COMMON OBSTACLES TO SOCIAL INTEGRATION EXPERIENCED BY SYRIAN REFUGEES IN JORDAN

The Syrian refugee crisis is referred to as one of the world’s largest refugee crises of our generation. Since 2011 Jordan has hosted 1.3 million Syrian refugees—the third highest number of Syrian refugees hosted by a single country (UNHCR, 2020). The primary purpose of the study was to identify factors that have interfered with integrations of Syrian refugee parents and their children into the host country. In 2016, structured interviews were conducted with 120 Syrian refugee families living in Amman, Jordan. The families included a father, a mother, and a child between ages 6 and 12. The results showed that illiteracy exists in multiple spheres of Syrian refugees’ lives. Literature illiteracy, health illiteracy, and economic illiteracy were found to constitute a multiplicity of illiteracy, which was a common obstacle for the refugees in the study to integrate to the host country. To promote displaced refugees’ integration and contribution to host countries, the implications of the findings shed light on the importance of developing much-needed linkages between researchers, non-governmental organization practitioners, and policymakers to address the multiplicity of illiteracy. The linkages will help develop programs and policies better tailored to the needs and strengths of 13.5 million forcibly displaced people of Syria.