While there is plenty of media attention on Syrian refugees in Europe, the bulk of Syrians displaced by the Syrian conflict are living in neighbouring countries in the Middle East. Jordan is hosting over a million Syrians who have fled the conflict, constituting a significant proportion of its own population. About 655,000 Syrians have registered as refugees with the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) in Jordan, and around 20% of this number live in refugee camps. The vast majority of Syrians live among urban populations, clustered in the northern part of Jordan.

Syrians in Jordan are vulnerable in a number of ways, facing challenges in relation to housing, employment, food, access to health services, and forced repatriation. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is one of a number of international organisations working in Jordan. The ICRC provides some services to Syrians in Jordan as part of its humanitarian mission to assist and protect people affected by conflict. Joining us this Majlis is Natalya Wells, Policy & Political Affairs Officer with the ICRC. Natalya will share her experience from a recent four-month mission with the ICRC Delegation in Jordan. During this Majlis, Natalya will discuss the humanitarian needs of Syrians in Jordan, whether living in refugee camps such as Zaatari or Azraq or in urban areas, and how the ICRC responds.

After this discussion, the session will expand to encompass some of the social and economic problems arising in Jordan as a result of the large number of displaced Syrians, and the regional humanitarian crisis sparked by the Syrian crisis more broadly.  

Natalya Wells has worked with the ICRC for five years in the Australia Mission. She is an alumna of the Centre for Arab & Islamic Studies, having completed her MA there in 2009.