“The giving hand is more blessed than the receiving hand.”
Ismail, now twenty-nine, arrived in Jordan in December 2010 fleeing forceful recruiting of young men by the terrorist groups in Somalia. He had just finished high school but did not feel safe with threats on young boys like him mounting day by day. He had to leave, go to any place on earth where he could be safe and pursue higher education. Ismail was a top performer in school and through one of the formal education networks in Somalia managed to secure a scholarship to study in Jordan.
Ismail enrolled in one of Jordan’s most respected universities. He was studying to become an engineer. When the situation back in Somalia started to deteriorate a year after his arrival, Ismail decided to register as a refugee with UNHCR in Jordan. Back then the process was quick, and he received his refugee certificate in a matter of days.
Ismail decided to double down on completing his education, the only way he imagined would change his life. Managing in Jordan as a refugee student with no permanent source of income was not easy. He requested financial assistance, but never received any. He depended on family members in Somalia and relatives and friends around the world. From time to time, they would remit support so he could finish school.
In 2016 Ismail graduated from the university, ready to start his professional journey toward financial independence. He had anticipated this moment for five years. He moved to the capital city of Amman, where he thought he would be able to find work. Living with five other Somalis in a small rundown apartment in Jabal Amman, a neighborhood where most Somalis live, Ismail was able to save on rent. As a newly minted graduate, he felt certain he would secure employment and build a good career in Amman.
However, this hope never turned into reality. Labor laws in Jordan do not allow refugees to engage in professional jobs such as engineering. “I started applying for any employment that would allow me to put food on the table. Employers saw my refugee status and pushed my applications aside. Being a refugee is not a choice I made. I was forced to live under this status.” Ismail was shattered when faced with the reality that he was prohibited to work in the career that he had pursued for so many years, not based on his talent, but because of his legal status. He did not see any light at the end of this long dark tunnel.
He had no choice but to work, anything that earned him some money to buy daily bread and pay the rent for his shared room, a total of 42 JOD (~$60). “Seeking a job has become my job,” Ismail said. He found himself questioning, “What is the other option to survive if you are not allowed to work in the country where you live? What if humanitarian organizations deny you assistance just because you are a single man and not ‘vulnerable’ in their eyes? What is the use of my education if I cannot find work with it?” Throughout all his years in Jordan, Ismail only received yearly winter cash assistance from the UNHCR in the amount of 200 to 300 JOD (~$280 to $420).
Making best of his new reality
Instead of sitting at home and doing nothing, Ismail started applying for volunteer opportunities to gain experience and put at least some of his education to use. Apart from being a university graduate, Ismail has language and computer skills. He speaks Somali, English, and Arabic fluently and was learning French when we met him. In 2017, he was accepted to work as a freelance translator with an international NGO to help other Somali refugees access the free legal assistance they provided.
Later that year he found freelance work with another international organization and started to earn small amounts of money. But this work was never regular. The small number of Somali refugees in Jordan meant that translation jobs were limited.
Unlike many other Somalis in Jordan, Ismail came to Jordan legally with a student visa; His Somali passport contained the required entry stamps. This helps him deal with Jordanian authorities with more confidence than our other Somali respondents. For instance, with his documents, Ismail was able to open a bank account when he was a student, use international remittance services, and open a mobile wallet. He used his bank account to receive small payments for his freelance work. Using his own passport, he also helped other Somalis send and receive international remittances who lacked the required documents on their own.
However, when we met him last in 2020, he told us that his passport had expired, and it is not possible to renew it given that there is no Somali Embassy in Jordan. The only option is for a group of Somalis to collect the requests and send them to the embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, an arduous and time-consuming task.
His bank account was still functional, but recently his bank asked him to update his personal data and documents. He feared that his account would be closed because he did not have a valid passport, work permit, or residency permit, the minimum required documents for a foreigner to hold an account in Jordan. If Ismail loses access to financial services, several others who depend on him would also suffer.
Never ending trap of life in refuge
Finding appropriate work remains the biggest challenge for Ismail, despite being highly skilled and qualified. In 2019, Ismail received a call-back for a job position at an international organization. He was asked to provide a work permit. After consulting with a legal aid organization, he learnt that it was next to impossible. Even if he could prove that the position could not be filled by a Jordanian, he would have to revoke his refugee status in order to receive a permit as a migrant. Ismail did not want to lose the protection that his refugee status provided for a job that was not permanent.
“UNHCR does not give us assistance if we can work. But the government does not allow us to have work permits. Still employers ask for permits as part of the hiring process. It is a never-ending trap.”
As with several other respondents, Ismail does not think it is feasible to stay in Jordan, but he cannot return to his home country, given the weak security situation and lack of work. “I have the talent and skills to be economically productive and contribute to the world. But what if the law deprives you from this basic right? I do not feel dignified depending on humanitarian assistance—as my religion teaches, the giving hand is more blessed than the receiving hand.”
When all doors are locked
Ismail considers resettlement to a third country as his only option. But he realizes that as a young, single man, he will never be prioritized. Two years ago, he registered with a program that helps Jordanians and refugees legally migrate to third countries based on their skills. But he has made no progress. He was told that while he has the required English language skills, he failed to meet the criterion for minimum professional experience in engineering. He will never be able to meet this benchmark as he cannot legally work. Hence, this door remains closed.
He also tried applying for study scholarships (a few Somalis have gone to Canada) but learnt that he was too old to qualify.
In the end, stuck in Jordan, Ismail has decided to make the most of his time and capacities by supporting the Somali community in every possible way. He facilitates their interaction with humanitarian organizations, connects those in need of assistance, regularly follows up on their wellbeing, and even helps those who have been jailed. He is highly respected in the community and has Somali well-wishers across the globe in the form of Somalis whom he had once helped and later managed to move to a third country. Seeing this gives him inspiration to keep moving on with his life and hoping for a brighter future.