I was asked by reader Mohammad to give some exposure to the message below. I’m obliging, as the threat to "Jordan’s only real forest" is really quite distressing. According to the Friends of the Environment website, Dubai Capital Company has plans to build four hotels right in the heart of the Aleppo forest. Here is the message:

Dibbin
Big Money has shut down our "free" press. No one is taking a stand against the murder and the rape of Jordan’s only real forest. We only hear rosy tales about how great this project is in our "free" press. I’ve sent a few articles to papers in Jordan and they were not allowed to go in print. With your help we can at least try to take a stand. Please help save our forest. Please do the following:

  1. Go to this site and sign the petition: http://www.foe.org.jo/dibbin/
  2. Send this email to all your contacts.

To my friends outside of Jordan I have a special request: Please send this info to your press and to your government officials and representatives. The world needs to know that a beautiful lone forest in Jordan is being raped by big money. The world needs to know that Jordanians are not even allowed to make a stand to try to save this forest in the press. Even our so called ministry of environment (which is supposed to protect our environment) is silent and even taking a positive stand in support of the rape of our forest.

Mustafa Tell

The Jordanian blogosphere is reacting to the call. Batir, Naseem and Hala have already given the issue exposure on their sites. For those who care, please sign the petition.