- Title: Jordan opens job centre at Syrian refugee camp
- Date: 4th September 2017
- Summary: AMMAN, JORDAN (RECENT) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF SYRIAN REFUGEES AT POULTRY FARM (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) SYRIAN REFUGEE FROM DERAA, KHALDOUN HARIRI, SAYING: "I now have a routine, every morning I go to work and return in the evening. Before this, my life was meaningless. I would sit around all day with nothing to do. But now thank God, I have work and I am committed to certain hours, my day is organised." VARIOUS OF EMPLOYEES STERILISING THEIR BOOTS BEFORE ENTERING BUILDING VARIOUS OF SYRIAN REFUGEE FROM DERAA, KHALDOUN HARIRI, SPRAYING DISINFECTANT EMPLOYEES CARRYING CHICKEN INTO CAGES VARIOUS OF CHICKENS EATING MAFRAQ, JORDAN (RECENT) (REUTERS) TENTS AT ZAATARI REFUGEE CAMP VARIOUS OF PEOPLE WAITING TO ENTER THE NEWLY-OPENED JOB CENTRE VARIOUS OF SYRIAN REFUGEES AT THE JOB CENTRE EXTERIOR OF JOB CENTRE SIGN READING (Arabic / English): "ZAATARI OFFICE FOR EMPLOYMENT" (SOUNDBITE) (English) UNHCR REPRESENTATIVE IN JORDAN, STEFANO SEVERE, SAYING: "I think the significance here is that for us it is not only opportunities are offered for refugees, but it is also protection tool because refugees that come and register for work permits, they are also being entitled to go legally outside the camp through that permission. So I think it is a win-win for both, on the one hand, you have job opportunities that the labour market has attracted refugees to come and work with them, but we have also managed at the same time to secure an identification that allows them to move in and out of the camps fairly freely." VARIOUS OF JOB CENTRE EMPLOYEE PROCESSING APPLICATIONS VARIOUS OF SYRIAN REFUGEE FROM HOMS, MAHMOUD AL-ASAAD, APPLYING FOR PERMIT MAN PROCESSING APPLICATION (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) SYRIAN REFUGEE FROM HOMS, MAHMOUD AL-ASAAD, SAYING: "I feel much better now, I am at ease. Earlier, we were always worried about how we would get work and get by. If a person depends on aid only, that is not enough. One can work and keep busy, depending on the jobs one can do." VARIOUS OF WOMEN AT THE JOB CENTRE SYRIAN REFUGEE FROM DERAA, HAIFAA, SPEAKING TO JOURNALIST (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) SYRIAN REFUGEE FROM DERAA, HAIFAA, SAYING: "This new work permit has helped me a lot with regards to work outside. I am one of the people who struggled with going in and out of the camp without identification, I only had a camp ID. So this permit has been very helpful. My husband and I work and live on a farm, and this permit has given me an ID." TENTS AT CAMP
- Embargoed: 18th September 2017 13:02
- Keywords: Syrian refugees in Jordan work permits Zaatari refugee camp
- Location: AMMAN AND MAFRAQ, JORDAN
- City: AMMAN AND MAFRAQ, JORDAN
- Country: Jordan
- Topics: Asylum/Immigration/Refugees,Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA0016X6J711
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Khaldoun Hariri fled his home in Syria's Deraa province five years ago. He now lives in the Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan.
Along with other refugees, he has started working in a poultry farm in Amman, thanks to efforts to help others like him find work.
Hariri says the employment has given his life structure and purpose.
"I now have a routine, every morning I go to work and return in the evening. Before this my life was meaningless, I would sit around all day with nothing to do," he said.
A newly-opened job centre in the Zaatari camp is helping Syrian refugees into work, enabling them to obtain work permits and find employment.
The centre will unlock work opportunities across the country for thousands living in the country's largest Syrian refugee camp, the United Nations labour agency said.
So far, more than 800 refugees in the camp, which is home to nearly 80,000 people, have registered for work permits at the job centre, the International Labour Organization (ILO) said.
A Syrian woman said the work permits make it easier for her and her husband to go to work, while still being able to visit her family in the camp.
"This new work permit has helped me a lot with regards to work outside. I am one of the people who struggled with going in and out of the camp without identification, I only had a camp ID. So this permit has been very helpful. My husband and I work and live on a farm, and this permit has given me an ID," said Haifa.
The Jordanian government says the country is home to 1.4 million Syrians, of whom more than 660,000 are registered with the U.N. refugee agency UNHCR.
There are also plans to open a second job centre in a nearby camp in Azraq, the ILO said.
According to U.N. officials, allowing refugees to work in host countries relieves pressure on social services, boosts the local economy, and gives refugees the financial security to reestablish their lives. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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