Marcelo nets an own-goal, and the cafe explodes in cheers and wails. World Cup 2014 is truly underway now, and passions are running high. An office mate, staunchly against Brazil, jeers at a nearby table sporting yellow jerseys.
"You know, Matthew," says my friend, a case-worker in a local NGO office, as the noise in the cafe settles. "They come here because it is the only safe place. But Jordan can not do this alone."
"Where else can they go?"
"KSA? America? I don't know. But they cannot all come here. We do what we can, but we have our problems."
I am silent, reflecting on the suggestion--on what exile in Saudi Arabia might mean.
"You know," he says, and blows a cloud of argileh smoke. A long pause. "We registered a new Iraqi family today. I am very worried."
Hopefully this is an unusual case, but it is not hard to imagine more Iraqi families will begin arriving. It feels as though a breath is being held here: what will happen now? What will come next? And--what can we do?
If Jordan is to continue accepting new arrivals in an environment which is already sorely strained, the international community must support both newcomers and Jordanian citizens based on need, not political status. Lessons from the 2007 Iraqi response have shown that effective policy steps outside the 1951 Convention and UNHCR's traditional statute. Where are the lessons learned, and where is the support?
"You know, Matthew," says my friend, a case-worker in a local NGO office, as the noise in the cafe settles. "They come here because it is the only safe place. But Jordan can not do this alone."
"Where else can they go?"
"KSA? America? I don't know. But they cannot all come here. We do what we can, but we have our problems."
I am silent, reflecting on the suggestion--on what exile in Saudi Arabia might mean.
"You know," he says, and blows a cloud of argileh smoke. A long pause. "We registered a new Iraqi family today. I am very worried."
Hopefully this is an unusual case, but it is not hard to imagine more Iraqi families will begin arriving. It feels as though a breath is being held here: what will happen now? What will come next? And--what can we do?
If Jordan is to continue accepting new arrivals in an environment which is already sorely strained, the international community must support both newcomers and Jordanian citizens based on need, not political status. Lessons from the 2007 Iraqi response have shown that effective policy steps outside the 1951 Convention and UNHCR's traditional statute. Where are the lessons learned, and where is the support?