West Bank, Gaza and Guests

One of the most difficult and heartbreaking scenes in Jordan is the disparity and deprived state of refugees in Jordan. The topic most intriguing to me is the differences between documented and undocumented refugees, those Palestinians from the West Bank who are Jordanian citizens, Palestinians from Gaza who hold Egyptian traveling documents, as well as Iraqi “guests.” One of the quotes from a presentation that is very pertinent is “the Palestinian issue is critical to peace in Middle East, peace in the Middle East is critical to peace in the world.” A brief, yet informative, overview of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict can be viewed by Dr. Samir Ghattas. Another helpful source of this sixty-year long, unresolved issue is A Brief History of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict by Mark Tessler.

Though Jordan is not a signatory of the UNHCR’s Convention and Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees, the article “The Right to Asylum between Islamic Shari’ah and International Refugee Law: A Comparative Study” explains the similarities and differences of rights of refugees in the Middle East. The main parallels are the values of temporary protection, non-discrimination, humanitarian law, and the prohibition of sending a refugee to a country where they may be persecuted. There are no government policies or legislation in place to ensure protection, only practices.

One of the main questions throughout the meetings in Jordan was why some refugees receive government and non-governmental organizations’ aid and other do not. Father Qais, of the Ecumenical Studies Center, stated that the NGO has a presence in the camps, though independent. The ESC promotes increasing capacity for women in another camp, Baqa’a.

In Jerash, the Palestinian population preaches of their “unique” situation and hope to some day return to their land. The speaker at UNRWA was very informative and fascinating as he is a refugee himself, born in a camp. We learned that the Palestinians from Gaza have Egyptian travel documents and so do not receive services from the government and cannot become citizens; they do not have the right to work, which is the case in Jerash. The camp we drove through in Irbid was completely different than in Baqa’a, and even Jerash. The photos above (Jerash) and below (Irbid) depict the horror of poor refugees who do not receive government aid.

At UNHCR, we were told that the Iraqi displacement went largely unnoticed by the international community until 2007. Local integration of Iraqi guests is not possible as Jordan is already hosting a large Palestinian population, as sixty percent of the Jordanian population is Palestinian. They do not want a Palestinianization of Iraqis, thus, returning to Iraq is the only durable solution. The Minister of Social Development, Hala Bsaisu Latoof, states that it is easier for Iraqis to come and go; also, their children are able to attend school even if their parents are illegal.

USAID takes a different approach to aid; they target neighborhoods rather than camps because it will assist Jordanian poor as well as refugees. A following presentation noted that most refugees live outside the walls of camps; only twenty percent reside in a refugee camp. Palestinian refugee issues were discussed through one lunch; of 4.7 million refugees, forty-two percent live in Jordan while ninety-two percent of Palestinian refugees are Jordanian citizens with passports, legal status, and access to services such as education, health, work, and social services.

The state of the Bedouins was a shocking scene. As nomads, there are wandering goats, sheep, and chickens. The young girls of the family we dined with had rotting teeth. Black tubes run along the desert void of water. They live in cloth tents spun from their own wool. The gender roles are interesting to observe; the men and women sit separately. The women remained standing until all of their guests were seated and waited until everyone was served before eating. It was startling to see their generosity and hospitality with what little they have; this truly demonstrates the Arab culture and how deeply the population is embedded in its traditions and values. The family went out of their way to be welcoming and even went out to buy cups to serve us tea.

Another interesting encounter was before breakfast after our night at Feynan Eco-Lodge. Marco, Eli, Diana and I were able to ride a camel, which was a surreal experience. More importantly, through Nesreen and Mohammad, we were able to have an enlightening conversation with a Bedouin man who informed us that he was a Palestinian refugee and that there are many undocumented refugees in the Bedouin community. Another out of the ordinary comment was how he was speaking Modern Standard Arabic rather than a regional dialect.


There were many instances of emotion tugs to our hearts throughout the experience. The Iraqi refugee day was one such occasion. You could hear and feel their passion; it was a powerful release to the end of the day. As we were leaving, a man approached our group. He believed that we were a part of UNHCR and spoke with Nicole; he had pictures of scars from torture and told us his frightening and heartbreaking story. He is in the process of being resettled and asked Nicole for help; like the composed woman she is, she politely asked the man of his progress along the resettlement process and did her best to give him advice, though there was little she could legally do. This man’s story affected many of us by its personal nature and his cry for help.

PHOTOS: To me, the following photos represent the hope of future generations. The first is of a young girl in Jerash, whose home we visited. The second is a snapshot of an alley in Jerash, desolate and bare. The third is a photo from our drive through a camp in Irbid, where garbage and rubbish lined the streets and were piled upon crumbling stone and sheet metal huts. The fourth photo is Bedouin man who Nesreen, Marco, Eli, Diana and I spoke with. Through this conversation, we learned that he, too, is a Palestinian refugee. The fifth picture is of the children dancing at the Iraqi Refugee Day. The sixth picture is of the shy, yet curious children at the center in Baqa’a with Father Qais. The seventh and final photo is of the children of the camp, Baqa’a, who soon swarmed us with curiosity. The pictures illustrate the stark differences between camps and their young generations.
Photo Credit: Jessica Plechaty