Jordan’s poorest refugees struggle with crowded classrooms and grinding poverty
▶ US cuts to the education budget for Palestinian refugees have a widespread effect on social conditions, Suha Ma’ayeh writes
Jarrah Al Hawamdeh was a teenager when his leg was amputated in an ultimately successful battle against bone cancer.
“He was just like any other kid his age who enjoyed playing around and climbing,” says his mother Itaf. “When he lost his leg I told him, ‘this is not the end. When one door closes another opens.’”
Jarrah, 23, heeded her advice and eight years later climbed to the Mount Everest base camp to try to raise a much-needed US$1 million (Dh3.6m) for his former school run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency.
FAWAZ SHILBAYEH Marka refugee camp, Amman
“He wanted to support the school because he was worried that it would close down,” said his younger brother Diya’a, in Amman’s southern neighbourhood of Jabal Al Jofeh where the family lives. “He wanted to make sure the neighbourhood’s kids could continue studying there.”
In January, the US State Department announced that it was committed to giving only $60m to the UN’s agency for Palestinian refugees – down from the $360m last year for branches in Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.
The largest number of those– more than 2 million – live in Jordan.
The agency oversees one of the largest school systems in the Middle East, with nearly 700 schools. The budget cuts have hit hard. In Jordan, there are 121,386 pupils studying in 171 of its schools.
The schools are struggling to find room for the pupils and to teach them effectively. There are about 42 pupils in each classroom being taught in two shifts every day.
At one school in a Palestinian refugee camp on the outskirts of Amman, there are 10 toilets for the 2,000 pupils who attend every day.
At another school, the principal points out that many of the children come from poor backgrounds. One boy, 13, was in his office recently and his shoes were so worn out they were falling off. He was given a new pair donated by a charity.
“Sometimes when we don’t have donations, we pitch in money with the teachers and buy stuff for children who are in need,” he says.
One staff member at an agency school in Amman says budget cuts are affecting pupils’ safety. Walls are patched up and the playground needs paving.
“Some of the classroom doors need to be repaired and we can hardly buy educational materials,” the staff member says.
Principals face a teacher shortage because they cannot pay wages and staff fear they will lose their jobs. While most Palestinian refugees in Jordan have full citizenship, many Gazans working there only have temporary residency.
“If I lose my job I will be thrown in the street,” says an assistant principal at a UN-run school in Amman. “I am not a citizen and the only place I can work is at an UNRWA school.”
His income of 700 dinars (Dh3,623) is barely enough for his family of five and his mother to survive.
Parents are also worried about the extra costs they might incur if schools were to close down.
Fawaz Shilbayeh, a supervisor at Marka refugee camp near Amman and a former school principal, calls on donor countries to increase their donations to the refugee agency.
“Not only for political reasons but also for social and economic reasons,” Mr Shilbayeh says. “Those who suffer most will be girls since their parents will be reluctant to let them continue their school education. And this will encourage early marriages.”
Musa Al Sheikh, who works at a mobile retail shop at one of Jordan’s 13 camps, says he will not be able to afford to send three of his five children to a private school if the camp’s schools close.
One third of refugees in the camps live below the poverty line.
“Even if they go to a government school, I cannot afford to pay transport for them and the nearest school is a half hour’s walk,” Mr Al Sheikh says. “One of my daughters is 15 and I will marry her off.”
Those who suffer most will be girls since their parents will be reluctant to let them continue their school education