Most of the tents sent by the government to Jordan as relief aid for Iraqi refugees are gathering dust in storage, according to aid agency officials.
On March 30, shortly after the Iraq war began, the government delivered to Jordan 160 tents capable of accommodating a combined 1,600 people. The tents were delivered on two government planes.
The move was made at the request of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, which assumed that more than 1 million Iraqis would flow into Jordan and other neighboring countries as war refugees.
Only about a quarter of the 160 tents sent by Japan were used in the Reweished refugee camp in Amman, while the remainder are being kept in storage in the city of Zarka, according to Sten Bronee, the UNHCR office representative in Amman.
"We had expected many refugees to arrive, but much fewer arrived," Bronee said in a phone interview late Monday.
He said the UNHCR was ready to host 30,000 refugees in the Reweished camp, though only 1,500 ended up there.
Maki Sato of the Japan Volunteer Center relief group visited the Reweished camp in the summer. He said the tents set up there were covered with dust, and half of them had collapsed due to strong winds.
"Iraqis were afraid of looting and never had the intention of becoming refugees," Sato said, citing local people.
The UNHCR plans to use the remaining tents during the winter to keep people warm, Bronee said, noting there are no prospects of refugees coming to the camp.
According to the Defense Agency, flying the two government plans from Japan to Jordan cost 100 million yen.
The tents, according to the Cabinet Office, came from the government's stock for emergency use.