Financial Biographies of Refugees in Jordan

By: Kim Wilson et al. 

This collection of profiles from Jordan explores stories that highlight refugee and migrant journeys and their efforts to adapt to new surroundings. The profiles, dubbed Financial Biographies, included in this publication depict the grit and resourcefulness required by refugees and migrants to survive and in some cases thrive as they move and settle.

In Jordan, researchers conducted three rounds of interviews with participants. In most cases, we conducted our interviews in the mother tongues of our research respondents and dispensed with the interrogative style of survey research in favor of a conversational approach. Some interviews took place over 90 minutes, while others spread before us like a series of easy dialogues occurring over several days. Rather than having only one snapshot in time, multiple interviews allowed researchers to understand an individual’s financial circumstances and decision making over time. This proved particularly useful during COVID-19, which coincided with our research, when livelihoods and coping strategies were changing quickly. A complete compilation of stories from our Jordan research can be found in “A Hope for Home: A brief compendium of financial journeys of refugees and asylum seekers in Jordan.”

The biographies in this publication are intended to preserve the entire financial story of selected respondents and are meant to supplement our other publications, taking the reader into the depths of individual migrant experiences.

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