Wandering Amman on Holy Friday

Mohammed my new friend offered to drive me around Amman, and try finally to get my bearings. He took me to his neighborhood where thousands of Palestinians have lived since their diaspora.

Driving past another Palestinian refugee camp near the center of Amman, Jordan.

The amount of construction going on in Amman amazed me. I have been staying in the old city so a drive into the rich area made me question whether the real estate business in Jordan has benefited by the arrival of hundreds of thousands of Iraqi refugees.

This is the construction site of the new super mall financed by the brother of Queen Noor.

Friday is the Holy and holiday in all Muslim countries. Many though not all stores are closed, government offices are closed, it’s the weekend. So today I thought I would drive around Amman with a friend of mine, Mohammed who is a Palestinian born in Qatar but is not allowed citizenship, instead he holds a Jordanian passport. He was in Qatar during the 1st Gulf War and told me how for a year most residents were not able to leave their homes. The Iraqi soldiers were brutal, they stole, they imprisoned and they terrorized the people of Qatar. He told me of how to make ends meet he would drive over 1000 km to Baghdad to buy cigarettes. On one of these trips he was stopped by Iraqi soldiers who made him give them 3 of the 10 boxes of cigarettes, it was that or come back empty handed. Finally, his family moved to Amman, Jordan where he got a job as a taxi driver and later as a bus driver for the tourism board of Jordan. He now lives alone in Qatar managing 3 restaurants, his family lives in Jordan because Qatar is too expensive.

While driving around the “new city of Amman” I noticed the amazing amount of building that is going on. It reminded me of Dubai. I asked Mohammed about this, he says that many investors do come of the Emirates.

I started thinking that it may have more to do with the influx of Iraqi refugees, the amount of money the UNHCR and other organizations have invested in the government structures such as schools, hospitals and yes housing. The amount of Iraqis renting homes fuels the real estate market here. Though yes the rent the Iraqis pay is cheap, it fuel the economy because all cheap housing is full! I will start asking around about this.

July 22, 2008 Interviews with Iraqi Refugees

Randa shows her UNHCR registration certificate in her apartment in Al Hussein, Amman, Jordan

Randas son looks out the window from his home in Al Hussein, Amman, Jordan. traumatized by the war in Iraq, this 5 year old boy will not go out of his home alone. He also suffers from constipation because he will not -go to the toilet.

Randa

Today I met up with Artry a 20-year-old Armenia refugee who has been in Amman for 5 years waiting to immigrate. She wants desperately to go to California and go shopping. She wants to be a teenager a real teenager, free to shop, to go to Starbucks, and most importantly to fully recover from cerebral palsy, which is a congenital birth defect. Artry is amazing, she is strong, and has learned excellent English. She has offered to be my interpreter. at

The first family we visited was Randa Haumis Paulus a Chalaean Christian who worked for CARITAS in Baghdad. “During the war we would go to victims of bombing, terror and try to stop the bleeding on the site, to prepare them for the ambulances,” says Randa of her service work. “I also visited victims, we gave money to Christian, Muslim it didn’t matter the organization we helped everyone. Then we started getting death threats for working for an international organization. I still don’t understand, we helped Muslims, everyone, why did they want to kill us for helping people? In our apartment building the Music store was bombed, there were rockets flying across the sky. The areas were so unsafe.” She went on to say, “we were rich, we had enough money, now it’s all gone, we spent it all coming here.”

Randa is married and has a 6-year-old son. “My son is traumatized from the war and suffers from severe constipation because he will not go to the toilet. He will not go out of the house without his me,” says Randa of her sons condition. “As far as government schools go, I will not send my son, I know that the Iraqi kids are called names, beaten up and this would only traumatize my son more.” Randa began crying when as she went on to say, “my son wants to play, he wants toys, he cries because he wants to have a normal life, he just wants to be a kid.”

The day we visited Randa had just received a refrigerator from a family who was able to immigrate. A few days ago he got a cupboard to put her clothes in and a bike for her son. The Iraqi refugees who do migrate give away their meager possessions to those left behind.

Randas family is also registered with the UNHCR but have no residency or guest visa. Randa is terrified because she works as a waitress in a club that caters to marriages. She earns 5JD a day and works from 4pm to 1am. She complains that the customers treat her badly, call her bitch and are very rude. She is tired and desperate and finds it difficult to sleep due to the stress and worry she faces everyday.

July 21, 2008 Latifa and gathering herbs

Kholod a biology masters student and Palestinian refugee living in Jordan, at Latifa, 3 hours south of Amman, Jordan.

When we finally arrived at the site, Kholod asked some children to help her gather soil and herb samples. Without the help of locals we would have had a very hard time getting all the field work done. The locals drove us to various sites. It was a nice break and a great meeting with a wonderful woman.

I accompanied Kholod to Latifa. We met at 6am at the Ragadan Bus station near the old city of Amman. The trip took exactly 3 hours, during which time we spoke of many issues both personal and political. I had a great time, met locals who helped us in the field, explained about the herbs and drove us to two different sites.

It was hot, but amazingly Latifa is in a part of Jordan with nice cool winds. I asked about the local industry. Omad the local English teacher, told me its agriculture and that this year has been particularly dry. The farmers were not able to grow wheat. I asked him what they do all day. He said they wait for next year.

In the field I walked up a hill to take photos of some sheep, goats and donkeys. As I approached dogs came out to protect their flocks. With patience we were able to make friends, I posed no threat and they let me get on with my photo taking. Actually I was very impressed with the dogs loyalty to their job. There were no shepherds in sight.

Kholods work complete we took the 4pm (the last bus) back to Amman. On the bus I met a Palestinian woman from Hebron. The Israeli army killed her husband, and one year later her 17-year-old son was standing on their roof when an Israeli sniper shot him. She said he was waiting for his final school results. That’s what she remembers; he was just waiting for his final school results.

July 20, 2008 Iraqi Church in Amman, Jordan

The Al Nami Iraqi church in Amman Jordan

Worshippers at the Al Nami Iraqi church in Amman, Jordan. The people attending the church insist upon not being photographed. I was given permission as long as I did not take any photos of peoples faces.

Ah yes I woke up very early to attend the Al Nami Church service which Mr. Osama told me started at 9am. After waiting til 9:30 on the church steps I called one of the members of the church. She told me that the church starts at 10:30am, so I had an hour to kill and wandered around the camp. I saw another community center in the heart of the camp and went in. There were about 200 kids, Iraqi, Palestinian, Jordanian all geared up for a 4 day camping trip. I met one of the mothers, Kholod a Palestinian refugee from Nablus. She was born in Jordan and has never seen Nablus, but like all other Palestinians I have met, refers to her origins as the birthplace of their exiled parents. “If Palestine was not occupied I would not want to go there, but while it’s occupied I will support the struggle.,” says Kholod of her relationship with Palestine.

Kholod is an incredibly bright, intelligent, independent, opinionated and modern thinking Palestinian woman. She is a strict Muslim, wears traditional Muslim clothing but does show her face. We began to talk of her refugee status. She divorced after 8 years of marriage; her ex-husband and his new wife are raising her 3 children. She is fine with this as it allows her to pursue her goal of getting a PHD in Biology. Kholod is now studying her masters and aske me to join her tomorrow on a field trip to gather herbs in Latifa, a desert town 3 hours south of Amman. All this familiarity and after only 20 minutes of conversation! It struck me then that this is why I love the Middle East, the chance meetings, and the open, warm heart of the people, the constant welcoming into their homes and lives. I said yes, and we made arrangements to meet at the Ragadan Bus station at 6 am tomorrow.

I said good-bye to the Kholod and the kids and went to the church. The door was unlocked; the members were arriving for the service. Suspicion greeted me with a handshake. What was I doing here, why did I want to take photos, who told me about the church, what would I do with the photos? An American woman who has lived in Amman for 11 years and is married to the senior pastor explained to me that I could not take any photos of peoples faces. It seems that other journalists have come to the church taken photos of the members, lied that they would no be published, and later the same photos were seen on the TV, this all caused much distress.

The majority of the church members are Assyrian and Chaldaen but the financing and actual running of the church is evangelical. The government allows the evangelicals to have churches but frown heavily upon missionary work. It is illegal for Muslims to convert, and if they are caught converting or preaching to Muslims, the church will most likely be closed and the “foreign leaders of the church” expelled from Jordan. After interviewing I found that they even fear for their lives. For more information on this please visit this link so I was very very careful not to take any photos showing anyones face, only the priest as he is an Iraqi Christian refugee.

The members were friendly and helpful and after going through my photos introduced me to Christian Iraqi refugees.

July 19, 2008 Osama Community Center

Iraqi, Palestinian, Jordanian women learning English at the Osama Community Center in Amman, Jordan.

Iraqi children playing at the Osama Community Center in Amman, Jordan

Today I went to the Osama Community Center (OCC) in the Al Muhata'ah refugee camp near the Ragadan bus station in Amman. Here I met volunteers from Taiwan, England and Germany teaching English to Iraqis, Palestinians and Jordanians. The Osama Community Center is sponsored by World Vision and is run by a British woman married to an Iraqi priest and Mr. Osama, the sheriff as he refers to himself with a great huge smile, leasing the building.

It’s now the summer session with limited classes: Monday to Thursday 9-12pm childrens’ classes, Sunday and Thursday night 6-8pm adults classes. In the adult classes I saw only women, it was explained that in the summer the men are too tired to come to class after working menial jobs in 39 degrees heat! I can’t say as I blame them! I found that all rooms were full of motivated students using their time to learn as much English as possible so they will be ready for life in America, Canada, or Australia. I offered my services but unfortunately there were no new classes and summer school finishes at the end of July, so instead I helped out by buying a new white board and markers.

What I liked best about the Osama Community Center is that it offers classes to all nationalities favoring no particular ethic group, gender, age, or religion. Christian, Muslim, Iraqi, Palestinian, Jordanian are all able to study for free. Drawing from my previous experience in the Middle East I find this absolutely necessary because giving preferences could lead to problems within the camp and draw negative attention from the Jordanian government. Most of the teachers and administration are Christian and affiliated with the Al Nami Church which is located nearby. The Al Nami Church is run by Iraqi Christians, mostly Assyrian and Chaldean. LINK Mr Osama invited me to attend the Sunday service and I have decided to attend.

July 18 Al Muhata'ah Refugee Camp

A view of a window in Al Muhat'ah refugee camp, just a 10 minute taxi ride from the center of Amman, Jordan.

Assan and his wife joking as they show their UNHCR registration papers.

I arrived in Amman the 14th of July and after much acclimatization and fact-finding I decided it was time to meet the Iraqi refugees. Mohammed, a police and security officer who I met at the Taj hotel, came as my translator. We went to the Al Muhata'ah Refugee Camp, a 10-minute taxi ride from the center of the old city of Amman. Originally a Palestinian refugee camp it now houses several hundred Iraqi refugees. The camp is similar to those in the West Bank, cramped living quarters, narrow winding streets, over populated, poor and unkempt, yet because its been home to refugees for more than 40 years there is a cross section of dilapidated and prosperous housing. The feeling I got from the Palestinians I met was that most everyone gets along and the Iraqis have been welcomed into the camp.

We went to the home of Assan Hamudi, a 23 years old Shia Iraqi refugee from Al Karmia, ( the district of Bagdad where Saddam Hussein was executed.) and his 18 year old Sunni wife Rusel Adan. They met in Amman and have been married for one year. Assan looks at his wife with a smile and tell me, “see Sunni and Shia can get along.”

Assan has been a refugee in Jordan for 4 years and Rusel for 9. Assan nonchalantly tells me of how he joined the Mehdi army when he was 19 but left after only 2 months because he was scared and appalled at the killing and destruction. He was scared of the Al Madi army, Al Qaeda, the Sunnis the Shias the Americans of everyone. He saw over 400 dead in the aftermath of the bombing of the Ashara Mosque. Then a couple months later his uncle who worked for the Americans was kidnapped by unknown terrorists and cut into pieces. It was the fear of insecurity and horror of the situation in Iraq that made Assan leave Baghdad for Amman.

Assan and Rusel are both registered with the UNHCR as refugees but have no residency or working visa. King Abdullah recognizes the plight of the refugees and at first allowed Iraqis to cross the border as guests. But due to the shear amount coming (up to 750,000 last year) the border is now closed. In January of 2008 King Abdullah granted a limited immunity for Iraqis who had overstayed their “guest” visa. He made into law that if they wanted to stay they had to register with the UNHCR and get a guest visa. If they could not pay, they would be given a period of a month to do so. Many have tried this but were not accepted and left for Syrai. In Jordan if any Iraqi is caught working they will be arrested and immediately deported to Iraq. Rusel told me about her mother who worked illegally in a sewing factory to support her family. Her mother was caught one year ago and deported to Iraq. Her father is still in Jordan.

“I am just happy to be alive, its better to stay here and be safe, no mujahdeen. Fear of kidnapping is very real, and it’s not just the terrorists it’s criminals. It’s Shia, it’s Sunni it’s everyone and everywhere, you never know when you leave your home if you will come back. Okay I have little hope and wait daily to immigrate anywhere but at least I am safe and my wife is safe and we can go and meet friends and talk,’ says Assan with his beautiful young wife smiling at his side.
As I was leaving the Hamudi home, Diad, a friend of Assans came for a visit. Diad told me a bit of his story. Diad escaped Iraqi 1 year ago with his younger brother. His mother was killed when heavily armed masked criminals entered a bus, stole the passengers’ money then shot everyone. Some of the passengers survived but his mother did not. Roughly 1 year later his father left their apartment one morning and never returned. Diad visibly shaken told me he doesn’t know if his father is alive or dead, his body was never found, and he was never heard from again.

Diad

Diad is also registered with the UNHCR and like all other Iraqis waits for the phone call either asking him to come for his interview or telling him he has been given asylum. Unfortunately, Diad is risking deportation and separation from his younger brother by working odd jobs. Diad tells me he has to, he has no option, he only gets a few Jordanian Dinar from the UNHCR, its not enough to pay his rent or food for his brother or himself. His biggest fear now is that he will be separated from his younger brother either by deportation or if both of them are not sponsored together by immigration. “I can’t go without my brother,” he says, “he is the only family I have left.”

July 17 walking around the old city of Amman

In Amman finally, walking tour the first day, went to the area where they sell Nargillas. The variety is amazing, the owner of the shop personally gave me a lesson in which Nargillas come from which country.

Sitting on the street with Iraqi sellers the bus came by and I snapped this photo.

Got hungry for fallafal, at first these guys were reluctant to have their photo taken, but later agreed. The fallafal was first rate!

Needing a break and seeing no women in any of the street coffee shops I finally found this cafe on the top of a roof next to Al Hussain Mosque in the old city of Amman, Jordan. Here gathered men to have a quiet nargilla and game of cards.