mercy of the humanitarian system, living a life in limbo, void of rehabilitation and purpose. Moreover, this approach is unsustainable for all actors involved.
Husband, 66, and Wife, 65, from Baghdad: Each completed junior high/middle school. In Iraq, the husband’s job was working in trade—he had a business in Iraq in Shurja area in Baghdad, importing and exporting sugar, a business he learned from his father and grandfather in a family business passed down over the years. The mother was a homemaker. Oldest son, management and economics degree from University of Mosul – was working as an accountant in a bank when he was disappeared by the government in 2000. Second son, degree in sports education from Baghdad University (35). Son’s wife, 32, has degree from School of Business. First daughter, completed junior high, with 3 certificates in accounting, now working as secretary in an office (30). Third son, junior high with focus in industry and mechanics (28). Second daughter studying for high school exam in public school in Amman (19). The children of this family, born in the 1970s and 1980s, all completed as much or more education than their parents (born in the late 1940s). The children also work/ ed in jobs unrelated to the family business. The subjects they studied also indicate the ways in which modernity was part of urban Iraqis’ lives: accounting, office work and sports education. The oldest daughter now works outside the home, something her mother did not do. However, both among the refugee communities and those living in Iraq, there is a dramatic decrease in literacy for people under the age of 30 as well as educational and employment opportunities. It is well-known that the imposition of pervasive economic and other sanctions
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CH4: Livelihood
CH5: Affordable Healthcare
Children achieving higher levels in education and employment than their parents at least over the last three to four generations has been a notable trend among Iraqis. In part, this trend in the 20th century helped create an urban middle class and a small town elite, which turned Iraq into a vibrant and productive country. In general, the widespread access to education and higher education in particular signified that Iraq was advanced beyond concerns with general literacy and more concerned with issues of employment for a growing professional class. This family biography reflects the trend.
CH3: Refugee Livelihoods
60-Year-Old Male from Baghdad: I am a lawyer and worked in one of the courts. I stopped working to come to Jordan with my family. Since leaving Iraq, there have been many obstacles to employment. I was forced to shift my finances (sell some land and pawn some gold jewelry) to relatives living in Jordan. I wasn’t able to find work suitable for me and my skill set and level of education. I was made to work in factories making simple things (accessories and swimming pools) and went to sell things to shops nearby. In spite of my difficulties in paying rent, my son and I worked every day but faced problems with the police, as we are illegal. We were forced to leave our work out of fear of being deported. Now the family depends on cash assistance from UNHCR.