A letter from Doug Dicks in Jordan
February 2011
Dear family and friends,
Though the calendar on the wall next to my desk indicates it is still winter, the geraniums on my balcony say it is spring.
Here in Jordan, we have long since passed through the period known in Arabic as “marbaniyeh” — the forty coldest days of winter – which typically begin in the northern hemisphere on or about the Winter Solstice (December 21) and end around January 31.
Winters are short-lived in the Middle East, and this year’s winter has been unusually dry. Not much rain to speak of, which of course, translates into a disaster not only for Jordan, but for the entire region. If this is to be the end of the rainy season here in the Middle East, then we will see no additional rainfall until next fall, usually October or November.
As of late February, Jordan’s 10 major dams were only holding about 26 percent of their total holding capacity. As the population of Jordan continues to grow, a common practice has been the over-pumping of ground water resources. According to some experts, this unsustainable practice will not only reduce the quality of drinking water, but will eventually drain these precious resources in just a few short years.
It has long been said that the next war in the Middle East will be over water and access to it.
Jordanian children watch as protesters calling for political and economic reform march in downtown Amman.
But what in years to come will surely be remembered as the winter of the Middle East’s discontent — the storm that has swept through this region with lightning speed in just a matter of weeks — has brought with it anything but rain. And while water will become even more of a critical issue during the hot, dry months of summer, the historic events unfolding today will no doubt go down in history as the season of “reign” — and not “rain” — fall in the Middle East.
Drifting with the tide has no longer become an acceptable form of governance in the Arab world. The peoples of the Middle East, inspired by the events that unfolded, first in Tunisia, then in Egypt, have taken to the streets all across the Arab world, demanding political reform, accountability and an end to government corruption.
Protesters demanding an end to government corruption carry a poster of His Majesty King Abdullah II of Jordan.
Beginning in Tunisia, and spreading across the region — to Egypt, to Jordan, Bahrain, Yemen and Libya, — the peoples of the Middle East have risen up in anger about and defiance of regimes that the United States and other western allies have supported for years. “What’s all the fuss about?” asked a friend of mine, via email, back in early February. “Simply this,” I said, “the poor are tired of being poor, hungry and disempowered.”
Of the nearly 350 million people in the Middle East, approximately 60 percent are under the age of 25, and most of them are unemployed. In Jordan, the unemployment rate is officially 13 percent, though many analysts put the figure at nearly twice that. With sharp rises in the inflation rate — from 1.5 percent to 6.1 percent in just a month’s time — Jordan’s economy struggles with a record $2 billion deficit this year alone.
In late January, angry Jordanians took to the streets of the capital city, Amman, to protest rising food and fuel prices, high unemployment and government corruption and nepotism.
With shouts of “Let the government of (Prime Minster) Rifai fall,” and carrying a large banner with a picture of His Majesty King Abdullah II of Jordan, on which was printed in Arabic “May God Protect you, Abu Hussein,” the protesters assembled following Friday prayers at the Al- Husseini mosque in the center of downtown Amman. Other banners read simply, “Send the corrupt guys to court.”
In a country where direct criticism of the king is considered an act of sedition, and therefore a crime, the crowd’s attention appeared to focus its anger on the government of the then-Prime Minister, Samir Rifai, who was accused of being too slow in implementing political reforms in the kingdom. A $28.00 a month raise for civil servants and a promised increase in pensions for retired military and civilian personnel, all part of an economic package of $550 million in new subsidies, appeared to be too little too late to appease the country’s population.
The Tunisian leader, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, fled his country within a matter of days following protests. And unlike neighboring Egypt, which witnessed the removal of Hosni Mubarak from a 30-year-long reign within a matter of days as well, no one is calling for regime change in Jordan. On the contrary, the king, and the ruling Hashemite family, are viewed by many as a stabilizing force in this very volatile region of the world.
The crowd, comprised of unionists, leftists and the Islamic Action Front, a political wing of the Muslim Brotherhood, marched toward the Amman Municipality building in Ras el Ain. In addition to the demands they have sought from Jordan’s government, the weekly Friday protests have also been in solidarity with others in the Arab world who have taken to the streets and have demanded certain freedoms.
On February 1, 2011, and in a surprise move following three consecutive Fridays of angry yet peaceful protests and demonstrations, His Majesty the King dismissed his cabinet.
During this winter of the Middle East’s discontent, people all across the region found their voice. And they spoke, loudly and clearly.
Douglas Dicks
Amman, Jordan
