DIPLOMATIC DOINGS

Jordan’s Ambassador on Country’s Refugee Policies

Dina Kawar, Jordan’s ambassador to the United States, has worked on refugee issues throughout her extensive career, including at the United Nations where she served as her country’s permanent representative from 2014 to 2016.

On April 8, the diplomat discussed Jordan’s refugee policies at the Milken Institute School of Public Health in Washington, DC. The Middle East Institute, the AlSaid Foundation, George Washington University’s Arab Student Association and the school’s No Lost Generation organization co-sponsored the talk.

Sharing borders with Syria, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Israel and the Palestinian West Bank, Jordan has been in the middle of turmoil and hosted refugees for decades. In addition to 2.3 million Palestinian refugees from the 1948 and 1967 wars, some 1.3 million Syrians and tens of thousands of Iraqis also reside in Jordan, Kawar noted. All together, refugees comprise one-third of the country’s population.

The ambassador said her countrymen sympathize with the refugees in their midst. “93 percent of Jordanians surveyed in a recent [U.N.] poll expressed a positive attitude toward refugees,” she pointed out. However, the same poll found that Jordanians are weary of the strain refugees place on their country’s limited natural and financial resources.

COVID-19, rising food and fuel prices and international donor fatigue has made supporting refugees via handouts unsustainable, Kawar warned. To assist those striving for self-sufficiency, Jordan has issued 288,000 work permits to refugees. “It not only enhances their own lives, but contributes to the community in which they are living,” she said.

Despite the stress refugees place on education, health, water and other services, “we do not force anyone to go home,” Kawar stated. “It is part of our ethics to not force anyone to leave and…no refugee will go back unless and until there is some sort of stability and security.”

Kawar stressed the importance of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), which provides aid to Palestinians in Jordan and elsewhere through health clinics and schools. “It’s been an ongoing struggle to keep UNRWA alive in the sense of funding,” she noted. “We feel that UNRWA has to remain alive until we get into solving and finding a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian issue.”

In 2018 the ambassador worked with the U.N. General Assembly to create the Global Compact on Refugees, a framework for building a sustainable solution to integrating and resettling refugees. “One has to be aware that whether you are Ukrainian, Yemeni, Iraqi or Syrian, it’s the same tragedy, it’s the same bad story and something that has to be dealt with,” she said.

Education for young refugees is of crucial concern “because once you educate the youth then they find their way in life,” the ambassador said. “I hope there are more efforts from countries that are able to help, especially since there are some amazing refugee talents and young people who want to go and finish their education and contribute.” Unfortunately, education is expensive and this is an issue that warrants the attention of all governments, Kawar said.

Despite the efforts of Jordanian officials and international agencies, reports indicate that 80 percent of Syrian refugees in

KHALIL MAZRAAWI/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

Residents of the Zaatari refugee camp, 50 miles north of Amman, on Nov. 19, 2021.

Jordan—many of them children—live below the poverty line. —Elaine Pasquini Crowds Enjoy Return of Embassy Open House Tours

After a two-year hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic, crowds of tourists and locals alike experienced the food, culture and history of Washington, DC’s many embassies with the return of Cultural Tourism DC’s Around the World Embassy Tour on May 7.

Despite unseasonably cold and rainy weather, throngs lined up early to view the artwork, furnishings and architecture of the diplomatic missions. The highlight for many was the delicious cuisine of the different regions, along with musical performances.

At Algeria’s Embassy, musicians entertained the long line of visitors waiting to enter with traditional Chaabi, North African Arabic music. Once inside, guests were treated to plates of couscous with meat and vegetables, facilitating what is known in some circles as “couscous diplomacy.”

Ladies and girls visiting Pakistan’s Embassy waited patiently to have delicate henna designs created on their hands by an expert artist. This special art—mehndi in Urdu—has been practiced in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia for over 5,000 years.

Some 30 embassies participated in the day-long event, including Egypt, Oman and Iraq. —Elaine Pasquini