For my project, I want to explore all of the refugee people groups who have found shelter within Jordanian borders.  Jordan is a fairly young country and was created by the United Nations following World War II and the fall of the Ottoman Empire, which means that its borders and national identity have not always been as clearly defined and pronounced as other nation-states might be. After the War of 1948, or the Nakba, the first people to flee to the newly created country of Jordan were the Palestinians, many of whose grandchildren still live in Jordan today. According to the United Nations, there are over 2 million registered Palestinians living in Jordan, 18% of whom live inside one of Jordan’s ten refugee camps (“Jordan”).

     Although Palestinian refugees may be the most well known group to have settled in Jordan’s borders, other groups have also flocked to Jordan during wartime because of its location and relatively open borders. Iraqi refugees have come to the country both in the seventies after the Gulf War and in the mid-2000’s because of the war on Iraq (Mason). After Sadaam Hussein invaded Kuwait in 1990, many Kuwaitis fled the country and sought refuge in Jordan, some of whom were originally Palestinian (Floyd, Le Troquer). Most recently, Syrian refugees have begun to flood into the country because of the war the ISIS is waging.

     Masses of people from very different nations like Kuwait, Palestine, Syria, and Iraq have all sought refuge within Jordan’s borders, making this nation a uniquely diverse place. While not a traditional type of path, all of these different identities help to contribute to the collage of what the country of Jordan is and have helped construct who the people of Jordan are within the borders. Focusing on where each of these people groups came from, when, and for what purpose adds to the understanding of the country of Jordan.