Lives Unseen

Urban Syrian Refugees and Jordanian Host Communities Three Years into the Syria Crisis

Executive summary

This study aims to enhance the understanding of the needs and capacities of urban Syrian refugees and host communities, in particular women and girls, and to identify trends by comparison with CARE’s two baseline assessments: Baseline Assessment of Community Identified Vulnerabilities among Syrian Refugees living in Amman (2012) and Syrian Refugees in Urban Jordan: Baseline Assessment of Community-Identified Vulnerabilities among Syrian Refugees Living in Irbid, Madaba, Mufraq, and Zarqa (2013).

Methodology

The survey covers 384 Syrian and Jordanian families1 in Amman, Irbid, Mufraq, and Zarqa. 124 households (32%) are newly arrived Syrians that fled to Jordan during the second half of 2013, 139 (36%) are longer-termdisplaced Syrians (in Jordan for more than one year), and 121 households (32%) are Jordanians referred to CARE by the Jordanian Ministry of Social Development (MoSD). Two-thirds are male-headed and one-third are femaleheaded households. 25% of Syrian and 50% of Jordanian households are female-headed. Survey data was complemented and triangulated with data for 1,262 families from CARE’s database and 17 focus-group discussions with different sex/age/nationality groups.

Household profile

53% of the surveyed population is 18 years old or younger (26% girls and 27% boys). 17% are children below the age of five (8% girls and 9% boys). 4% of the survey population is elderly, aged 60+ (2% women and 2% men). 54% of all family members are female and 46% are male. The average household size was 5.8 and the average number of people sharing accommodation was 6.2.

Most Syrian refugees report fleeing from bombardment or destruction, followed by concerns about safety and arbitrary arrest. For 8%, a primary reason is concern about the safety of women and girls. 74% of Syrian refugees have moved at least once, with families typically moving one or two times. Survey data suggests little movement between geographic areas.

Key vulnerabilities and needs

The analysis of the situation of Syrian refugees and Jordanians affected by the crisis highlights five key areas of concern and possible interventions to address them. CARE is committed to coordinating with the government of Jordan and international stakeholders to advance the recommendations as outlined in this report.