Vast majority of Jordanians sympathize with refugees: UNHCR

Jordan

Published: 2021-06-19 13:57

Last Updated: 2024-03-28 03:28


Vast majority of Jordanians sympathize with refugees: UNHCR
Vast majority of Jordanians sympathize with refugees: UNHCR

Every year on June 20, World Refugee Day celebrates the determination and courage of people forced to flee their homes.

Jordan continues to host the second-most amount of refugees per capita, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

Currently, Jordan hosts more than 750,000 refugees, and has repeatedly opened its doors to those forced to flee.

Today, more than 10 years after the Syrian crisis, the vast majority of Jordanians - 94 percent - still sympathize with refugees.

This positive attitude towards the integration of refugees into Jordanian society extended to the health sector.

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, refugees in Jordan have been included in the national response plan, and have been able to receive the vaccine for free. Fourty percent of eligible refugees living in refugee camps in Jordan have now received at least their first dose of the vaccine.

Despite this, the COVID-19 pandemic has put pressure on healthcare, schools and our communities, severely affecting refugees and their Jordanian hosts, and pushing more families into poverty.

This means that refugees are increasingly relocating to substandard accommodation, not paying rent, accumulating debt, or spending less on food. In the face of these challenges and building back better, the UNHCR is committed to supporting the refugee and Jordanian communities.

"Our assistance to refugees should be part of a broader recovery effort to help all those affected by the economic impacts of the COVID-19 crisis as we all have a role to play in keeping each other safe."

“UNHCR is dedicated to working with the Jordanian government to ensure that the needs of refugees and vulnerable Jordanians are met,” said Dominic Bartsch, the UNHCR Representative in Jordan.

In recognition of the skills provided to refugees, on World Refugee Day, the UNHCR is launching a Nursing and Healthcare Laboratory in partnership with Luminus Technical University College (LTUC), which will benefit both refugee and Jordanian students alike.

Using the latest equipment, machinery, and medical facilities for pediatrics, maternity, obstetrics and gynecology, the lab simulates a hospital environment that provides vocational training to ensure students move smoothly into the job market.

Additionally, by collaborating with the United Nations Chamber Music Society and in a performance by Jordanian singer Lynn Al Fakih, accompanied by a choir of refugees, UNHCR in the Jordan is using the power of music to highlight that “together, we can achieve anything. Together we can heal, learn and shine."

Thus, World Refugee Day 2021 is an opportunity to celebrate the power of inclusion. Refugees are doctors, nurses, business leaders, teachers, students, artists, farmers, and agricultural workers; given the opportunity, they will continue to contribute to stronger, safer and more vibrant communities.