Jordan prepares for Syrian Refugees

Jordan plans to set up a refugee camp along its northern border  in order to accommodate what it fears will be mass numbers of Syrians fleeing the country as the security situation in Syria deteriorates. The government plans to spend over $1 million on the project, which will house thousands of refugees in about 1,000 family-sized tents, officials said. Sami Halaseh, who oversees the project for the public works ministry, said the 323 square-foot (300 square-meter) area, located about 12 miles (20 kilometers) south of the border, is expected to be ready in two weeks after bathrooms and hangers for food distribution are installed. He said the project cost $1 million. Aid officials estimate upwards of 10,000 Syrian refugees already live in Jordan, mostly in private apartments, guest houses or hosted by families. But they said the numbers are growing as the Syrian military escalates attacks on restive cities, such as Homs in the north and Daraa in the south. The United Nations refugee agency has worked with the Jordanian government on preparations for the camp, which can house 1,000 family-size tents, according to the agency’s deputy chief in Amman, Arafat Jamal. Khaled Ghanem of the Islamic Charity Center Society, another organization aiding Syrian refugees, said Jordanian border towns are already filling up with refugees. Jordan is already home to hundreds of thousands of refugees, and any new influx is sure to tax the resource-poor country’s basic infrastructure. At the height of the crisis in neighbouring Iraq, Jordan hosted an estimated 1.5 million Iraqis. The UN estimates that number is now about half, although many Iraqis come and go depending on the level of violence at home.