In Conversation with Jordan Hattar

By H.D. Wright

Jordan Hattar is a refugee activist and humanitarian who serves as Director of Help4Refugees, an international NGO based in Amman, Jordan.​ He is an MA of the University of Cambridge and a former intern with First Lady Michelle Obama's Reach Higher initiative. Mentored by Carl Wilkens, he has spoken at secondary schools and universities in over one hundred countries. The conversation below was conducted during drives to Zaatari refugee camp on Highway 10.

HDW: I know that you were originally motivated to become involved in the Syrian refugee crisis because of an Arabic professor. What about what the teacher told you made you decide to support the delivery of humanitarian aid to Syrian refugees?

Jordan: Well, she would always talk about what was going on in Syria at the beginning of class and we would always ask her questions. The more I learned of her story, the more I wished to help. I learned about her relatives who were killed. I saw her sorrow and I thought: I can do something about this. I've always believed that if you set your heart on something you can find a way to make a difference, and I believe in the ability to make a difference. You don't always know how to start, but you try. In South Sudan I learned that mosquito nets and books weren't the most important things, so I learned. That is the only way. I often think to myself: just because you can't do everything doesn’t mean you can't do something. Just because you can't deliver caravans to the whole refugee camp doesn’t mean you don't start somewhere, and raise enough money for two caravans. It may seem like just a drop in the ocean but I believe in the ripple effects. Just as the flu is contagious, I also believe that compassion and empathy are too. It seeps into our veins like it’s magic.

HDW: How do you know that your actions are having an impact?

Jordan: I can only control my intention. I ask myself: am I doing this for the right reason? Am I using people as ends, or as means? We can't use people to get somewhere. They are the end goal. Other than that it's just listening, finding out the biggest needs from the lips of the people. If we listen, we will hear what they really need, and that's why I decided to deliver the caravans, because enough Syrian refugees said that they needed them.

When you see people sitting in tents, talking about the winter, and they explain how their lives have been affected by the experience of living in tents, and they say explicitly—we need caravans—the answer is clear. Our greatest passion intersects with the world's greatest needs in different places. And the needs change. They’re not the same your whole life. I kept fundraising for caravans, until I realized caravans were no longer needed.

HDW: And that is why listening is so important, as you said. You really have to be in constant communication.

Jordan: Yes. You are forging friendships with people on the ground. It's not necessarily a formal means of emailing. You're actually in touch with people who can update you verbally on the situation. The power of investing in people is infinite. They to me are the real resource. The people in Jordan are just so warm, and as we saw yesterday with Shaza’s family, they will share with you all they have.

HDW: You initially reported from Zaatari camp. When you first entered the camp, what was your first impression, and how has that perception changed or evolved over time?

Jordan: My first memories are of a woman, aged twenty-seven, who told me how she had lost her whole family, save for two sisters. Her optimism and resilience inspired me. It almost didn't make sense to me—how she had so much optimism when most of her family had been killed—and it made me think of the Nuremberg prosecutor who once said, if you're crying on the inside, you better be laughing on the outside, or you'll drown in tears. I felt like there were so many stories to be told, and that they weren't being told to the world.

HDW: Looking ahead, how do you aim to contribute next?

Jordan: I want to live a life of service. One imagines a certain profession they’d like to pursue, but I like to structure my dreams around impact. I want to inspire people as a leader and move the world in a more moral direction because I have the on-the-ground experience. If you want to work on policy you have to keep the experiences of individuals in mind to shape that policy. You can't just read briefs and intelligence reports without also having an ear to the ground. Making a decision based off of what real people on the ground are saying helps us realize what's really at stake. I'm excited about the future, where it takes us, and I wish to continue to continue to learn how better to make a difference, not just in Syria, but with all of those who are suffering.