Hope & Trust
Amman, Jordan
Who we are?
Our Story
It takes but one moment to change the course of the years to come. Looking back now at the beginning of Hope & Trust, it was one of those moments that inspired a group of Christians at the English Speaking Congregation of the Anglican Church of the Redeemer in Amman, Jordan. Looking at the needs around us, we were prompted to see how we could relate to the growing numbers of Iraqi refugees who had appeared in our city in the autumn of 2006.
Already, many thousands of Iraqis had come across Jordan’s long Eastern border with Iraq– you could not miss the changes in downtown Amman as new arrivals sought a space to recover following the violence they had experienced in Baghdad and beyond.
In previous conflicts in the region, there had been large numbers of non-Iraqi nationals who had fled to Jordan– they had been cared for briefly inside the country, but then left in an orderly way for other parts of the world.
This time, however, would be different.
Those coming across the border this time were Iraqi nationals
who would have no automatic access to another country.
Most had little money after fleeing in haste and leaving
behind their homes and belongings in fear for their lives.
With no provision for the new arrivals to find work legally,
or for the children to continue their education in a local school,
there was a profound sense of loss and bewilderment.
This was the situation the members of our Bible study
had in the back of our minds when, during one of our regular
meetings, the whole group perceived– in one ofthose life-changing moments– that if our faith was to be real, then we would
have to respond to the presence
of increasing numbers of Iraqi refugees in our midst.
In the weeks that followed,
visits were made to local Christian communities that were receiving whole new groups of people, where it became apparent that, apart from the usual practical support of families in greatest need, there was real help that could be given to assist those applying for permanent resettlement outside the Middle East.
This process of immigration can be complex even to those with a good command of English and with the peace of mind to deal with the unavoidable stress of the application process, but for those traumatized and confused by their situation, and whose English is more basic, the process can be nearly impossible.
Thus began a system of visiting, listening, form-filling and following through on behalf of those applying to relocate. This work still continues to this day.
During this process, friendships are formed and new contacts are made, regardless of their background in Iraq, and although a single case can take two or more years to reach a conclusion, there are now many family units who have been able to find a new life outside the Middle East as a result of Hope & Trust’s endeavours.
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