Resilience from within: how refugees in Zaatari protect and support each other

In the early 1990s, UNHCR operations in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan were relatively small, serving a few thousand refugees and asylum-seekers from several countries in the Middle East and North Africa region. In the aftermath of the Iraqi war in 2003, the operation expanded to meet the needs of refugees who were fleeing Iraq.

After the crisis in Syria erupted in March 2011, however, hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees were forced to flee across the border and seek international protection in Jordan. For the last decade, UNHCR has been working to ensure their protection.

More than 427,000 Syrian refugees are currently registered with UNHCR in Jordan. Additionally, Jordan hosts refugees of Iraqi, Yemeni, Sudanese, Somali and other nationalities.

UNHCR Jordan is now running one main office located in Amman and has two field offices in Jordan’s two main refugee camps, Azraq and Zaatari as well as a field unit in Irbid governorate.

UNHCR works closely with the Government of Jordan and numerous other national and international partners in providing protection and assistance to refugees and asylum seekers, as well as to Jordanian communities affected by the refugee influx.

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