by Natasha Tynes | Jul 30, 2007 | Jordan, my nation, The Disturbing
I’m not really sure why I can’t understand the logic behind the court sentencing mentioned in the article below. Perhaps it is because it is the end of the day and I’m too tired to fully grasp what I read in the Monday edition of The Jordan Times. Can anyone shed some light? Does the article below really state that a man that kills his daughter can get a reduced sentence because of a claim that his daughter "left home without his permission and cursed him"?
The Criminal Court has sentenced a 41-year-old man to seven-and-a-half years in prison after convicting him of murdering his daughter following a domestic argument in November 2006. The tribunal first handed Mohammad A. a 15-year prison term after convicting him of bludgeoning his daughter to death with a club at their family’s home on November 23. But the court immediately reduced the sentence to half "to help the defendant in life and because the victim left home without his permission and cursed him." Source: [The Jordan Times]
If this really is what I think it is then I’m simply speechless. I really have had it with the blatant dehumanization going on in the society in which I grew up. At this moment of my life, I truly believe that Jordan needs to set the investment in malls and towers aside, and instead invest in restructuring its judicial system.
by Natasha Tynes | Jul 26, 2007 | Jordan, my nation, The Mideast
This is a quick update to my earlier post about the situation of Iraqis at Jordan’s entry point. According to the Associated Press, Jordan and Syria are calling on the international community for help.
AMMAN, Jordan –Jordan and Syria complained Thursday they have been abandoned by the West to deal with the massive burden of more than 2 million Iraqi refugees who have fled the violence in their homeland. Both countries issued urgent calls for help at a conference on Iraqi refugees, specifically expanded resettlement opportunities in the West and financial assistance.
Milad Atiya, the Syrian ambassador to Jordan and head of his country’s delegation to the conference, said the international community "must be involved, especially the United States because its policy led to the plight the Iraqis are currently in and it bears responsibility." Jordanian Interior Ministry Secretary-General Mukheimar Abu-Jamous argued that Western nations "relinquished their responsibility in shouldering the Iraqi refugee burden, and we urge them to rise to their obligation and resettle the largest number possible of those Iraqis." Source: [AP]
This is a good step towards improving the dire status. International intervention is what is needed at this moment and it is precisely what I suggested in the previous post.
by Natasha Tynes | Jul 25, 2007 | Jordan, my nation, The Mideast
Two Iraqi bloggers recently began talking about a similar subject related to Jordan: the treatment of Iraqis upon entry to the Kingdom. The two are veteran blogger Omar from Iraq the Model and Fayrouz from Fayrouz in Beaumont (who posted a story from her friend in Basra). After reading their posts, I realized that the situation at Jordan’s entry point — particularly when it comes to Iraqis — is far worse than I thought. Not only that, but the tension between these two Arab nations on an individual level seems to be on the rise. I came to this conclusion mostly after reading the last two paragraphs of Omar’s post:
On the next day in the early afternoon, I boarded the plane that was returning to Baghdad with about a dozen other Iraqis. The kind stewardess was apparently familiar with cases like ours and noticed how tired we were so she immediately welcomed us with bottles of cold water and some kind words to comfort us, "There’s a few of you this time, yesterday we returned 75 passengers!" she added.
The guy sitting to my left said "There will be a day when they [Jordanians] will beg us to let them enter Iraq". No, the guy sitting to my right objected. "They were mean to us and they hurt us, but if we do the same we’ll have sunk to their level. Let’s instead hope that one day our country will become a better place."
Jordanian blogger Hamzah added a comment to this post that is worth highlighting in order to get the Jordanian side of the story:
Not only Jordanians, but all Arab nationals were denied entry to Iraq in at least two periods between 2005 and 2006, with the second one being the longest. And the funny thing is, during those periods, only Arab nationalities were denied entry into Iraq. So it’s really not they way the article makes it sound like in the end. Iraq too has played this game in the past, and actually before Jordan, and today, it is Jordan, not Iraq, that has hundreds of thousands of the other country’s citizens living in it.
And when you think about it, it might as well have been a Jordanian saying that quote a couple of years ago about Iraqis, and what happened to you and your friends, was that day that that Jordanian talked about!
The current situation needs to be amended. If Jordan is overwhelmed handling the number of Iraqi visitors to the Kingdom then the international community needs to step in immediately to help Jordan establish a more efficient and humane manner of handing the influx. Fayrouz’s friend ended her post by saying:
I wonder about what’s behind what happened to us in Amman. Isn’t it a violation of human rights to keep us in custody for no reason? Is it humanely proper to keep a child in custody for two days without reason? I just wonder.
Jordan, with the help of the international community, needs to act soon to amend the current situation. My two cents.
Update: Here is a comment from Fayrouz:
It wasn’t me who traveled to Amman. As my post states clearly, it was my friend from Basra who traveled with her family and co-workers to Amman. Every word in the post needs to be attributed to her.
My bad. I amended the post accordingly.
by Natasha Tynes | Jul 19, 2007 | Jordan, my nation, The Disturbing
This is a quick update to my previous post about Mohammad Asha. According to the Associated Press:
A Jordanian doctor has been charged in connection with foiled car bomb plots in London and Glasgow, police said Thursday. Dr. Mohammed Jamil Asha, 26, was charged with conspiracy to cause explosions, a spokeswoman for the Metropolitan Police said on condition of anonymity, in line with department policy.
Source: [AP]
As a Jordanian, all I can say is that I’m really disappointed to see a fellow citizen involved in such a heinous act. What a waste of life for this young doctor.
by Natasha Tynes | Jul 9, 2007 | Everyday me!, Jordan, my nation
While I was celebrating my 31st birthday this past weekend, Jordan was celebrating the selection of Petra as one of the New Seven Wonders of the World. As a result, my birthday had a unique flavor. Petra’s prestigious news was mentioned in the majority of birthday text messages, e-mails and phone calls I received from Jordan over the past few days. Naturally, my celebration was doubled. I celebrated both Jordan’s remarkable achievement and my graceful march towards the 30’s.
I chose to celebrate my birthday on the beach, in Ocean City, MD. I needed to get away, to relax and face the reality that I’m now officially part of the 30-something crowd. As I battled the forceful waves of the Atlantic, I thought about my new age and what it really means to be in your thirties. My good friend Euroarabe told me some years ago that she could not wait until she was done with her 20’s. She was really looking forward to getting into her 30’s to "start enjoying life for real." I did not understand her. Why was she so looking forward to aging?
This past weekend, I finally got it. My friend’s words of wisdom suddenly made sense to me now that I’m 31. It was a brief moment of epiphany: I finally get the thirties. My twenties revolved mostly around self-discovery along with causal self-flagellation. They were a time of confusion and a constant desire to find a place to fit as well as a cause to cling to. Things have changed in the past ten years. I’m no longer that twenty-something young woman who was struggling to find her calling. Somehow, at my current age, the pieces of the puzzle are gradually fitting.
I have not figured out the whole puzzle of life yet but somehow I’m more focused, more inspired and more willing to accept that most of the times you can’t find all the pieces, and it is perfectly okay. Albeit low-key, my 31st birthday was somehow unique. It will be forever remembered as my joyful entry into to the 30’s and as Petra’s graceful arrival onto the stage of global tourism. Here is hoping for more reasons to celebrate as I soldier into my third decade.
by Natasha Tynes | Jul 3, 2007 | Jordan, my nation, Media watch, The Disturbing
The Jordanian blogosphere is filled with reactions to the alleged involvement of Jordanian doctor Mohammad Asha in the UK terror plot. Blogger and journalist Batir Wardam is hoping that Asha is innocent, saying:
I am deeply in hope that Dr. Mohammad Asha (27) who is a Jordanian will turn out to be innocent from the suspicions of an alleged role in the planning of terror attacks in London and [Glasgow]. Not only because he is Jordanian but I feel very alarmed that the profile of Dr Asha is very far away from the typical terrorist, in fact he can be a replica of thousands of Arabs and Muslims trying to seek a career of excellence in Europe.
The story of Asha is all over the news here in the US. The Today program is showing a picture of him with Queen Noor. Nothing has been confirmed so far and he may turn out to be innocent as his family claims. But I think harm has already been done. Jordan’s name is now linked to this terror plot. What a shame! I do disagree with Batir on the issue of Asha’s profile. I’m of the opinion that the current "profile of a terrorist" is not that of the disenchanted and the unemployed. On the contrary, many of those involved in terrorism are highly educated. Here is an excerpt from today’s Washington Post:
Ayman al-Zawahiri, deputy leader of the network, is an Egyptian-trained physician. Khalid Sheik Mohammed, the alleged chief planner of the Sept. 11, 2001, hijacking plot, earned a degree in mechanical engineering from North Carolina A&T University. The lead hijacker, Mohamed Atta, studied architecture. Al-Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden was educated as a civil engineer.
Meanwhile, blogger Firas is not surprised by the possible radicalization of Asha. Firas showed a more recent picture than above of Asha with him fully-bearded, something that could be interpreted by some as a shift towards extremism. He says:
If he is truly involved, there might be some explanation, and I’ve personally witnessed this: What happens is that Arab students go to study abroad in countries where political and religious freedoms are granted for all, say countries like: US,UK,Canada and Australia. Now these students get to know other Muslim students usually Pakistanis who got some extremists among them, and that’s when they are fed with all this crap. And this is out of personal experience (a close friend would stop talking to you, because you are a Christian,the guy was transformed in 5 months). As in Pakistan extremist groups and parties are deeply rooted in that country, and for an Arab student who finds him/herself in an alien culture and lately a hostile culture to Islam (think of post 9/11,the Danish cartoons,the Pope’s lecture,etc) these guys would have some affect.
Regardless of whether Asha is innocent or not, it is a shame to see Jordan’s name dragged into this. As if the effect of Zaraqwi on Jordan’s reputation was not enough!
UPDATE: The International Herald Tribune is running a story that highlights comments from Asha’s colleagues who are saying that he was "absorbed in his studies and had no ties to terrorism." The story quotes a Jordanian government source saying that British authorities described Asha as a "possible subject" not charged with any crime. The same source called connections to the physician "very sketchy."
Azmi Mahafzah, Mohammed Asha’s instructor at the University of Jordan medical school, said he knew Mohammed Asha during his studies and training from 1998 to 2004 and did not have the impression that he was religious. "He interacted with others, both boys and girls. He has no prejudices. He is not a fanatic type of person," he said. "I wouldn’t believe that he would risk a very, very bright future in medicine for going into such things. He’s very smart," Mahafzah said. He said Mohammed Asha graduated with top honors from his medical class.
Another colleague of Asha’s in Amman, Aseel al-Omari, described herself as a "close friend" of the Jordanian doctor. She said she knew him for the past decade since they attended a school for gifted students. The school, founded 14 years ago by Jordan’s Queen Noor to promote religious tolerance, is mixed — a rarity in this conservative Muslim society, which often separates the sexes.
