The UN High Commission on Refugees is calling on the global community to give more aid and support to Jordan and Syria, two countries who have had a massive influx of Iraqi refugees, which have taxed both governments ability to alleviate the strains on their economies. Antonio Guterres urged increased efforts, stating “We know the heavy price that they have been paying (Jordan and Syria) in order to accommodate such a large number of Iraqis with a heavy impact on the economy and society” He also stated that Jordan and Syria have reiterated their support of Iraqi refugees and pledged that they would not send Iraqis back to their war torn country.
It will be interesting to see where this leads, and weather the governments of Jordan and Syria are sincere in their commitments. I say this because it is becoming increasingly difficult, as mentioned earlier for these governments to cope with the influx. Jordan for instance has recently ended subsidies) on fuel and many other goods forcing prices on some products to surge by as much or more than 100% of their previous rates. This was not instituted because of the refugee problem obviously, but in order to curb a large deficit. This is a burden which not only Iraqi refugees in Jordan, but also Jordanians themselves have to shoulder, and many will have a hard time doing it. Increased aid will ease the burden on refugees and the governments, so they will not have to resort to radical methods.
