IDENTITY CRISIS AND ASSIMILATION PROBLEMS AMONG SYRIAN REFUGEE WOMEN RESIDING OUTSIDE REFUGEE CAMPS IN JORDAN

Abstract

This article describes and analyzes the main problematic issues of social and cultural assimilation encountered by Syrian refugee women in Jordan who are not living in refugee camps, and the reasons for the identity crisis that these women experience. The data that provide this information were collected by means of semi-structured interviews from a sample of 50 of these women. The results show that most of the Syrian refugee women living outside the camps suffered from hardships that interfered with their social and cultural assimilation. There were few formal social relationships between refugee women and others in their milieu, and the refugees felt that there were distinct cultural differences in dialect, customs, and traditions between them and their Jordanian peers. The study shows that most of the participants were living in a state of social isolation resulting from identity crisis. It was difficult for them to develop a sense of belonging to the society of the country of asylum while being distracted both by day-to-day concerns and by their desire to return to their homeland. These factors limited their ability to develop good relations with the host community as a prelude to integration, assimilation, and social symmetry.