A letter from Doug Dicks in Jordan
September 18, 2007
Dear Family and Friends,
Hello and greetings from Amman, Jordan! Yes, that’s right. Jordan!
After nearly 12 years of living and working in the Holy Land, I relocated to Amman, Jordan, in April, following Easter celebrations in Jerusalem.
To many of you, this will come as no surprise. Others have written me to ask why. The answer is really quite simple. After 12 years, the Israeli government was no longer willing to renew my work visa. The Israeli Ministry of the Interior grants a non-renewable five-year work visa to most foreign workers. I managed to work in Israel and the Palestinian Territories for more than double that time, and for that I am grateful.
My comings and goings from Israel became increasingly difficult over the past year. Instead of the standard three-month tourist visa, which is normally granted to visitors to Israel, I was getting one month, two weeks, or even five days! I couldn’t live and work under such circumstances. So, in consultation with PC(USA)’s area coordinator for the Middle East, it was agreed that Jordan was the most logical place to continue my work for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). I am grateful for the wonderful years I spent in the Holy Land, and my life has been enriched by my experience there. I have stories and memories to last a lifetime!
So long, but not farewell. CRS colleagues in Jerusalem hosting a lunch in Doug's honor.
In April, my colleagues at Catholic Relief Services hosted a lunch in my honor at a local restaurant in Jerusalem. Like many such leave-takings there, we agreed not to say “goodbye”, but rather, “so long for now.” Of course, my work will take me back to the Holy Land from time to time. But now I no longer live in limbo of wondering if I will be allowed to stay in the country or not. And as the PC(USA)’s regional liaison to Jordan, Israel, and Palestine, I look forward to making new relationships on behalf of our church, while sustaining the old ones. You can be assured that our partnerships there remain strong and intact.
Life in Amman is drastically different from life in the “little town of Bethlehem.” Moving from a city of 50,000 to a city of over two million can be quite a shock! Every morning, I wake to the beat of a different city! The numerous minarets wake me every morning for the Muslim call to prayer. On Sundays, the church bells from the nearby Catholic Church do the same. From my window, I can see both church and mosque, a testament to the religious diversity present in modern-day Jordan.
Today, Jordan is—as a local joke goes—“caught between Iraq and a hard place.” Throughout its history, the relatively young country known as the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan has either benefited or suffered from what goes on in the countries around it. The Palestinian–Israeli conflict and the wars of both 1948 and 1967 created a huge influx of Palestinian refugees, who today comprise between sixty to eighty percent of the population. Jordan has played host to more Palestinian refugees than any other country. As if that were not enough, the war in Iraq has added another 750,000 to 1,000,000 Iraqi refugees since 2003.
Jordan is struggling to cope with this new wave of refugees, officially termed “guests” by the Jordanian government. Only a few weeks ago, and for the first time, some 50,000 Iraqi children were allowed to attend classes, overburdening an already overburdened educational system. However, the remaining 200,000 Iraqi children of school age are left with yet another year of no official schooling, and thus no education.
With no natural resources, and a severe shortage of water (also true in the Israeli-Occupied Palestinian territories), Jordan will need to find new ways to face the growing challenges that confront it in a region of the world that is far from stable.
Jordan’s greatest resource may yet be found in its people, a third of who are under 15. In a country of roughly six million citizens, and with a young and dynamic king and queen to rule, Jordan looks to the future with confidence. Foreign investments are spurring massive building projects, with a new financial, educational and cultural center—slated to be completed in five years—that will become Amman’s new downtown.
In October, Mission Challenge ’07 will take place with a kick-off conference in Louisville, Kentucky. During this month, 47 missionaries from the PC(USA) will spend a week sharing the stories of their ministries in 144 presbyteries across the country.
I will be Stateside from October through December, doing some speaking as part of my interpretation assignment. I can’t visit every church and presbytery that has been a vital part of my work and mission here in the Middle East over these past 12 years. Would that it were possible!
However, I hope you will support and encourage your church’s support of Mission Challenge ’07 by making use of bulletin inserts and a DVD that will be sent to every Presbyterian Church. Your prayers and financial support are crucial to the work of our church around the world.
Blessings,
Doug
The 2007 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 170
