Beyond an emergency response

I have just returned from Jordan where I visited the Za’ataria refugee camp on the Jordanian/ Syrian border.

I last visited Za’ataria 3 years ago. Then it was a rapidly growing camp receiving 5,000 new refugees each day. Water was restricted to 6L a day; the roads were rutted sand tracks and there was a real sense of brooding resentment with people having nothing to do and children wandering aimlessly around the camp. Many parts of the camp were a no-go area and our vehicle was frequently attacked as we drove through.

This time I saw a very different place. There are now 9 schools operating 2 shifts a day. Most children under 12 are now in education and there are even projects to include children with learning difficulties. Many adolescents are still in education and there is also support being provided for young people who have been traumatised by what they have seen.

Water is now being provided at 38L per day per person and electricity is available in the evening.

Tents have been replaced by cabins and shops have sprung up along tracked streets. The camp supports a $14 million economy.

The picture still can't be called rosie. Child labour is prevalent, there is still little for most people to do and fundamentally no one want to be there.

The International response is now moving on from an emergency response to a long term development response and funders need to think accordingly. Long term funding is needed for schools so that the generation who must one day re-build Syria are not lost.

At the recent London Donor Conference a new compact was agreed between the international community and Jordan. Jordan will create 100,000 new jobs for Syrians and in return European markets will be opened up to Jordanian goods, Billions have been pledged to support this.

My fear is that if the situation isn’t managed carefully the money pledged wont be forthcoming (actual funding rarely exceeds about a third of that pledged) and the jobs will either be created by making some of the jobs currently being done illegally legal or by giving Syrians jobs currently being done by other displace voiceless people from the Middle East in the low pay sector. I do hope I am wrong.

Individual philanthropists need to be prepared to commit to longer term projects too, realising that it will take years to turn the region around. Even if the war stops tomorrow it will be a long time before anything resembling normal can return.

There is nothing sadder than seeing a good programwith a long term goal having to close because funding is stopped after a year; people who have suffered terribly being given a little hope only to see it being dashed again because well meaning funders don't understand the consequences of their actions.