By far the greatest burden of receiving Syria’s refugees has fallen not on the United States or on Europe, but on Syria’s neighbors: Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan. Together, these countries are hosting most of the five million Syrians. [...] The Turkish city of Gaziantep sets an example in treating refugees humanely. [...] Refugees are allowed to work and have access to free health care and schools, and the government has repeatedly committed to creating a pathway to Turkish citizenship.

Mobility of Arab artists within Jordan and internationally is a major challenge due to lack of financial resources, visa issues and lack of exposure to potential partner organizations, according to regional NGO Culture Resource. Founded in 2004, Culture Resource seeks to tackle the mobility issue by supporting artistic creativity in the region through various initiatives. One of their main projects, provides artists financial support to increase the visibility and representation of culture and the arts from the Arab region in other parts of the world.

When Shadi Shiha arrived at the Israeli-Jordanian border and saw the armed Israeli soldiers and the Israeli flag, he almost turned around and went home. [...] That was almost a year ago. Shiha, who is also a serious break-dancer, spent two semesters at the Arava Institute at Kibbutz Ketura in southern Israel and he says it changed his world view.

Jordan has adopted new measures to make it easier for Syrian refugees to obtain work permits in the construction sector, a move that is expected to improve the living conditions of those who work in the industry and protect them from abuse at the hands of employers.