By Asbarez
Madeleine Mezagopian
In an old, historically rich, area in Amman, Jordan, far from the headquarters of the United Nations in New York where recommendations and resolutions pertinent to refugees are adopted, concrete actions are undertaken to provide comprehensive rehabilitative care for young Iraqi refugees.
Following an influx of Iraqi refugees to Jordan in 2003, further occupation of Iraqi cities by ISIS and the persecution of Christians in 2014 resulted in new waves of Iraqis fleeing Iraq and seeking refuge in Jordan. In September 2014, two thousand visas were issued in coordination between the Royal Court and Caritas for Iraqi Christians fleeing persecution in Mosul. These refugees were provided with necessities including accommodation between September 2014 and January 2015—in most cases for one year, by different churches in cities like Amman, Madaba, and Fuheis with Caritas attending to their needs including, education in private schools and health care in local centers and hospitals.
Once registering at the UNHCR, each Iraqi refugee obtains a document titled “Appointment Slip For POC in UNHCR,” which in itself represents some form of residence and permission, to go to and from places, for Iraqi refugees in Jordan.
In March 2016, 58,000 Iraqis registered at the UNHCR, the year the Iraqi Health attaché informed me that a majority of those who entered Jordan after 2014 were Christians who came with nothing whatsoever, hence the need for more care. While a Caritas representative explained that Iraqi refugees receive low attention by the media, especially with the absence of camps sheltering refugees, and that very few non profit organizations deal with Iraqi refugees, given the difference in size between the Syrian refugees and Iraqi refugees—prioritizing the former.
The general health of Iraqi refugees in Jordan is multifaceted, at the forefront being psychological frustrations, as testified by a Caritas representative. After 2014, the health of Iraqi refugees is worse than that of the Syrians. With this being said, it is relevant to underline the fact that the recent flow of Iraqi refugees arrived with no assets whatsoever, due to ISIS confiscating all their belongings, leading to psychological traumas and accompanying health repercussions. Iraqi refugees are forgotten and marginalized.
In 2016, there was a consensus among those I interviewed, that the Iraqi refugees in Jordan have been marginalized by the international community, despite the continuation of the crisis in Iraq and increase rather than decrease in number of Iraqi refugees fleeing conflict areas.
Reham Fakhoury, a renowned Jordanian journalist tackling refugee issues, stated the following: “The situation of the Iraqis in Jordan regressed after the emergence of the Syrian crisis. At the present, there is no more medical help or food stamps for Iraqis at UNHCR. It is a political decision prioritizing Syrian refugees with not enough support for Iraqi refugees. The international community is indifferent with regard the Iraqi refugees.”
That same year, in 2016—while international and regional organizations with considerable budgets continued attending to the needs of Syrian refugees in Jordan—an effective model, with a modest budget, was created to attend to the needs of Christian Iraqi refugees in Jordan.
Decades before the eruption of the war in Iraq, St. Joseph Pastoral Center was established, in 1971, which included a club for the youth of the parish. In 2016, the Center was expanded to revive the club with the support of the head of the parish, Fr. Wissam Mansour, and under the management of Fr. Mario Cornioli, Country Director of the Habibi Valtiberina Association—an organization that mainly engages with the concerns of Iraqi refugees at the Parish and in Jordan in general.
Fr. Mario initiated the revival of the club with the sponsorship of Franciscan fathers. The club’s existing kitchen was renewed with a new section to prepare pizza and other Italian dishes managed by Iraqis who have been trained by Italian chefs who taught the youth how to bake pizza, make ice-cream, as well as other culinary skills. An Italian man with his own ice-cream recipe and a farmer who is an expert in making homemade cheese arrived in Amman and trained the Iraqi youth in their respective specializations. Thus, Mar Yousef’s Pizza was born in October 2017 within the complex of St. Joseph Pastoral Center.
Through his many contacts with Italian organizations, Fr. Mario contributed in financing other projects. In 2017, a sewing workshop was established at the center on a separate floor sponsored by HVA to train Iraqi women refugees.
Amid the ongoing efforts toward enhancing the skills of the Iraqi youth, the education of Iraqi children who faced difficulty in joining formal schools in Jordan was not neglected. In 2018, Our Lady of Carmel School for Iraqi Children, school to students from 1st grade to 10th and 11th grades, was established. The school was directed by Sana’ Bekki, an Iraqi-British citizen, and supersized by Fr. Wissam Mansour.
Our Lady of Carmel School, an informal school, is part of the circuit of the Latin Patriarch Schools in Jordan and is financed and supported mainly by the Iraqi-English non-governmental organization Iraqi Christians In Need, in addition to the Vatican Embassy in Amman, the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, St. Joseph Parish in Amman and HVA. It is located in Hashmi Shamali, a relatively poor area, where most Christian Iraqi refugees reside.
The school accommodates between 200 to 350 Iraqi children, depending on their traveling schedules. The curriculum is the English system of Dar Al-Manhal for the elementary classes and SAT for higher level students. A majority of the teachers are Christian Iraqis, while three instructors are Jordanian. Each student pays the annual symbolic fee of about $35, for them to feel as though they are contributing in some way, though some cannot even afford to pay this fee.
Since the inception of Mar Yousef’s Pizza and the sewing workshop, 100 Iraqis have been trained to work and receive a salary. Currently, 23 young Iraqi men and 13 women are being trained in their respective fields to start working and receive monthly salaries. In addition to acquiring relevant professional skills, which involves human interaction and project management, they are learning English and computer skills.
The following testimonies best reflect the implications and the significance of these modest, however exemplary, projects.
Aydin George Keldan is a Christian Iraqi who arrived in Jordan, with his family, as refugees from Karkouk Governorate which was targeted by ISIS in February 2015—a few months after Christian Iraqis became a target of ISIS. With peaceful and loving approach, Aydin underlined the trauma he and his family experienced when their home was attacked by extremists, forcing them to sell their properties at very low prices and seek refuge in Jordan.
“Our first plan was to go to Mosul. But, because of ISIS attacks, we headed towards Jordan seeking safety, stability, and security. Jordan is [the] closest Arab country to Iraq. All the Iraqis in Jordan consider Jordan [to be the] closest Arab country to them,” Keldan said.
“My 27-year-old sister learned sewing at St. Joseph Parish in 2017-2018. My 22-year-old brother is studying pharmacy at the American University sponsored by the Caritas, by the churches, and the Vatican,” he added. “I am 25-years-old. I joined this Center at its inception in November 2017 and did, and continue to, acquire many skills as a waiter, taking reservations, accounting, and managing. [There’s] Gradual progress of different skills, such as advancing my English— taught by foreign teachers—computer, and social skills.”
Keldan continued: “I earn between JD 25-350 per month. The center provided everything in a new safe environment. It helped me a lot. After leaving everything in Iraq, which caused a lot of pain and depression, the center was a good remedy, [it was] very useful. I learned a lot. I advanced my English through interacting with the visitors and getting involved in managing a restaurant, marketing, and procurement. In addition, psychologically it is very comfortable, because the atmosphere is that of a family—team work. It’s not only a profession. We are acquiring the experience of interacting with people and getting acquainted with the outside world, of several nationalities, which helps a lot when traveling to understand different situations and conditions.”
Discussing the ways in which Fr. Wissam has helped him, Keldan note that, “Fr. Wissam opened his doors for us. I consider this Church my church, my house, my family, my club.”
“Our main ambition is stability. Sustainable stability we seek. I wish Iraq to become safe, which is the wish of all the Iraqis. I want to return to my country but I cannot. My big[gest] sorrow [is] being an Iraqi and not seeing Baghdad. I am an Iraqi who didn’t see Iraq, [that is] so painful,” Keldan concluded.
According to UNHCR data, in December 2019, 67,000 Iraqi refugees were registered in Jordan—including Baboka Kaki and his family. Baboka, a handsome 20-year-old Iraqi refugee with a charming smile, as well as some sadness in his eyes, joined the center five months ago. He didn’t finish his studies in Iraq. He and his family applied for Australian citizenship, which resulted in several rejections. He is happy to be gaining skills as a waiter, practicing English with the visitors of the center, securing a monthly income of up to $490, acquiring food on campus and a training certificate. Baboka’s aim is to become a military officer once he and his family settle down in a foreign country ready to fully receive them.
On his impression of his experience at St. Joseph Center, Baboka said, “We know each other, the place causes happiness, psychological motivation. My parents, brother and two sisters in Jordan, go to Lady of Carmel School. My mom works as a sewer at Our Lady of Peace Center and my father works at the Center for Caritas. The school is free of charge, mom gets JD 250 and father gets JD 270. We are members of the Catholic Assyrian parish where the church gives us coupons. We won’t survive with these coupons. We are surviving thanks to the support we get from the Latin Church.”
Baboka, who has no complaints whatsoever whether concerning his colleagues or the priests in charge, added that he would love to “return to my homeland but there is no future, no security, and no safety—especially for Christians. All our family is there. But [a] safe future for my family is the reason for our seeking leaving for abroad.”
This psychological and the professional rehabilitation of young Iraqi men and women well prepares them to transition into the next stage in life. Lara Malook, the academic superintendent of the school, emphasized that, “Lady of Carmel School represents solidarity among the Christian Iraqis. Very positive feed backs from the students who already left for Canada and Australia who urge the students to take their studies at school seriously as it helps them to avoid six months studying English as they are well prepared to get integrated in the system abroad.”
The key guardian of the three projects mentioned above, Fr. Wissam Mansour, said, “I appreciate and respect a lot the Iraqi youth who are getting trained at the Center, whom we treat and serve without judgments while adopting humanitarian base as our unifying base given the humanitarian dimension reflects our spirituality. These youth are so polite, kind, very conscious, alert, aware of their condition and capable. They act according to the available potentials and possibilities. They have no complaints. They are clean, modest of high ethics due to their family milieus of same high ethics. The good solid foundation is there to build on it.”
The above testimonies well testify that this multifaceted project well serves in having the Iraqi youth overcome their past traumas and enjoy a safe and caring milieu with their basic needs well met, while simultaneously getting well prepared to peacefully and efficiently integrate in the societies of the states of their next destination.
St. Joseph Pastoral Center serves two integration processes of the Christian Iraqi refugees. First, while they seek refuge in Jordan, and second in the states where they intend to settle down, which usually involves family reunions. In addition, the center provides joy and hope for its visitors of different origins, faith, and cultures who experience a peaceful and productive environment—where refugees learn to help themselves and their families in their current and future stages of life. The project is a pioneering, unparalleled, and exemplary contribution by St. Joseph Pastoral Center, headed by Fr. Wissam Mansour, in serving and enhancing the well-being of overlooked refugees.
Last but not least, given the fact that Christian Iraqi refugees in Jordan are overlooked and receive less support from international and regional organizations, and keeping in mind that more Iraqi refugees are expected—given the recent reemergence of extremist forces in Iraq—will this multifaceted project survive?
According to Fr. Wissam Mansour, “All the organizations provide indirect modest support, including Caritas which provides what is left from the funding for other refugees.”
While Fr. Mario Cornioli, the God Father of this comprehensive and multifaceted rehabilitation project concluded with the following statement: “Only since October 2021 [have] we become self-reliant, which I consider a miracle. We received support from the Vatican, from the French Embassy in Amman who covered the salaries during the closure of the center due to Covid-19, from the Italian Bishop Conference which provided project start up financial support, from UNICEF which provided financial support for the ice-cream project and from USAID which supported the Italian cheese. Our self-reliance hitherto is a miracle. However, with more support I can continue with the ongoing projects and initiate other projects where I can afford to recruit more Iraqis.”
The very modest contributions of different organizations, e.g. the winterization assistance of UNHCR, the modest cash contribution of the Care International which came to a halt as testified by some Iraqis, should not only continue, but surely it must increase and expand to guarantee not only the survival but the expansion of such projects which indeed are necessary to help not only Christian Iraqi refugees, but all refugees at large. They must expand so that these refugees may not only live in peace but with great dignity.
