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Bagdad Café in Amman

countries regret- any assistance I will defini- him about European aid, he
ted their deci- tely do my best to help simply says: "We often hear
sion, citing inse- them ... We want to do about the Europeans who
curity, economic business," the owner of the are going to help the Iraqi
hardship and a café says. "We need peace people, but we do not know
lack of basic and stability so that we can about it, nor see any
public services. work." results. The United Nations
The survey of is supposed to give us some
more than 2,300 The new arrivals all share funds, but this is not always
Iraqis who had more or less the same sad the case. Even if we present
to
returned the right documents, we do
story ... they left their
Baghdad's country in search of a better not always receive the
Resafa funds we are supposed to.
and
life elsewhere. Some of
Karkh districts them have submitted an So, it is definitely better if
between 2007 application for refugee sta- the persons who would like
Anybody who travels to
and 2008 found that more tus, but many of them have to help us come here and
Jordan, and particularly to
than one-third was uncer- never received an answer give us their assistance
Amman, cannot ignore the
tain about whether to stay from the organizations that directly. To go through an
fact that Jordan has been
permanently in Iraq. They are supposed to handle NGO or the United Nations
most charitable to the Iraqis
would consider seeking these matters. Why did they does not help us at all
fleeing war and insecurity in
asylum again in nearby never receive an answer? because we do not see the
their own country. Most of
countries if conditions did difference. In 2007 I sub-
those who left are men,
not improve. In the coffee shop we talked mitted my documents to the
particularly young men, in
to several of them. One of organization dealing with
search of a better life else-
Somewhere near the centre them is a young man who refugee affairs, but up to
where. Occasionally, you
of Amman you will see a arrived a year ago. He says: date I have not heard any-
can see an Iraqi woman
small coffee and sandwich "I come from Baghdad. I thing ... not even an ackno-
sitting on the pavement
shop on the corner of a very applied for a visa to Jordan wledgement."
selling cigarettes, but this is
busy street. This is the and obtained it. I found
far from representing the
gathering place for the Iraqi accommodation here and Another one came to
majority. Most Iraqi women
refugees. Jordan is one of can now start to do busi- Jordan seven years ago and
have been left behind in Iraq
the major host countries for ness here in Jordan. More says that he considers
and many of them are
those who fled in the early and more people are arri- Jordan his second home. He
suffering. They wait for
days of the war in 2003, ving every day. King shares more or less the
funds to come from their
and people are still coming Abdullah has done so much same story as the other
sons/husbands who have
every day looking for a bet- for the Iraqis since they young man -- waiting for a
gone abroad looking for a
ter future. The owner of the enjoy the same privileges reply to his application...
better life.
place, a corpulent man, as the Jordanians, and we
says, "I do not need money, are very grateful for that. I left the coffee shop with a
The United Nations High
I'm here to help my compa- When I left Iraq for Jordan, heavy heart. We can only
Commissioner for Refugees
triots, so whenever you it was the Iraqi side that hope that one day the peo-
carried out a study in early
meet one of them please made it dfficult for me to ple to whom we talked will
October 2010. It found that
give them my card, and cross the border not the achieve the life they are
the majority of Iraqi refu-
here is my mobile num- Jordanians." When we ask hoping for
gees who have returned to
ber... If I can be of
Baghdad from neighbouring

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