Refugees’ remittances to precarious IDPs in North Syria, Al-Raeai, between 2017 and 2023
Keywords:
Remittances, Hawala, Precarious IDPs, Refugees, Syria
Abstract
This study explores the impact and role of refugee remittances to Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) as part of the repertoire of financial coping strategies of displaced people, with a focus on the Al-Raeai region in northwestern Syria. Our paper examines the ‘dual precarity’ of both refugees and IDPs, contributing to the literature on refugee studies. The paper outlines the frequency and unique features of remittances, and the extent to which they contribute to household income and spending patterns. Moreover, it highlights the IDPs' concerns when remittances are interrupted and the potential alternatives. Factors other than war and conflict, COVID-19 and the earthquake (natural disasters) for instance, are also explored. Our research shows that remittances are indispensable for the IDPs, are determined by the senders’ country of origin, and enhance the bonds between families and social circles, especially in emergency events.
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References
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Amuedo-Dorantes, C. (2005). On the Remitting Patterns of Immigrants: Evidence from Mexican Survey Data’, Economic Review (Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta) 90(Q1), 1–38.
Arestoff, F., Kuhn, M. and Mouhoub, E.M. (2012). Transferts de Fonds Des Migrants En Afrique Du Sud: Les Conditions de Départ Du Pays d’origine Sont-Elles Déterminantes??’. Revue Économique 63(3), 513–22.
Beck, T. y Martínez Pería, M.S. (2011). What Explains the Price of Remittances? An Examination Across 119 Country Corridors, The World Bank Economic Review 25(1), 105–31.
Carling, J., Bivand Erdal, M. and Horst, C. (2012). How Does Conflict in the Migrants’ Country of Origin Affect Remittance-Sending? Financial Priorities and Transnational Obligations among Somalis and Pakistanis in Norway’, International Migration Review 46(2), 283–309.
Chehade, N., Navarro, A. and Sobol, D. (2017). Remittances and Financial Inclusion: A Demand-Side Analysis of Low-Income Jordanians and Syrian Refugees in Jordan, CGP, GIZ Working Paper.
Crisp, J. (2003) ‘No Solutions in Sight: The Problem of Protracted Refugee Situations in Africa’. Refugee Survey Quarterly 22(4), 114–50.
Cockayne, J. and Shetret, J. (5 April 2012). Capitalizing on Trust: Harnessing Somali Remittances for Counterterrorism, Human Rights and State Building - Global Center on Cooperative Security’, Global Center on Cooperative Security - A Just and Secure World. (blog). Available at https://www.globalcenter.org/resource/capitalizing-on-trust-harnessing-somali-remittances-for-counterterrorism-human-rights-and-state-building/ (Accessed 21 May 2024).
Dean, R. (2015). Remittances to Syria. What Works, Where and How’, Available at: https://www.calpnetwork.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/2015-07-nrc-remittances-to-syria-report-final-1.pdf. (Accessed 21/5/2024)
Dercon, S. and World Institute for Development Economics Research (Ed.) (2005). Insurance against Poverty, UNU-WIDER Studies in Development Economics. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Fransen, S. and Mazzucato, V. (2014). Remittances and Household Wealth after Conflict: A Case Study on Urban Burundi. World Development. 60(C): 57–68.
Frankel, J. (2011). Are bilateral remittances counter-cyclical?’. Open Economies Review 22: 1-16.
Friedkin, N.E. (2004). Social Cohesion’. Annual Review of Sociology 30(1): 409–25.
Hennink, M. and Kaiser, B.N. (2022). Sample Sizes for Saturation in Qualitative Research: A Systematic Review of Empirical Tests’. Social Science & Medicine. 292, 1–10.
Human Rights Watch (22 June 2023). Questions and answers: How Sanctions Affect the Humanitarian Response in Syria. Available at: https://shorturl.at/abhoF. (Accessed 21 May 2024).
Justino, P. (2011). The Impact of Armed Civil Conflict on Household Welfare and Policy’, IDS Working Papers, no. 384: 1–38.
Lindley, A. (2009). The Early-Morning Phone call: Remittances from a Refugee Diaspora Perspective. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies 35(8), 1315–34.
Lindley, A. (2008). Conflict-Induced Migration and Remittances: Exploring Conceptual Frameworks’, RSC Working Paper Series. No 47, Available at https://www.rsc.ox.ac.uk/publications/conflict-induced-migration-and-remittances-exploring-conceptual-frameworks. (Accessed 21 May 2024).
Lokshin, M.M. and Yemtsov, R. (2004). Household Strategies of Coping with Shocks in Post-Crisis Russia’. Review of Development Economics 8(1): 15–32.
Lund, C. (2014). Of What Is This a Case?: Analytical Movements in Qualitative Social Science Research’. Human Organization 73(3): 224–34.
Mason, M. (2018). Qualitative Researching, 3rd edition. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.
ReliefWeb OCHA services (2024). Syrian Arab Republic: 2024 Humanitarian Needs Overview’ (February 2024) - Syrian Arab Republic | ReliefWeb. Available at: https://reliefweb.int/report/syrian-arab-republic/syrian-arab-republic-2024-humanitarian-needs-overview-february-2024. (Accessed 21/5/2024)
Rodima-Taylor, D. (Ed.) (2013) Remittance Flows to Post-Conflict States: Perspectives on Human Security and Development (Boston University Frederick S. Pardee Center for the Study of the Longer-Range Future). Available at https://open.bu.edu/handle/2144/22904 (accessed 12 January 2024).
Rodima-Taylor, D. (2022). Sending Money Home in Conflict Settings: Revisiting Migrant Remittances’, Georgetown Journal of International Affairs 23 (1): 43–51.
Schramm, M. and Taube, M. (2003). Evolution and Institutional Foundation of the Hawala Financial System’, International Review of Financial Analysis 12(4): 405–20.
Stark, O. (1988). Migration, Remittances, and the Family’. Economic Development and Cultural Change 36(3): 465–81.
Stark, O. and Bloom, D.E. (1985). The New Economics of Labor Migration. The American Economic Review 75(2): 173–78.
Tharmalingam, S. (2011). A Long-Distance Navigator? Remittance as a Transnational Practice among Tamils and Somalis in Norway. Forum for Development Studies 38(2): 177–96.
‘Security Council Rejects Two Draft Resolutions Aimed at Renewing Cross-Border Humanitarian Operations in Syria’s North-West | UN Press’. Available at https://press.un.org/en/2023/sc15348.doc.htm. (accessed 12 January 2024).
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UNHCR ‘Mid-Year Trends’. Available at https://www.unhcr.org/mid-year-trends (accessed 7 March 2024).
UNHCR (2023). Country - Syrian Arab Republic. Available at: https://data.unhcr.org/en/country/syr. (Accessed on 21/5/2024).
UNCFD, ‘Formalizing Remittances for Forcibly Displaced People: Findings from the Democratic Republic of the Congo’. Available at: https://shorturl.at/fsJUZ. (Accessed 9 March 2024).
Van Hear, N. and Cohen, R. (2015). Diasporas and Conflict’. University of Oxford: Centre on Migration, Policy and Society. Available at: https://www.compas.ox.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/WP-2015-122-VanHear_Cohen_Diasporas_Conflict.pdf. (Accessed 20 May 2024).
Vargas-Silva, S. (2017). Remittances Sent To and From the Forcibly Displaced’, The Journal of Development Studies 53(11), 1835–48.
Van Hear, N., Brubaker, R. and Bessa, T. (2009). Managing Mobility for Human Development: The Growing Salience of Mixed Migration, MPRA Paper. Available at https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/19202/. (Accessed 21 May 2024).
World Bank (2020). COVID-19 crisis through a migration lens. Migration and Development Brief no. 32. Available at https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/989721587512418006/pdf/COVID-19-Crisis-Through-a-Migration-Lens.pdf ( accessed 8 March 2024).
Yang, D., and Choi, H. (2007) ‘Are remittances insurance? Evidence from rainfall shocks in the Philippines. The World Bank Economic Review 21(2): 219-248.
Yang, D. (2006). International Migration, Remittances, and Household Investment: Evidence from Philippine Migrants’ Exchange Rate Shocks. Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research
Published
2025-10-24
How to Cite
Aljasem, A., Aljasem, A., Shabou, F., Sayah, L., & Al-Abdullah, S. (2025). Refugees’ remittances to precarious IDPs in North Syria, Al-Raeai, between 2017 and 2023. Journal of Social and Development Sciences, 15(3(S), 1-12. https://doi.org/10.22610/jsds.v15i3(S).4761
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Research Paper
Copyright (c) 2025 Abdulnaser Aljasem, Ali Aljasem, Feras Shabou, Laura Sayah, Samir Al-Abdullah
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