Weddings and Health Care

Today, the refugees group met with Dr. Hashim Elzein, the World Health Organization Representative and Head of Mission for Jordan. We wanted to meet with him for two reasons; first, to better understand Jordan's health care system in general, and second to ask questions about the services the WHO is providing that apply to Iraqis living in Jordan. We went into the interview expecting to hear the party line based on our previous interview with UNHCR, which had essentially been a reaffirmation of what government officials already told us. We were pleasantly surprised, however. First of all, Dr. Elzein answered practically all our questions in his exceptionally informative briefing; this led to new and better informed questions that we were able to ask at the end. Second, he was fairly candid in his assessment of Jordan's health care system, a refreshing change from the government line that we had heard up to today.

The health care issue can be boiled down fairly simply. There are four categories of health care in Jordan -- private health insurance, government / public health insurance, non-insured Jordanians, and foreigners. The Jordanian government has agreed that Iraqis can be treated as non-insured Jordanians. This is only nominally better than foreigners are treated however, as both non-insured Jordanians and foreigners still have to pay 120% of all costs of drugs. While Dr. Elzein said he would "leave it to us" to determine whether or not Iraqis are actually able to access health care in the same way non-Jordanians are (and stories we have heard indicate that there is a lot of discrimination against Iraqis in the health care system), he also noted that there are multiple problems of access within the existing system. Both non-insured Jordanians and Iraqis do not have access to an acceptable level of health care.

Thus, in the arena of health care, the group is beginning to realize that the entire system needs an overhaul, not just the way Iraqis are able to access that system. The same is true for education; multiple people have told us that the problem with education is not that Iraqis are or are not allowed in schools. The problem is that the educational system is overcrowded and irrelevant, regardless of whether or not Iraqi children attend Jordanian public schools. Yet, even if the government were to begin an overhaul of the entire system, the trick, of course, would be finding a short-term solution until the system can be corrected.

Later this evening, we met with an Iraqi woman whose husband used to work as a translator for the US military. After several threats on his life and the lives of his family members, the family moved to Jordan. We learned that they were not given refugee status at UNHCR and have not even attempted to go to the US Embassy and request resettlement in the US, because they have no official documentation to prove that her husband was in fact a translator. The family lives off the income of one daughter, who as a university student has legal residency and thus is allowed to work. Yesterday, we met with another single-mother family and heard her story. These stories are hard to hear, but entirely necessary to our project. They are the equalizers to the good news the government spins, or the funding-driven information we are given by some NGOs. Of course, everything must be taken with a grain of salt, but this additional perspective is extremely valuable. We are constantly blown away by the hospitality of the Iraqis we meet; we cannot visit a single house without drinking juice, cola, or a cup of tea. Even as Americans, we have always been welcomed warmly and graciously, and the Iraqis are more than willing to tell their stories and let us ask them questions. One went so far as to say that the reason she was happy to speak with us was because she knew we were students trying to understand the situation, and she wanted to help us. Accepting the welcome and openness of these people has been a lesson in humility for me. Were the situation reversed, I wonder if I could be a generous with them as they have been with us.

As we left the apartment of the last woman we spoke to, a wedding was getting underway in the next street. Our Iraqi host became very excited and brought us over to take photos and chat. Of course, we were offered coffee and the next thing I knew, Piyali and I were being escorted up the stairs, into the women's section of the house. We stayed for about half an hour, were given gifts of chocolate and candy, and watched the beginning of what I'm sure was a long night of dancing. It was another great example of hospitality in Jordan, and a fantastic experience. At least Piyali and I speak a little Arabic; I think the boys were a little lost down in the men's section.



Tomorrow, we meet with the International Red Crescent Society. Hopefully we will connect with our friend and hear some more stories of Iraqis living in Jordan. Those conversations are always grueling and exhausting, but in my opinion are more than anything else the reason we are here.

- Nancy