One of the biggest mistakes I have made here in Jordan is living under the impression that this experience is all about me. Which, when you’re assimilating and trying your hardest to stuff as many foreign words into your head as you can, is easy to do.
Though this experience was my choice, it isn’t mine alone, and it’s certainly not all about me. My family has been kind enough to not freak out to the degree that I am hearing other CIEE students’ families are doing—but let me make something clear: Jordan is a third world country. There are a lot of things here that occur that I’ve ignored and not told my family or friends because (fortunately or unfortunately) I’ve been consumed with keeping myself inside the lines of harmony. So when I say this experience is not all about me, what I am implying is that it is about the people I am affecting here, and how family and friends home perceive my experience.
So let’s go back to the beginning. Here are some fun statistics about Jordan you may or may not know, but are important.
1. Jordan is almost 70% or so Palestinian (this means they have some kind of “western” origin)
a) However, the ministry is comprised of mostly “tribal” Jordanians…AKA “east Jordanians” who only comprise 30% of the population. AKA: representation is real unequal.
2. Jordan has a huge youth bulge: almost 60% of the population is between 15-64 years-old. The median age is 24.3 years-old. This reality hit me recently when I met with some diplomatic attachés who were 24, 26, and 29. All of which, dawned suits and ties, and worked in the foreign ministry of Jordan.
3. 92% of all people are Sunni Muslim. After that comes 6% Christian (mostly Greek, Syrian, Armenian Orthodox).
4. Also: Jordan has constantly had a high unemployment rate, hovering between 11-14% usually.
5. Jordan is pretty much owned by the World Bank. They are in debt to it since 2007 I think. This means a lot of their laws, changes, and economic reforms much be reviewed by the World Bank. –they are 6.7 billion dollars in debt since 2009.
6. Jordan has very few natural resources. No oil. Though it does has phosphates, agriculture, and human capital (mostly in the form of Medical Tourism)
7. Jordan is one of the most water-poor countries in the world, and can’t afford to desalinate their water, like Saudi Arabia.
So, consider these fun stats, and now I’ll tell you three things I’ve witnessed.
Something I never really addressed is the giant revolution craze going on through the Middle East. In case you’re wondering, yes: everyone is talking about it. In fact my Baba gives me an update every day telling me who died where, and where the protests are the hottest. Right now, is Syria. In fact, if you are over 40 years old and Jordanian, you are forbidden to cross the border right now.
Jordan, luckily one of the most stable countries in the area, has only felt faint left-over vibrations from the rest of the revolution-addicted countries. There have been protests every week, and only one was “violent.” I use this term because from what most Jordanians say, it was a misunderstanding between two groups that are actually relatively for a similar reformation, but rocks were thrown and one old guy died…so the media ran with it and called it “violent.”
In any case, most people want reform, they want representation in the ministry and the legislation, they are frustrated with the constant pouring in of immigrants…and they are taking hold of the strings of motivation from the neighboring countries and running with it.
The protests are unpredictable elsewhere, but many of the protests in Jordan are widely known. For example, there were two yesterday which was made known by CIEE staff and the traffic. So. There is that.
Many people are attributing the protests to facebook and other media, but honestly…I think the time bomb just went off when the dear Tunisian man set himself on fire. What a way to start a revolution. Here are two quotes I really enjoy concerning the revolutions in the Arab world:
“If the one dominating factor of events today is their unpredictability, then it would be foolish to predict where they will end up…we don’t even begin to know. But the one thing I’m sure of is that history is on the move, and we’re just at the beginning.” – The Independent
And….
“It is fascinating but quite provincial to focus attention — as much of the Western media is doing — on whether Facebook drove these revolts or what will happen if Muslim Brothers play a role in the governments to be formed. The Arabs are like a bride emerging on her wedding day and many people are commenting on whether her shoes match her gloves, when the real issue is how beautiful and happy she is.” – Rami Khouri
Anyway, this entry was sparked also by this new graffiti I saw on the wall near my house:
This refers to the fact that education here IS NOT free, and those that are almost free, are not of good quality, or do not have any good resources. Not to mention, Jordanians tend to complain that they are paying for Iraqi education, since there are so many refugees here. But even University of Jordan has major issues. In the past there were protests about the poor quality of the bathrooms in the university (in case you’re wondering, maybe 60-70% of the bathrooms are still squat-toilets, and toilet paper is a rare find).
It is also sparked by the fact that my 7-year-old host sister constantly mocks Gadaffi by saying “Bayt Bayt Dar Dar Zenga Zenga!” Take what you will from that.
Another photo:
This is a photo of my host sister wearing a blanket, but it illustrates the whole hijab issue. Yesterday I met some of my host cousins and one of them (around my age) helped Lara put on a hijab—and Lara was beaming. Hijabs (just the head-covering) here are really a style statement, as well as a step toward maturity that many girls want to take. It’s probably 90% of the time completely their choice, and its kind of weird to see Arab girls without one now.
There is no photo to illustrate this, but Jordan is still struggling with some major racism issues. For example, today I was cat-called/yelled at (you can never tell) by the word: “whitey, whitey!”…but more importantly, others—like Jews and Iraqis are more often the victims of prejudice. You can imagine why.
So, that concludes my poly-sci discussion. It’s a rough overview, and does not encompass nearly enough of what’s going on here (when you add all the factors together), but it’s a start.
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