The Invisible Children: From Iraq to Jordan

In Jordan, children arriving from Iraq after 2019 are not recognized as refugees and are excluded from public schools. To guarantee them a future, we welcome them into our facilities. Tariq Rezeqallah, project manager in the country, tells us more.

The Difficult Fate of Children Fleeing Iraq

Since the start of the Gulf War in 1991, Jordan has become one of the primary refuges for those escaping conflicts in Iraq. However, despite the passing decades, Iraqi refugees continue to be considered "temporary guests," deprived of a legal status that fully recognizes their rights. We asked Tariq, head of projects for Pro Terra Sancta in the country, to tell us about the reality of the youngest ones growing up in this uncertainty.

While obtaining refugee status was still accessible between 2003 and 2019, the scenario has changed drastically in recent years. "Starting that year, Jordan's internal policies shifted, making it extremely difficult today for many of them to access the official documentation required for formal recognition. Most of these people are of the Christian faith," Tariq explains, "having fled Iraq following the violent persecutions that took place in Mosul in 2015."

This regulatory tightening has pushed thousands of exiles into a bureaucratic limbo: without formal state recognition, access to legal protection and integration pathways remains effectively blocked. The most serious consequences fall upon the education of children.

Marka's School

"In the Marka district of Amman, we help the children of Iraqi families who cannot access public education because they lack financial resources and the documentation required by the government. At the Latin Patriarchate school, which we support with dedication, we welcome all these children who would otherwise have no chance to study. We have structured a program of afternoon lessons for them that begins every day immediately after the regular activities for other students end."

A unique aspect of the project is the choice of staff: "The collaborators involved in this project," Tariq adds, "are all Iraqi refugees. This is a decision that responds to a harsh social reality: in Jordan, there is a strict employment ban for them. By law, they cannot work regularly without a specific permit, the cost of which is prohibitive for most families."

Involving parents and community adults is not just an act of social justice, but the key to the project: it is precisely through these collaborators, who live in and deeply know the neighborhood, that the school manages to identify and welcome the most vulnerable children, bringing them from the isolation of the streets to the safety of a classroom.

Integration and Memory: Children from Iraq in Jordan

The reception of Iraqi children does not end at the school desks, as many of them carry the invisible wounds of conflict and displacement. For this reason, the Latin Patriarchate school in Marka is designed primarily as a safe space to rebuild a lost sense of normalcy through play, sports, and art.

In particular, the cultural heritage program plays a key role in the integration process. As Tariq emphasizes: "We offer them the same program we offer to other children so that they can learn about the history of Jordan. We organize specific activities and visits, such as those to Mount Nebo, to show them the chronological history of the country. It is essential to offer a comprehensive program that meets their academic needs but also helps them feel part of the reality in which they live today."

Teaching these children the history of the land that hosts them is the first step toward transforming a forced exile into a new beginning—ensuring they are no longer invisible.