7 Jerash camp and the local labour market The previous sections show that living conditions amongst ex-Gaza refugees in camps are consistently below those of other Palestinian refugees in camps. The circumstances of Jerash camp residents are, however, much worse than other ex-Gaza and non-ex-Gaza camp refugees alike. Jerash governorate is not noticeably poorer than the country average, despite having somewhat fewer ‘high earners’ (earning over 500 JD per month) (DoS and Fafo, 2015). This suggests that although ex-Gazans inside and outside Jerash camp face the same status-related barriers, ex-Gazans in Jerash are particularly affected and/or ex-Gazans outside of Jerash are more able to compensate and develop coping strategies. This part sheds further light on factors that may account for the poorer living conditions in Jerash camp and why a large proportion of camp residents are unable to graduate from poverty, with an emphasis on qualitative data gathered from interviews. It focuses on Jerash camp residents specifically. Given that the labour market, income, and poverty vary substantially across Jordan, we first locate Jerash camp within the local labour market of Jerash governorate. After suggesting that ex-Gazans in Jerash camp are particularly limited in terms of accessing the local labour market in their governorate, we turn to how residents strive and do make their livelihoods. The picture that emerges is one of pooling insecure incomes from irregular and low-paid work, with Jerash residents emphasising the distinction between the work which is available to them, as non-citizens, and what they consider ‘proper’ work. History and location of Jerash camp Jerash camp was established as an ‘emergency camp’ in March 1968 on 0.75 square kilometres of land (partly owned and partly rented by the state) to accommodate around 11,500 refugees (UNRWA, 2015). It quickly reached capacity as ex-Gaza refugees were relocated from reception camps in the Jordan valley, new arrivals at the Allenby and Damiya border crossings were transferred directly to Jerash camp, and ex-Gazans already living in urban areas or other camps self-settled to reunify with family members. By mid-1970, more than 11,000 refugees were already living in Jerash camp (UNRWA, 1970 table 4.3a). Jerash camp is located five kilometres southwest of the city of Jerash, at the intersection of the ancient trade route from Damascus to Jerusalem (which now connects Jerash and Dibeen forest) and a local road leading to the neighbouring northwest villages. The site’s relatively flat area allowed tents to be erected easily and sheltered from wind by steep hills to the north (Aerts et al., 2014, p. 112). Each family (of six to eight members) was allocated a plot of 8 x 12 m (96 m2) and a tent, but refugees soon swapped plots to further allow families, tribes and previous neighbours to cluster together. By 1971, the 1,500 centrally-located tents were replaced with 2,000 prefabricated asbestos shelters (UNRWA, 2015). ‘Just getting by’ Ex-Gazans in Jerash and other refugee camps in Jordan 85