Six years ago, the Oxford University development economist Paul Collier and his colleague, Alexander Betts, were walking through a special economic zone in Jordan when they had a wonkish revelation. The SEZ, which was newly built, lacked enough workers to operate, whereas the nearby Zaatari camp for displaced Syrians had a large and largely unemployed population, though it was legally prohibited from seeking employment.
So determined were the professors to rectify this artificial imbalance in the local labour market that they lobbied to broker a grand bargain between Jordan and the EU on economic rights for refugees. A year later saw the "Jordan Compact", a deal in which Jordan would set up more SEZs, where companies could operate under favourable tax rules and were incentivised to hire Syrian refugees (along with Jordanians). Companies that hired a certain proportion of Syrians would be given preferential access to the European market. The compact would attract foreign companies to Jordan, give Syrians jobs without taking any from Jordanians and give them fewer reasons to want to go to Europe.
Implicit in the Jordan Compact was the idea that Syrian refugees are not leaving Jordan any time soon. Their humanitarian plight has become an economic plight, and local jobs are the only answer.
The trouble with most refugee policy is that it is based on pretending that refugee crises are a short-term disaster rather than an intergenerational, demographic event. That pretence in turn shapes many refugees' daily experience – life denied the ability to settle down with work and land, reliant on a tent for shelter and rations for food.
It is as though governments are sure to pull together any day now to solve the war in Syria, Afghanistan and other conflict states, and those who left will be keen to return immediately. Many of today's armed conflicts are too complex for that – 78 per cent of refugees are in "protracted situations", where their exile from home is either long-term or permanent.
Killian Kleinschmidt, the former UN administrator of Zaatari, has said that "killing the myth of return" – for agencies, authorities and populations to come to terms with the fact that refugees are likely to stay – is a critical step in improving conditions on the ground.
Some refugee populations have existed in limbo for so long that their encampments have morphed into de-facto towns. "Camp" seems an absurd label for Shatila in Beirut and Yarmouk in Damascus. They are miniature cities, that have existed for decades, built on grey economies with ill-defined legal structures.
A large number of refugees in Lebanon and Jordan live outside organised camps, in overcrowded or informal accommodation. Reuters
Refugee policy is based on pretending that refugee crises are a short-term disaster
The Jordan Compact, in theory, provided a sense of autonomy, in the form of employment, to refugees. But the opportunity to work in a manufacturing plant in a SEZ is only a very narrow kind of economic freedom. While the Jordan model is being replicated elsewhere, it has thus far only yielded mixed results. Syrian workers often found the zones too far away from where they lived, and many of the jobs available were restricted to specialised sectors. Some refugees could not afford the cost of paperwork needed to get their work permit. It was not a straightforward path to a stable living. An under-the-table career running a cash-only restaurant in the camp seems better.
Profs Collier and Betts, along with Mr Kleinschmidt and others, want to see the camp economy brought out of the shadows, by expanding the SEZ into a more comprehensive autonomous zone for refugees and international business. The Sustainable Development Zone (SDZ) Alliance, of which Mr Kleinschmidt is a member, envisions zones with more comprehensive independent legal jurisdiction and places for refugees to live, socialise and operate businesses. High-tech multinationals could lease land in the zone to train and employ refugees in a liberalised city – Yarmouk meets DIFC or Silicon Valley.
The idea of SDZ is an intellectual descendant of "charter cities", a concept coined by the economist Paul Romer in the early 2000s. Prof Romer advocated for developing countries to lease land to companies to create sovereign cities that competed with one another over residents like businesses. The idea is finding a second wind in refugee policy circles, with papers being written on how charter cities could be the answer to long-term refugee camps.
If refugees cannot be integrated into a country's economy, then the refugee economy could come to exist on its own – or rather, under lease in special jurisdictions from large, multinational corporations.
All of that seems like a faraway concept, but the global refugee population is only growing, along with the appetite for special economic zones, cheap labour and strategies to keep refugees employed. A network of "refugee cities" may one day be a real thing.
It would be a pity. The emergence of a formal economy off the back of forced migration would be the clearest possible sign of our total failure to tackle the problems that create migrants.
Moreover, there is a more obvious, though somehow less politically palatable solution, which is to accept that populations are not static things, and to better integrate refugees into the national economy. A few host countries, including Uganda, Canada and Germany, grant refugees the right to work, start businesses and own property, but these policies are not the norm. Growing the economy by absorbing large numbers of new workers is not without complications, but it is likely to be easier than creating a new economy altogether.
Nigel Farage told Reform's annual conference that the party will proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood if he becomes Prime Minister. "We will stop dangerous organisations with links to terrorism operating in our country," he said. "Quite why we've been so gutless about this – both Labour and Conservative – I don't know. “All across the Middle East, countries have banned and proscribed the Muslim Brotherhood as a dangerous organisation. We will do the very same.” It is 10 years since a ground-breaking report into the Muslim Brotherhood by Sir John Jenkins. Among the former diplomat's findings was an assessment that “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” has “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement. The prime minister at the time, David Cameron, who commissioned the report, said membership or association with the Muslim Brotherhood was a "possible indicator of extremism" but it would not be banned.
Quick pearls of wisdom
Focus on gratitude: And do so deeply, he says. “Think of one to three things a day that you’re grateful for. It needs to be specific, too, don’t just say ‘air.’ Really think about it. If you’re grateful for, say, what your parents have done for you, that will motivate you to do more for the world.”
Know how to fight: Shetty married his wife, Radhi, three years ago (he met her in a meditation class before he went off and became a monk). He says they’ve had to learn to respect each other’s “fighting styles” – he’s a talk it-out-immediately person, while she needs space to think. “When you’re having an argument, remember, it’s not you against each other. It’s both of you against the problem. When you win, they lose. If you’re on a team you have to win together.”
You can donate to several registered charities through a “donation catalogue”. The use of the donation is quite specific, such as buying a fan for a poor family in Niger for Dh130.
The site has an e-donation service accepting debit card, credit card or e-Dirham, an electronic payment tool developed by the Ministry of Finance and First Abu Dhabi Bank.
You can donate online or order Smiles n’ Stuff products handcrafted by Al Noor students. The centre publishes a wish list of extras needed, starting at Dh500.
Beit Al Khair Society has the motto “From – and to – the UAE,” with donations going towards the neediest in the country. Its website has a list of physical donation sites, but people can also contribute money by SMS, bank transfer and through the hotline 800-22554.
Dar Al Ber Society, which has charity projects in 39 countries, accept cash payments, money transfers or SMS donations. Its donation hotline is 800-79.
Dubai Cares provides several options for individuals and companies to donate, including online, through banks, at retail outlets, via phone and by purchasing Dubai Cares branded merchandise. It is currently running a campaign called Bookings 2030, which allows people to help change the future of six underprivileged children and young people.
Those who travel on Emirates have undoubtedly seen the little donation envelopes in the seat pockets. But the foundation also accepts donations online and in the form of Skywards Miles. Donated miles are used to sponsor travel for doctors, surgeons, engineers and other professionals volunteering on humanitarian missions around the world.
On the Emirates Red Crescent website you can choose between 35 different purposes for your donation, such as providing food for fasters, supporting debtors and contributing to a refugee women fund. It also has a list of bank accounts for each donation type.
Gulf for Good raises funds for partner charity projects through challenges, like climbing Kilimanjaro and cycling through Thailand. This year’s projects are in partnership with Street Child Nepal, Larchfield Kids, the Foundation for African Empowerment and SOS Children's Villages. Since 2001, the organisation has raised more than $3.5 million (Dh12.8m) in support of over 50 children’s charities.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum launched the Noor Dubai Foundation a decade ago with the aim of eliminating all forms of preventable blindness globally. You can donate Dh50 to support mobile eye camps by texting the word “Noor” to 4565 (Etisalat) or 4849 (du).
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FIXTURES
All kick-off times 10.45pm UAE ( 4 GMT) unless stated
Tuesday
Sevilla v Maribor
Spartak Moscow v Liverpool
Manchester City v Shakhtar Donetsk
Napoli v Feyenoord
Besiktas v RB Leipzig
Monaco v Porto
Apoel Nicosia v Tottenham Hotspur
Borussia Dortmund v Real Madrid
Wednesday
Basel v Benfica
CSKA Moscow Manchester United
Paris Saint-Germain v Bayern Munich
Anderlecht v Celtic
Qarabag v Roma (8pm)
Atletico Madrid v Chelsea
Juventus v Olympiakos
Sporting Lisbon v Barcelona
Mica
Director: Ismael Ferroukhi
Stars: Zakaria Inan, Sabrina Ouazani
3 stars
SERIE A FIXTURES
Saturday (All UAE kick-off times)
Cagliari v AC Milan (6pm)
Lazio v Napoli (9pm)
Inter Milan v Atalanta (11.45pm)
Sunday
Udinese v Sassuolo (3.30pm)
Sampdoria v Brescia (6pm)
Fiorentina v SPAL (6pm)
Torino v Bologna (6pm)
Verona v Genoa (9pm)
Roma V Juventus (11.45pm)
Parma v Lecce (11.45pm)
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
Teams
Punjabi Legends Owners: Inzamam-ul-Haq and Intizar-ul-Haq; Key player: Misbah-ul-Haq
Colombo Lions Owners: Sri Lanka Cricket; Key player: TBC
Kerala Kings Owners: Hussain Adam Ali and Shafi Ul Mulk; Key player: Eoin Morgan
Venue Sharjah Cricket Stadium
Format 10 overs per side, matches last for 90 minutes
Timeline October 25: Around 120 players to be entered into a draft, to be held in Dubai; December 21: Matches start; December 24: Finals
The Case For Trump
By Victor Davis Hanson
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
