Iraqi funding and refugees at risk in Jordan
Iraq blog | 26th February 2008 | Iraq
Acting as home to international donor organisations and Iraqi refugees alike, Jordan has become a major outpost of a war that continues to claim lives daily. Our Deputy Programmes Director met with both on her snowy trip to the country.
A slew of rain, sleet and slurry in England preceded my trip to Jordan last month. Dreaming of balmier climes and desperate to escape gloomy, abstemious London in January, I packed my spring wardrobe and sunglasses and boarded a flight to Amman. I did a double-take when I noticed my air carrier (British Midland? Don’t they just fly to Birmingham?) and did wonder if I’d end up stranded at Brumland’s spaghetti junction. Not quite Petra, eh?
I was heading to Jordan to meet with donors to try to raise awareness of War Child’s work in Iraq. A deteriorating security situation has meant that most international agencies have pulled out of southern Iraq – in fact, War Child is currently the only child protection agency operating in the south of the Country. Donors now conduct all Iraq programming from the safer strategic position of Jordan. I knew I had a Herculean task ahead – international donor funding towards NGOs working in Iraq with marginalised groups of children is about as easy to come by as Lord Lucan and many donors are increasingly channelling their funding through the Iraqi state. No bad thing, you may say? Well, what if the nascent Iraqi state is struggling to spend this money effectively; if corruption impedes the delivery of humanitarian objectives; and if the state priorities don’t correspond to the needs of children and their families?
Most of my meetings were aborted due to heavy snow. Yes, snow. Most donors closed their offices and the streets were eerily deserted. Unable to get an earlier flight back to the UK, I had plenty of time to observe Jordan itself. Surprisingly for a country with a Queen (Rania Al Abdullah) who is such an outspoken advocate of women’s rights, women are scarcely visible in public life. Outside of the extremely impressive women working at the donor agencies we met with, women in Jordan were rarely to be seen. Traditionally female-dominated jobs such as cleaning and waiting tables are held by men and men alone. Even at Amman’s biggest mall, which is full of women’s fashion stores, a mere 10% of customers were women.
Is it fair to say that Jordan’s liberal credentials lie elsewhere? After all, thousands of Iraqi refugees have found refuge in the country. I met a couple of Iraqis in Amman who fled their homeland after receiving death and kidnap threats. But how is life for them now? Some bemoan their inability to acquire official refugee status, and obtaining a work permit for Jordan can be prohibitively expensive. The ripple effects of the insecurity in Iraq are complex and fascinating. I look forward to returning to Jordan (in the heat, this time) to find out more.
