Syrian young people in Jordan and the question of return

Linn, Sarah ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2974-0152 and Abolouz, Abdallah (2025) Syrian young people in Jordan and the question of return. Children's Geographies, 23 (4). pp. 529-536. ISSN 1473-3285

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Abstract

The Syrian civil war lasted nearly 14 years, resulting in one of the largest displacement crises in modern times, with most refugees seeking refuge in the neighbouring countries of Lebanon, Turkey and Jordan. Many children who left Syria during the conflict have now spent a majority of their lives living ‘elsewhere’ and have grown up with ambiguous feelings of belonging and attachment, trying to make sense of how they might build futures in restrictive and obstructive local and global settings. With the overthrow of Bashar Al Assad, and with it the opportunity to return and rebuild, Syrian refugee young people are adjusting to the possibility of new futures in a nation that many have few memories of. This viewpoint provides an insight into the initial reactions and perspectives of Syrian young people displaced by the civil war who self-settled in urban Jordan with their families between 2012 and 2015 and have continued to live in the Kingdom. Reflecting on workshops held in January 2025 and engaging with earlier work with Syrian communities in 2022, it highlights how these young people are re-conceptualising and strategising their future trajectories amidst an uncertain political landscape as they face a new chapter of ‘waithood’.