While the world’s eyes are focused on Jordan these days, I was shocked to find a quarter page anti-Jordan ad in The Washington Post yesterday [image enlarges on click]. The ad, entitled Highlighting intimidation by the Jordanian authorities was signed by a New York-based businessman named Omar Karsou. In the ad, Karsou alleges that his son was intimated and harassed by the Jordanian authorities due to the father’s dealings with some Jordanian businessmen. Karsou concluded his ad with the following:
I never heard of this case or this businessman before reading this ad. Karsou obviously has a grudge, as he was wailing to pay big money to broadcast his case to the world and try to put Jordanian authorities to shame. Of course, we are only hearing one side of the story. We really do not know what happened. Nor do we know if his allegations are accurate. Regardless, I believe Jordanian authorities should reply to his ad and publish a rebuttal ad — one that offers some explanations — in the same spot in the Post, if possible. Those, like myself, that read the ad yesterday, need to hear an official Jordanian response to such serious allegations, ones which seemed primarily aimed at tarnishing the image of Jordan. |
Update: Omar Karsou left a comment on this blog with a bit more detail, saying:
Natasha,
I do not have a personal grudge against Jordan, or the majority of
Jordanians. I love that country, I spent the better part of life in it.
But I happen to love my Son just as much, if not more.. Anyway, before
I placed the ad, I contacted the Jordanian Embassy in Washington,
pleaded with them to help out, even sent them a draft of the ad, to no
avail. Again, I am pleading with the Jordanian authorities to let
justice take it’s course, clamp down on corrupt officials. Only then
will I have achieved my "objective", which I believe, is yours too.
Omar
Natasha,
I do not have a personal grudge against Jordan, or the majority of Jordanians. I love that country, I spent the better part of life in it. But I happen to love my Son just as much, if not more.. Anyway, before I placed the ad, I contacted the Jordanian Embassy in Washington, pleaded with them to help out, even sent them a draft of the ad, to no avail. Again, I am pleading with the Jordanian authorities to let justice take it’s course, clamp down on corrupt officials. Only then will I have achieved my “objective”, which I believe, is yours too.
Omar
Well nothing is impossible, besides it’s the same here as in america; u got connections, u get things done the way u want them done. If u know a couple of guys on a lower level, the guys on the upper dont have to know a thing, kteer ishi 3adi the police aren’t all angels but that doesnt mean jordan is a police state or anything, drugs are nowhere near as widespread in jordan as in the states does that mean america is run by potheads and junkies ?
Re: Anti-Jordan ad runs in The Washington Post
Lots of talk has been generated by an Anti-Jordan ad that ran in the washington post.
Mental Mayhems Natasha Tynes published this post about it:
While the worlds eyes are focused on Jordan these days, I was shocked to find a quarter page …
Mr. Karsou is the Palestinian Karzai.
In the war on terror and bringing Democracy to the Arab world, Mr. Karsou was supposedly to succeed Arafat, which was Bush’s Administration plan anyways.
“Ones which seemed primarily aimed at tarnishing the image of Jordan.”
COME on Natasha. SERIOUSLY now. Given the fact that you are someone who is “well-informed”, How come you are only concerned about the IMAGE, while constantly ignoring what is really going on.
I am not suggesting that this particular incident is true, but it is well known and documented that there are serious problems of that variety and other ones at the highest level which you are always either defending or ignoring. Didn’t they teach you at journalism school that your duty is to uncover things not retouch them and make them “look” better in the typical pretentious way that we deal with almost everything we do? Or is it the fact that your relationship towards Jordan now has became more of the “tourist” type of connection that make you choose to keep that kind of image in your head, and make you feel better?
I agree that these kinds of things — and worse—happen in some countries. My son is a computer scientist, and he hired a small Russian computer company to do work for his company. He found out that the company there had no office, no visible business existed there due to the many problems facing small businesses in Russia. If this poor . Russian man were known to have a business, he would have to pay “protection money” and also to be in constant danger of being robbed or victimized in other ways. This is completely terrible that people in the world have to live like this. It’s heart-breaking really. I am more than sick of evil people having so much control over others who are just trying to live their lives in a normal way. However, we do not know about the situation in Jordan. I hope that the truth will come out eventually.
More on Karsou here at Command Post and here at The Wall Street Journal’s “Opinion Journal”. He certainly has a track record and a very vocal one at that, but without a proper rebuttal reponse from those called into question, all we hae are acusations. And while we may rightly raise an eyebrow over them, without any real proof, it’s only an advertisement.
If you do a simple Yahoo search on Omar’s name you will find a lot of information about him. I’m not going to comment on the ad until I hear both sides of the story.At this point we only heard one sided version, so until we hear from the other side we will continue to give the unheard vesion the benefit of the doubt.
The name sounds familiar.
I think this scenario is not impossible in Jordan. As a matter of fact, it is almost more likely that this story is true than not. We all know that there is corruption in Jordan and that there are corrupt individuals in high places, and it is extremely easy for them to find a group of thugs and have them go blackmail someone or intimidate them. If Jordanians intimidate each other at soccer games, in schools, and in airports, would it be impossible to imagine someone hiring thugs to do this if money was involved?
This stuff happens in a lot of countries actually. A couple of weeks ago I heard a story from a Russian businessman who had the same experience when he went back home to Russia to start his business there. Individuals who establish businesses outside their home countries and then try to move their businesses back home run into these individuals who “want in” on the profits of the new businesses without necessarily giving in much and they sort of force themselves on these new people. So the people who came back to invest their money in their home countries usually end up taking their money, closing their businesses, and regretting that they ever decided to go back home. It’s sad!!!
This is a big problem, it carries a much greater risk if true than the risk of tarnishing Jordan’s image if flase. Therefore, I was hoping that the response would be a lot more than just outright skepticism that the aim is to simply tarnish the country’s image.
What if this was true, then this wouldn’t really be a tarnishing to Jordan’s image, it would be something close to bringing closer the reality of Jordan to the eyes of the American public, wouldn’t it?
I’m waiting for the response like you are, and I’m hoping that it would be a lot more serious than simple denial of allegations, which is the most likely response right now, but who knows? I’m always ready to be pleasantly surprised, and we have not always disapointed in that regard in the past.
If his claims are true, it is extremely terrible. He does not say whether he removed his son from the university and had him return to the US. If any of those things happened to my son, that is the first thing that I would do. We do not, however, know the real facts in this case. If untrue, the businessman can be sued. The government should respond. The kind of behavior that he describes is very unfortunately common in third world countries, and Jordan seeks to separate from that identity apparently. If true, the officials in Jordan should pursue justice in this man’s case. If not, they should issue a rebuttal.