The Washington Post ran a feature in today’s paper about the situation Iraqis are facing in Jordan entitled Living in Jordan, Longing for Iraq. According to the article:
Iraqis are everywhere in the streets and in the coffee shops. Their distinctive dialect pops up in conversations from the Mecca Mall, a downtown shopping bonanza, to the lobbies of five-star hotels where business executives gather to chat.
The gist of the story is that Iraqis in Jordan are not happy for a number of reasons, one being the fact that they feel that they are constantly being subjected to blame.
Iraqis here are blamed for inflation and climbing real estate prices and for the terrorist bombings that killed and wounded scores at three hotels in November. "I don’t feel alive," said Mustafa Alwan, a 29-year-old Iraqi who came to Amman about a year ago. "The present is barely livable, and the future is dark."
Hal, I was in kuwait during the gulf war, i was 5 years old and i saw enough.. they killed our neighbor’s son in front of everyone (they forced everyone to leave their apartments and watch the nice event on stairs), they shot him, in the forehead and in front of his parents and he was innocent, and they let his body on stairs, for like a week till it started smelling and didn’t let anyone touch it..
I have bad experiences with some 7awasim in amman too..
and I wrote what ur asking for on my blog, search and you’ll find it.. “the oral history” topic for example, I don’t have to meet all iraqis to call them, I do have iraqi friends till now, but it’s still hard to trust them
You say you don’t like ‘them’ as if you’ve met every Iraqi in existence then you call me narrow minded? Are you for real? How about posting on that blog of yours all about your hate for Iraqis and why you don’t like them all, and let’s see people’s reactions to your generelization. Let’s see how many ‘names’ you’ll be called. And when your opinion is as unfounded and as immature and as stereotypical as it is, then I have every right to contest it. Don’t expect your opinions to be safe from critique just because you own them. That’s absolutely ridiculous.
Oh, thanks alot Mrs. Hal for calling me such names, and Allah may keep the iraqis for you, I don’t like them and your are so narrow-minded, this is my opinion and I’m expressing it, if you do not like go somewhere else but don’t call people names and I’ll not get to your low level and call you names, because this is just not me, and I do not fight over on other people’s blogs.
Hal is very graceful in pointing out Moey’s vulgarity. Funny stuff.
Firas,
Let’s punish greedy land-owners for being approached by Iraqi’s who are bidding highly with thier dollars?? hmmmmm. Go live in leningrad or cuba.
Moey,
I would hate Jordanians too if all of them thought like you. What a prejudiced, racist prick you are, eh? And idiot – it’s feel sorry FOR them, neither ‘at’ or ‘on.’
For someone as rude as yourself, who would generalize and call Iraqi manner-less, and so obviously resent their presence in the country, I give myself the complete right to be rude to you in turn.
And if they’re such troublemakers, then I hope one of them learns of your stance – which I doubt you have the guts to say to their face – finds you, and beats the shit out of you. Them being troublemakers and all.
and may i add that they’re also trouble makers and most of them hate jordanians, the other i was at mecca mall and this iraqi lady was saying: walleih ako wayed ordoneyyen hnee bel mall (in a sarcastic way), as if jordan is her origin or something and that we’re the expats.. I feel sorry on/at them, most of them are manner-less.. if there’s such a word and they’re also rude, and yes they conquered al-rabyeh and sweifieh, and also mecca mall, that i was going to write a petition to the owner to rename it to Baghdad mall because 90% of iraqi population is there.. pathetic!
Why blame Iraqis and not the real estate owners?
They are greedy, and the government is turning a blind eye because in most cases the land owners are nothing but big shots (either well connected to the government or they are the government). Lets blame the people who stay quiet, lets blame the PM who don’t call for any consumers protection agencies.
Anyways what’s up with the Washington post?
See this previous post I had before: http://iheartamman.blogspot.com/2006/05/bashing-jordan-here-is-wife-beating.html
Iraqis are happy in Jordan!They are not being picked at, or mistreated. No one would refuse renting them a home because of their accents or looks (is this true in Washington?)
The other day I went through Rabyeh, and I saw 3 Iraqi resturants there, they were really packed. Almost all shops in Jordan are packed by Iraqis.
Even poor Iraqis in Wast Balad are not being discriminated against.
man i hate articles that personify what it means to generalise. you ask one person about their life and suddenly jordanians blame iraqis for the woes of the world.
yes, over half a million iraqis arriving in amman in less than 3 years have driven up real estate prices and caused inflation, thats an economic fact but more of an economic inevitability. and ive heard some people complain about this but for the most part no one is too bothered by it because iraqis have generated profit in jordan. businesses are healthier so i dont hear of store owners complaining that iraqis are ruining him or her. a lot of jordanians hit it rich with selling their land. the problem has been with the poor who have no land to sell and are subject to increasing prices due to, yes, iraqis driving up prices but also the fact that an american presence in iraq has caused inflation as well; we no longer get cheap oil for example. but thats economics. jordan chose to open its doors to iraqis and iraqis chose to come; the circumstances are to blame in my opinion.
on the other hand most of the investment in jordan has not been by way of iraqis but rather kuwaities and saudis, iraqis come in third or fourth now. either way i was happy to see so many iraqis last summer when i was in amman, and i felt proud that in light of the circumstance jordan could still be a place where arabs from all over could come together without persecution. even iraqis who are shia’, sunni, pro-saddam and anti-saddam, christian, muslim and what have you.
and at the end of the day, whatever host amman can be everyone will have the inevitable desire to return home.