On behalf of the President of Yarmouk University, Prof. Anis Khasawneh, the Vice-President for Humanities and Administrative Affairs, sponsored the workshop “Forced Migration and Refugees: Stories from Jordan and Scotland” organized by the Refugees, Displaced Persons and Forced Migration Studies Center in cooperation with the University of Western Scotland and the University of Edinburgh.
Prof. Al-Khasawneh welcomed the participants in the workshop, and stressed the interest of Jordan in general, Yarmouk University in particular, on issues of asylum and refugees, especially as the Kingdom has been subjected to many asylum movements over the past years, which affected the various sectors of the state and caused many economic, social, and security repercussions. He pointed out that through its Refugees Center, Yarmouk has conducted many studies and researches, and organized conferences and seminars on various issues regarding refugees, which enabled researchers and specialists in this field to exchange experiences and learn about the experiences of other countries about asylum and forced migration issues.
Dr. George Balatel, a social worker at the University of Edinburgh, gave a lecture on hearing refugee voices in program activities - a journey towards empowerment, where he noted that 3% of the world's population lives outside their birthplace, and 70.8 million are forcibly displaced across their countries. He stressed the need to give affected people the opportunity to take decisions that affect them, in addition to embody the principle of partnership and co-production with refugees, so that they are transferred from passive recipients of aid and services to people who can effectively participate in the design and delivery of services.
Dr. Ayat Nashwan, the director of the Refugees, Displaced Persons and Forced Migration Studies Center, delivered a lecture on “Healing through Expression: How the Arts Transforms the Experience of Syrian Refugees in Jordan”, in light of her study on a group of young Syrian refugee artists between the ages of 17 and 27 that aims at investigating how the arts affect refugees' lives. She highlights what organizations provide to refugee so they can access to the arts. Nashwan explained that the research results show that refugees' participation in the arts can lead not only to healing but also to empowerment and that arts can give refugees a way to express their thoughts, emotions, and stories that are difficult to express in other ways.
Dr. Ayman Mansour from the Faculty of Nursing at the University of Jordan gave a lecture titled “The Effectiveness of Reproductive Health Services for Syrian Refugees in Jordan: An Overview of Achievements and Future Perspectives”, presenting some percentages and figures about refugees in Jordan, where 66.1% of the family members are in the age group of 16 years and above are married and about 51% of Syrian refugees in Jordan are women and girls: 48% of childbearing age (15-49 years). He mentioned that an assessment of the situation in the camps indicated that 23% of women are unaware of reproductive health services, 28% of unplanned pregnancies, and 17% have not receive previous care. He also stated that 88.7% of requests for family planning among refugees outside the camps were met. He concluded that regarding the forms of violence against refugees, 45% of Syrian families reported some forms of physical violence, 37% reported psychological violence, 11.4% sexual violence, and 3% economic violence.
Dr. Ruba Al-Akash, the Deputy Director of the Princess Basma Center for Jordanian Women's Studies at the University, delivered a lecture on “Early Marriage among Syrian Refugees in Jordan”, which provides new knowledge and insights on barriers and enabling factors to access sexual and reproductive health information and services. It also contributes to the improvement of sexual and reproductive health policies and practices, benefiting young people, women and vulnerable groups (refugees, remote areas and persons with disabilities). Al-Akash explained that the preliminary results of the research indicate that early marriage is not a new issue among Syrians in Jordan, as it has been practiced in Syria before the war. She asserted that there has been no age limit for early marriage, but often between 14 and 16 years. The research found out there was a growing interest in health services and reproductive and family planning by the Jordanian government and local and international NGOs, although they are inadequate.
Moreover, the symposium program discussed several other topics on "Quality of Health Services for Refugees in Jordan" and "Quality of Services for Refugees in Jordan" by Dr. George Balatell, Dr. Dina Sedva of the University of West Scotland, and "Confronting and Dealing with Jordan's Forced Migrations" by Wedad Tamimi, and "early marriage "by Reem Momani. However, the workshop was attended by the Dean of the Faculty of Economics, Dr. Mona Al-Mulla, the Director of Princess Basma Center for Jordanian Women's Studies, Dr. Amna Khasawneh, and several faculty members and students.
