heads the agency’s operation in the camp. Human trafficking is enough of a concern, but the authorities fear the same networks could be used to move weapons too.
The newly opened Azraq refugee camp addresses many of these concerns. In the Jordanian desert, half an hour’s drive on a potholed road from the nearest town, it can host only 130,000 people and is designed to be as dissimilar from Zaatari as possible. “We studied all the issues of Zaatari, compared, and tried to avoid them this time,” says a Jordanian security man at Azraq.
Smuggling will be more difficult, for example, because Azraq sits fenced in an inhospitable desert surrounded by watchtowers. Unlike in Zaatari where a long street of refugee-run shops sell everything from vegetables and grilled chicken to electronics and tools, refugees in Azraq must get permits from the government to set up shops. Products going in and out of the camp will be more closely watched. And more police have been assigned to the camp to prevent the rise of street gangs of the sort that emerged in Zaatari. They also chaperone visiting journalists.
Tensions between Syrians and Jordanians are still a worry. Four out of five Syrian refugees live in Jordan’s cities and towns, where, being banned from working, they take black market jobs for low wages. The government says this has pushed down pay for Jordanians too. “The potential seeds of conflict are really there,” says Musa Shteiwi, who heads the University of Jordan’s Centre for Strategic Studies. A poll he ran late last year found that 73% of respondents were against hosting more refugees—up from 64% in 2012.
Jordan is asking donors to give it the $1 billion it says it will spend on additional security over the next three years as a result of the refugee influx—about as much as it has asked for education and health services for the refugees. It may also like to see a larger proportion of Syrians in controlled areas such as Azraq. Plans are already under way for a third refugee camp. Current urban dwellers are unlikely to be moved, but newcomers will find it harder to leave the camps.
The authorities worry that armed fighters, regime intelligence agents and smugglers hide among the refugees. Security services in the largest refugee camp, Zaatari, blamed riots there in April on "Assad sleeper cells", according to the Saudi-owned daily Al Hayat. A resident who liaises between refugees and the Jordanian police says anyone who causes trouble in the camp is investigated. Someone deemed a moderate rebel is sent back to Syria but “if they suspect he is from an extremist group, he is immediately detained,” says the resident.
Smuggling networks have built up around Zaatari. Some 400,000 refugees have entered the camp since 2012, but only 85,000 remain. About 110,000 of those went back to Syria, and another 50,000 left for Jordan’s cities legally with the sponsorship of a relative or local. But 150,000 more departed Zaatari in a way the UN's High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) cannot account for, says Kilian Kleinschmidt, who heads the agency’s operation in the camp. Human trafficking is enough of a concern, but the authorities fear the same networks could be used to move weapons too.
The newly opened Azraq refugee camp addresses many of these concerns. In the Jordanian desert, half an hour’s drive on a potholed road from the nearest town, it can host only 130,000 people and is designed to be as dissimilar from Zaatari as possible. “We studied all the issues of Zaatari, compared, and tried to avoid them this time,” says a Jordanian security man at Azraq.
Smuggling will be more difficult, for example, because Azraq sits fenced in an inhospitable desert surrounded by watchtowers. Unlike in Zaatari where a long street of refugee-run shops sell everything from vegetables and grilled chicken to electronics and tools, refugees in Azraq must get permits from the government to set up shops. Products going in and out of the camp will be more closely watched. And more police have been assigned to the camp to prevent the rise of street gangs of the sort that emerged in Zaatari. They also chaperone visiting journalists.
Tensions between Syrians and Jordanians are still a worry. Four out of five Syrian refugees live in Jordan’s cities and towns, where, being banned from working, they take black market jobs for low wages. The government says this has pushed down pay for Jordanians too. “The potential seeds of conflict are really there,” says Musa Shteiwi, who heads the University of Jordan’s Centre for Strategic Studies. A poll he ran late last year found that 73% of respondents were against hosting more refugees—up from 64% in 2012.
Jordan is asking donors to give it the $1 billion it says it will spend on additional security over the next three years as a result of the refugee influx—about as much as it has asked for education and health services for the refugees. It may also like to see a larger proportion of Syrians in controlled areas such as Azraq. Plans are already under way for a third refugee camp. Current urban dwellers are unlikely to be moved, but newcomers will find it harder to leave the camps.