28. 09. 2017_Jasmine Women

Name of Interviewers: Farah, Aya, Nada

Data: September 28, 2017

Location: Amman

Syrian Jasmine Women's FGD

Aya's Free-write

• Home-Based Businesses are very popular for women. 
• Most women were from the Amman area. 
• One women had aunts and sisters in Amman, but her husband had left her a while ago and she had two children. 
• Another older women over 60 years old was the sole income provider. She took care of her deceased son's family. 
• Everyone seemed to comforted by Lara's presence and her business. Allow them a free space where they could work and create their own little Syria. 
• People were from different areas but mostly from Damascus and Homs. 

• Many of the women talked of the transition from never needed to work, to now helping their husbands. Or even bringing home vegetables and meat for their family. 
• One women talked about how when she first come she only wanted to work in the home because of her Children but when her husband had an accident she was more willing to work. 
• Many women had problems leaving their children when they were working. Especially those with younger children. 
• A story of how a women depended on her neighbour to let her daughter in from school. 
• Seperation from family was a common theme among all the women. Many had traumatic stories of their "decision" to leave Syria. 
• She left Syria to drop her son from Lebanon to Jordan and when she wanted to go back into Syria they would not let her. 
• Families are unable to visit each other and they are split up. 
• Registration from school is difficult if you are putting your children in public schools. Her children were held back 2 grades, that had psycho-social impacts on them. i.e. depression 
• She went through the system to try and see if she could upgrade them with Ministry approval but the last person she talked to ended up ripping her papers. 
• The beaurecratic system in Jordan seems to have a lot of "wasta." And many Syrians are perceived to take advantage of the system. 
• HBB were raided by the Wafideen who would get tips from neighbour who complained about noise or smell. 
• An women who was the sole provider of her family with her HBB was detained and threatened with deportation. 
• There is no "empathy" towards peoples situations versus the law of working. 
• Syrian refugees in the camps being bused to work on the tomato farms for 11-12 hours for 5 JDs and hour even though minimum wage is 15 (?). 
• Many moved out of the areas they were living in because of the crime in the neighbourhood. Mafraq is known for its high crime rate. 
• There is racism in the public education system with students who are Syrian being harassed by their teachers, when asking questions etc... 
• Syrians are taught from 3-evening while Jordanians go in the morning. 
• People can simply tell you that schools are "full" even if they have allowed Syrians in that school. 
• Transportation to school is a problem, because its not as trusted, and many resort to private transportation which is ver expensive. 
• Men have become disabled unable to work, or banned from work and its harder for them to find work. So economic and parental labor fall on women. 
• The threat of deportation. 
• Many complained that in Jordan they did not feel that they had their rights as human beings. 
• That the law was working against them. 
• Lara mentioned how she still feels insecure that her business is unregistered. Even when she got up to the Ministry level he told her that he would cut her a break in regards to inspections. But that he could not do anything else. 
• Shipping outside or going to exhibitions outside is difficult with an unregistered business. 
• Being self sufficient is important. 
• Learning a trade in Syria is very integral to the culture. 
• You need 250,000 JOD in you bank account to be registered. Iraqi refugees heavily impacted the economic laws and raised the bar for what was expected. 
• Women told her children that the peaches were plastic in the marketplace so that she would not have to tell them no. 
• Insallah has become the word parents tell their kids to things they can no longer buy for them. 
• Many stories of exploitation in the work place with low wages. 
• When it comes to paying rent that is a primary concern. But many landlords are unsympathetic. 
• A feeling of loss of dignity and pride when not being able to pay the bills anymore.
•  Health of women, especially older is a low priority. 

Nada’s Free Write

• Neighbors are making life harder. They didn’t accept the fact that she is in an urgent need for money, and made her stop using her sewing machine or cooking for orders at home.

• Landlords don’t accept it when they are late with paying rent claiming they get financial aid from NGOs and can afford it.

• Teachers at schools pick on their kids and don’t like it when they are successful and get good grades, they see it as acting smart and showing off.

• They feel sad about themselves, in terms of how they lived a good life back in syria and now they’re in need here.

• They all want to go back to syria.

• Unlike the Irbid group of women who mostly came from Daraa, they dream about leaving to europe or any western industrial country because they get a chance to get equal rights with citizens especially in healthcare, education and passport.

• They can’t afford good food anymore. One mentioned her son describing the fruit as plastic.

• Most of the women's hair is thinning

• One refused to work outside of her house but once she needed the money because her husband’s financial situation got worse, she had to compromise and leave for work. She had to leave the younger siblings in the responsibility of the older ones. Another one had to leave her 3-year old at a kindergarten and with her neighbor.

• They didn’t know where to get supplies and food for their businesses at first. They used to buy from grocery stores then they heard about hisbeh.

• There’s a lot of comparison between them and other refugees, especially palestinians and Iraqis.

• Their products are too expensive for the local market, only people in the gulf are interested

• Work permits are the only obstacle they face, if solved, all other problems will be. They will be able to register their business, get a driving license, find decent jobs that matches their skills and their education level.

• Finding a school that has available spots for their kids is difficult, sometimes they find schools very far away from where they’re staying and end up paying for transportation.

• Accreditation of school diplomas is not easy at all, from syrian to Jordanian educational system, but also from one Jordanian school to another. One lady spent a lot of money to make sure her daughter move to another school while staying in the same grade, yet she couldn’t make that happen due to an administrative error in the ministry, her daughters had to repeat two grades.