AMMAN — A new public opinion poll released on Wednesday by
UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, in partnership with NAMA Strategic Intelligence Solutions,
demonstrates that 92 percent of Jordanians say that they are sympathetic
towards refugees, according to a press release by UNHCR.
اضافة اعلان
The survey, which covered
representative samples comprising of 3,229 Jordanians from Amman (1,754), Irbid
(916), Karak (299), and Mafraq (260), is the third wave of a bi-annual survey conducted by NAMA SIS on behalf of UNHCR
examining the perception of refugees among the Jordanian public.
Key findings also highlight that 76 percent of Jordanians believe
that the Government’s approach towards refugees has been positive, echoing the
results of surveys conducted in June 2021 and December 2020.
“Jordanians remain steadfast in their commitment to helping
refugees,” said the UNHCR representative in Jordan
Dominik Bartsch. “But as
refugees become increasingly intertwined in Jordanian society, we can no longer
just consider their needs in isolation,” he concluded.
Indications of growing fatigue among the Jordanian host community
are also emerging in the survey. Compared to previous rounds of the survey, an
increase among those who believe that the Jordanian Government has done more
than it needs to help refugees was observed. More people also agreed with the
statement that Jordan should focus on helping Jordanians, not refugees.
When looking at the effect of refugees on the Jordanian economy,
more than three quarters of respondents indicated that jobs, wages and access
to services have been negatively affected by refugees. However, most Jordanians
said that the pandemic had not changed their perception of refugees, although
most believed that they had been more adversely affected in comparison to their
refugee neighbors.
“Over the past 3 waves of
this survey, we have seen a changing trend in Jordanian public opinion towards
refugees that is associated with the worsening economic conditions of
Jordanians. As this study shows, of the 59% of Jordanians who believe
refugees affected Jordan’s economy, 78.4 percent of them reported that refugees have affected
their economic situation negatively. Moreover, 68 percent of Jordanians believe
that refugees receive more support and 62 percent view that too much money is
being spent on refugees. While the pandemic exacerbated Jordan’s economic woes,
91 percent of Jordanians say that they have been affected negatively and 81
percent of Jordanians reported that they suffered more than refugees. This
empirical evidence demonstrates that declining positivity towards refugees is
linked to the worsening economic conditions of Jordanians,” said Dr. Fares
Braizat, the Chairperson of
NAMA Strategic Intelligence Solutions.
At an event launching the survey on Wednesday, representatives of
the international community in Jordan reemphasized their support to bolster
efforts to support refugees and Jordanians alike and work towards the greater
inclusion of refugees in national systems.
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