Protest for Syria
Yesterday, on the first day of Eid al-Adha, a crowd of about 300 men, women and children gathered to pray and protest across the street from the Syrian Embassy in Amman, Jordan to call for the fall of President Bashar al-Assad. As the sun’s early morning pink light covered the square, tan buildings of the city, the prayer for Eid rang out.
After the prayer finished, the protest began. People adorned in “Free Syria” scarves, face paint and even a full-face mask chanted against the regime. Women wiped tears from their faces as men danced and vehemently responded to the people on stage stirring the crowd. Children raised their fists alongside their mothers, and sat on top of their father’s shoulders, waving Syrian revolutionary flags in the air.
The demonstration lasted a little more than an hour and a half before people began to disperse. The well-organized protests are likely to continue as the 19-month conflict in Syria shows no signs of abating.
Amman to the Dead Sea
This past Friday was a change of pace from my usual routine of hanging downtown after Jum’ah, waiting for a protest to begin. Instead of chasing demonstrators with a camera, I headed to the Dead Sea on a mountain bike as part of a weekly ride Cycling Jordan was hosting.
Luckily since the Dead Sea is the lowest point on Earth, the second half of the 35-km ride was almost entirely downhill. SERIOUS downhill. I did my best to film a few moments from the breakneck ride, but for fear of losing control as I sped past local boys throwing rocks, these two short videos are all I was able to capture on camera.
Take II.
At the end of the ride as some cyclists doctored wounds and others stood overlooking the sea, I sought refuge from the sun in the fly-filled bus and thought, “How lucky am I?” I am grateful (almost!) every day for the places I am able to see and the people I am able to meet here in this country.
A Call For Release
Last night, a crowd of about 150 demonstrators gathered in front of the Royal Court in downtown Amman to call for the release of imprisoned activists. The protestors were held back from the street from a line of Jordanian police officers. The SWAT police stood in a line nearby.
The people held signs above their heads, calling for freedom and a grave injustice to be righted with their . Though after the official protest had come to an end, a man screamed emphatically toward the Royal Palace, the peaceful demonstration was largely uneventful and lasted only a little over an hour.
As long as these activists remain jailed, the demonstrators vow to continue to voice their dissent in the streets.
Syrian Refugees Struggle For Stability in Jordan
Over the past month, I’ve spent multiple days in Mafraq, Jordan, with Syrian families who are frustrated that they aren’t able to get their children back into school after the trauma of being forced to flee their homes because of the violence and danger in their home country.
My piece for Your Middle East, attached below, explores some of the obstacles that these displaced people face in their fight to establish some sort of stability for their families. Click on the photograph below to see the article in full with the accompanying photo essay.
“This is an entire generation’s future that is being ruined”
Many Syrian refugee children in Jordan miss out on their education due to limited resources in the education system. Melissa Tabeek met with families desperate to get their kids back to school.
Last August, 10-year old Bayan fled Syria with her family when it became too dangerous for them to stay in Homs. That September, at a time when parents are buying fresh notebooks and sending their children to school in crisp, ironed uniforms, she was instead faced with having to find somewhere to resume her education in the Jordanian town of Mafraq, less than 20 miles from the Syrian border.
Bayan’s difficulties as a refugee were eased by her attending a school in Mafraq run by Jordan-based community organization Islamic Charity Center Society (ICCS). But this year, Bayan will be staying home. Though she longs to begin lessons again, her mother was turned away when she tried to enrol Bayan at a local public school. ICCS’ budget is strapped as well, and staff said they cannot host any Syrians who need their full tuition waived.
“My daughter has been crying for two weeks, she’s asking me to go back to school,” Bayan’s mother, Umm Khalid, said, worry creasing her round, freckled face.
A Peaceful Friday – October 5, 2012
Last Friday, thousands gathered in downtown Amman, Jordan to demonstrate for constitutional reform. Men, women and children alike held signs in the air protesting everything from corruption to calling for the release of arrested activists.
Though the number of people in the streets were far less than the 50,000 organizer Muslim Brotherhood predicted, the peaceful protest was the largest in Jordan to date since the start of the so-called “Arab Spring,” drawing an estimated 8 to 15,000 demonstrators.
Though rallies without fights often proves to be less exciting news, it was encouraging to see so many people gathered in one place to voice their dissent without any ensuing violence.
What Do You Stand For? September 27, 2012
A lot of things are out of my control when I’m reporting here. I can’t control interviewees tendency to be late, cancel meetings at the last-minute, fail to deliver what they promised, or not contradict themselves when they try to tell me what they think I want to hear while still stating their own opinion.
But once I get that person sitting in that chair or desk across from me, translator on hand if needed, I like to think I finally have some control. I’ve prepared my questions, I’ve done my best to anticipate what they might say and I’m ready to steer the conversation in a way that I can get the information that I need. Every interview has the potential to unearth something unexpected, but generally, this is the process.
Yesterday was no different than most of my days here. My morning started later than I expected and my 10 o’clock interview didn’t commence until after 1 p.m. This is “adi”, normal. It’s all part of the waiting game which I participate in daily. No surprises. What I didn’t expect though was a pre-interview – of me.
Freedom! September 23, 2012
Outside Al-Husseini Mosque.
A mix of hundreds of demonstrators gathered in downtown Amman yesterday after the noon Friday prayer to both rally for the government and protest against it, some voicing their support of the government, while others called for an end to corruption and the release of political activists who were arrested three weeks ago in different cities in Jordan.
As the searing early afternoon sun beat down on hundreds of men and boys simultaneously putting their foreheads to the ground in devotion inside and outside Al-Husseni mosque, others were unfurling bright red banners and handing out black paper signs with slogans denouncing government officials and calling for reform. Immediately after the prayer, chants rang out from those calling for the activists’ release.
“Those who are coming out of the mosque, come stand and defend your children!
“Jordan is for free people!”
Hurry Up And Wait
Although the only international reporting experience I have is in Jordan, I am well-versed in the practice of putting off everything for tomorrow, or even never, from my Peace Corps days in Kazakhstan. In Kazakh, Koremuz means “We’ll see.” Insh’allah, “God willing,” can have the same meaning. Often when I wanted to confirm an appointment with someone in Kazakhstan, they would say, “Yes, yes, we’ll see.” Putting koremuz at the end of the sentence forgave the person for anything that would happen that might keep them from that appointment. Like, say, they stumble across someone or something more important, a tea break materializes, or they didn’t want to meet you in the first place but didn’t want to offend by saying no.
I have to remember to be patient here. I have to remember that journalism is a different animal in many places outside of the United States and I’m not always going to get my stories and interviews as fast as I would like, no matter how many times I call them or show up at their empty office. People will break their appointments after confirming them, but (deep breath) insh’allah, they will be rescheduled. People will not be where they are supposed to be when I call them, but insh’allah, we will eventually connect.
(I tell myself) Take deep breaths when cultural elements keep you from sleeping through the night before a day of interviews. Don’t get frustrated when people tell you later, tomorrow, or maybe this week when you really need them hella! Have realistic expectations of the people around you.
Mantra, mantra, mantra.
Muslim Rage?
In my Twitter feed tonight, first I saw #Newsweek and #MuslimRage trending.
Then I saw the cover.
Really? REALLY? Have we not learned anything from the past week? When I saw the photo, I was physically startled. And that aggressive headline and unnerving picture is going to be stacked in the racks where people are waiting in line to buy their groceries, or to pick up some medicine at a local pharmacy. I can’t imagine it will incite any sort of substantive conversation on roots of the protests, or why it may not be just the video that people are angry about. It’s not difficult to envision the reaction that magazine cover will prompt.
Muslim Rage. The two words together remind me of those posters in New York City, or announcements over the loudspeaker: “If you see something, say something.” They’re meant to frighten. So is this cover.
Something like this is just irresponsible. I’m embarrassed to show the 15-year old whom I spoke with earlier today about the “Innocence of Muslims” video. She told me that she told the people at her school who blamed the video on Americans that they were wrong for thinking that it was America’s fault. I think about another conversation I had today with a Jordanian man who lives in San Francisco. He recounted some of the differing views of the other men at the wedding celebration he was at, some of whom said that this is a start of a war between Christians and Muslims. He said to them, “That’s too much. That’s wrong.”
Hey, Newsweek. Take heed.
US Embassy Protests in Amman*
Protesters gathered in front of the U.S. Embassy in Amman on September 14, chanting anti-American slogans.
Last night just before 7 p.m. as the sun was beginning to set on the city of Amman, I hopped out of a cab in front of the U.S. embassy, where there were about 150 protesters across the street from the heavily–guarded compound praying.
About five minutes after I arrived, the demonstrators began to chant and wave the black flags of jihad — which represent a fight for God — in the air.
“Leave you bastard, Leave you pig, The ambassador should leave!”
“No American embassy on Jordanian land!”
“Death to America!”
A man screamed into a megaphone, held up on the shoulders of his fellow protesters. An angry woman in a black nikab shook a Koran in the direction of the embassy. Another woman in front of the crowd shouted herself hoarse, “No more Americans in Amman!”
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