AMMAN — Some 5,800
Syrian refugees left
Jordan in 2021, returning to their home country, even though full political
stability in Syria remains a goal yet to be achieved.
اضافة اعلان
According to the United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees’ (
UNHCR) data, 672,804 registered Syrian refugees are
currently present in Jordan; the number of unregistered refugees continues to
fluctuate. Of the registered refugees, 29.6 percent, or 199,069, reside in the
Amman governorate, 25.1 percent live in Mafraq governorate, and 20.3 percent
live in Irbid governorate.
UNHCR Spokesperson
Lilly Carlisle told
Jordan News that the official position of
the organization is that “it is currently unsafe for refugees to return to
Syria. However, the decisions to return at the moment are voluntary, taken by
the refugees at the individual level, for a variety of reasons”. Those include the
desire to reunite with families in Syria or to “set up their houses again”.
Carlisle also said that “over 96 percent
of refugees surveyed in October by the UNHCR said that they do not see
themselves returning in the next year. This shows that the number of refugees
returning to
Syria is actually small. Most of the cases of return have occurred
mostly independently of the UNHCR. Refugees can contact us if they seek
information on the question of returning to Syria”.
According to Carlisle, the Jordanian government
has not changed its stance vis-à-vis Syrian refugees, so they are not forced to
return.
“The Jordanian government has been very
supportive of refugees staying in Jordan,” she said, adding that, like UNHCR,
the government believes “the current situation is not conducive for a return by
refugees”.
“The shift from a humanitarian approach to
a development approach remains a challenge. Thinking longer term for these
refugees is helpful, because at the moment, many of these Syrian refugees need
employment, jobs to ensure that their children can go to school. These are some
of their essential needs now, beyond the basics of food, water, and shelter,”
Carlisle said, stressing that there will always be a segment of the refugee
population that will continue to need humanitarian support, through cash
assistance, for example.
“Most refugees want to return to Syria. It
is only when we ask if they are able to return in the next year that they say
that they are not so keen on that due to the current situation in Syria,”
Carlisle said.
Jordan is one of the first countries to vaccinate refugees with COVID-19 vaccine in early 2021. The latest statistics from the UNHCR show that "48 percent of Syrian refugees living outside refugee camps have been vaccinated”, said Carlisle.
More than 1300 Syrian refugees have been vaccinated through the UNHCR’s three mobile vaccination units, which are found in the organization's registration centers, in cooperation with the Ministry of Health. The most recent data reveals that roughly 74 percent of eligible refugees residing in the Azraq and Zaatari refugee camp have been inoculated.
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