For those Iraqis who can afford it, high Iraq property rent is a price worth paying for the peace and security they gain with it.

“We don’t have that much money left, but it could be worse. It’s good to see that your children can walk safely in the streets,” said Rabab Abdallah, 36, an Iraqi woman taking refuge in Amman. “The only thing that makes me sad is that Jordanians aren’t as welcoming as they were before.”

“I can meet my friends in Mecca Mall, have some coffee and go back home confident that nothing will happen to us, that we’ll put our heads on our pillows and not have anymore nightmares,” Abdallah added.

Mecca Mall is Amman’s biggest shopping mall. Local Jordanians call it Baghdad Mall because of the huge numbers of Iraqis flocking there. Some Jordanians resent the presence of such numbers of Iraqis in their country and the impact they are having on the economy; others are more understanding.

Ruba Nassif, 29, a Jordanian biologist and mother of two, was forced to move from an upmarket neighbourhood of Amman to the suburbs, where rents are lower.

“Prices have increased and what were good salaries have turned out to be not enough for our survival,” she said. “But Iraqis have helped Jordanians for decades, offering us free education and supporting our government, so now we have to help them. The [Jordanian] government should force shops and landlords to decrease their charges.”