Refugees

Jordan is a country full of refugees, old and new.  The newest refugees are Syrians who are escaping the civil war in Syria.  We are very close to the Syrian border and several times have come close to the check point into Syria.  Don't really know what is going on with the fighting, but a cave on our agenda was closed because of heightened military activity and we saw a large helicopter land.  Our guide told us it had something to do with arrival of some hi ranking American.Refugees have very distinct problems, besides losing their homes and probably everything they own.  We met Abdul in a Sweets Shop in Ajlun where he was working. 

He crossed the border through a check point, had his passport stamped, and is working legally.   His passport is good for 2 more months.  He wants to go to a brother's home in Lebanon, but since his passport isn't good for 6 months, he can't go to Lebanon or pretty much anywhere else.  He can't go back to Syria now because of the political situation.  So he's stuck in Jordan and in 2 months his passport will expire and then he'll have even more issues to deal with.  Jordan doesn't want to give Jordanian citizenship to people like Abdul.  He is luckier than most--he has a job.  There are 1.5 million Syrian refugees in Jordan and it's taxing their resources!  The same scenario applied to many of the Palestinian refugees, some who have been in Jordan since the 1967 war.  By not giving them rights and citizenship, the Jordanian government hopes to keep this issue of refugees alive and force the world to deal with the Palestinian/Israeli situation.  Doesn't seem to be working too well.  And the expense of maintaining refugee camps close to the Syrian border is helped by the US Government, but it's Jordan's territory and responsibility ultimately.