refugees
Schulze in Jordan: Promises of aid for refugees
Development Minister Svenja Schulze upon arrival at the airport in Amman. photo
© Hannes P. Albert/dpa
The Jordanian air force drops aid supplies over Gaza. Development Minister Schulze emphasizes that the country’s commitment to peace in the Middle East is great. Now the country should receive further support.
Germany has promised Jordan additional aid to care for refugees and to alleviate the water crisis in the Arab country. “Jordan’s humanitarian and political commitment is central to peace in the Middle East,” said Development Minister Svenja Schulze, who held talks with government representatives in the Jordanian capital Amman on Monday. “The country’s mediating role is invaluable – and not just today.” In addition, developing countries such as Jordan shouldered the majority of the global intake of refugees.
The SPD politician announced that Germany would support Jordan with additional funds totaling 41 million euros and a loan of 125 million euros. The kingdom wants to start building a seawater desalination plant on the Red Sea in 2024.
Trip has been planned for a while
The minister’s trip had already been planned before the bloodbath of the Islamist Hamas in Israel on October 7th and the Israeli military offensive in the Gaza Strip. Jordan has repeatedly taken in hundreds of thousands of refugees over the past decades. A large part of the population has Palestinian roots. Their families fled to the kingdom during the Middle East wars of 1948 and 1967. Many Iraqis and Syrians have also found refuge in Jordan. The population has doubled since 2005 to more than eleven million people.
Jordan’s King Abdullah II has described the military offensive in the Gaza Strip as a “war crime”. There were large protest demonstrations in Jordanian cities. Churches in the country, which has diplomatic relations with Israel, canceled all Christmas activities and celebrations. Mobile operator Zein replaced its logo on users’ phones with “Gaza”.
According to the state news agency Petra, the Jordanian air force dropped medical supplies over a Jordanian hospital in the Gaza Strip on Monday night. Jordan and Egypt have made it clear that they will not accept refugees from the Gaza Strip. This also has to do with the concern that this could ultimately lead to permanent displacement.
Another focus of Schulze’s trip is skilled migration. In order to enable more qualified workers from Jordan to have a future in Germany, she wants to open a center for labor mobility in Amman on Tuesday.