Monday, February 28, 2011

When you get caught between the dominos and Anne Hathaway…

Wha????? Okay, that title is a riff on the love theme from the 1981 movie Arthur. (substitute the dominos for the moon and Anne Hathaway for New York City!). Wha????? Okay, I am a little tired, yes, I am sleep-deprived and it is not some pitiful jet lag from the two February trips to Boston. No, no. Last night I went to bed at 11:00 p.m. promptly with my alarm clock set for 2:00 a.m. so that I could get up (in the middle of the night in case you aren’t paying close attention) and watch the red carpet doings and the Academy Awards broadcast live from the USA. Yes, I set my alarm, got up, and watched the Oscars all night. I have no one else to blame but myself for my fatigued state today. Actually, I feel great, just a little loopy. You see, the Oscars closed up shop at 6:30 a.m. and of course that is when one would get up and face the new day in Jordan, all ready to go and do God’s work and teach school!!

It was worth it…I loved the Oscar-cast—well, mostly. James Franco was dull as a host, I thought, but Anne Hathaway—good heavens, how gorgeous and funny and like your most attractive best friend. During one of the breaks of the Oscar-cast I realized I needed to get back on the blogisode stick (again, wha?????) and comment about the last month in Jordan. I have made some comments, but those are now a little past the “sell-by” date (is that a reference back to “Yo, Sushi!” from the last blogisode???).

But before I comment on the doings in the Middle East this winter again, I really should share an article my dear friend Sylvia sent me last week. Sylvia forwarded me a column by David Ignatius, who I believe syndicates out of the Washington Post. This was the first article I have read from the American media (at least that I have found) who seems to understand the nuances and differences in Jordan from Tunisia and Egypt. Let me now share that article with you from Mr. Ignatius:


AMMAN, Jordan -- Jordanians are clamoring for reform these days, like everyone else in the Arab world, but what they mean depends partly on which side of the Jordan River their ancestors hail from. Yet both sides look to the Hashemite monarchy for protection, which is one reason it's still standing amid the hurricane that's blowing through the neighborhood.

When Jordanians of Palestinian descent talk about reform, they usually mean freer expression, less bureaucracy and more representation for their community, which makes up about half of Jordan's population. For many East Bankers, in contrast, reform means rolling back privatization (which they identify with corruption), more power for the army and the government, and limits on more Palestinian citizenship and voting.

There have been street protests here over the past several weeks by young reformers. Meanwhile, retired military officers (drawn from the old guard of the East Bank) have protested what they see as improper deals for the business elite and other problems.

In the middle stands King Abdullah II, leaning this way and that as he tries to ride the wave of change. He depends on the entrepreneurial Palestinian business elite for Jordan's economic growth; but he needs the army, dominated by the Bedouin tribes of the East Bank, for security. This balancing act has allowed the Hashemite monarchy to survive for 90 years, through civil wars, assassination attempts and regional mayhem.

Around the royal palace, people speak of "Meds" and "Beds" -- referring to the worldly Mediterranean outlook of the Palestinians and the traditional values of the Bedouin tribes of the East Bank. One young Amman resident complains that people here always ask where someone is from. He muses that he should start a Facebook protest site called "We want to be Jordanians."

Even King Abdullah seems to think that in this moment of Arab revolution, the middle of the road may be a dangerous place to be. He has talked about moving Jordan over the next three years toward a true constitutional monarchy -- with a few real political parties and a prime minister who's elected by parliament, rather than appointed by the palace.

King Abdullah and Queen Rania are the West's idea of what Arab leaders should look like: They're young, smart, attractive and speak perfect English. They campaign for women's rights and broadband Internet connectivity. They frequent conferences such as Davos on a perpetual road show to drum up Western investment for their poor, resource-limited country.

This very success in Western eyes raises eyebrows at home. Queen Rania has become a lightning rod for East Bank critics who think she's too vocal and independent (and too Palestinian, which is her family's ancestry) to be a proper Arab queen. Abdullah, too, is criticized by some as too Western. The royal couple have the vices of their virtues: The more they plug into the global grid, the more they risk unplugging from the local one.

Abdullah's greatest test may be the rumors about corruption that swirl around Amman. The Jordanian capital is a city of courtiers, passing around gossip about the leading personalities here. The Queen's stylish tastes and cover-girl looks add to the intense focus on her.

Gen. Ali Habashaneh, a retired brigade commander and one of the leaders of the retired officers movement, said in an interview that because of deals made under privatization, Jordan's debt over the past 10 years has grown from $5 billion to nearly $15 billion. He charged that some of these deals, especially big real estate ventures, were improper. As for Queen Rania, he complained that she had been pushing for more women in the bureaucracy, including even the intelligence service. "The constant local media appearances make people think she is a partner," he complained. To the Bedouins, that's unacceptable.

Abdullah tried to address the jumble of complaints in a speech Sunday: "Many issues are being raised. Some are true, some are exaggerated, and others are untrue. There is talk about corruption, there is wasta and favoritism, there is talk about failed institutions, about privatization, whether it been a success or a failure." He said he had instructed a new Anti-Corruption Commission to investigate charges, and he's thinking of adding a new panel to oversee the investigators.

Jordan has its problems, and King Abdullah could use a little more of the common touch of his father, King Hussein. He wants to get out ahead of his problems before they get any worse. But he also needs to stay in the political middle, balancing the old guard and the new reformers, and that's a tricky straddle.



What I like about Ignatius’ article is that he does not just jump on the narrative of the domino theory that I have seen in the other American commentators’ assessments. The domino theory is just too easy and does not account for how Jordan really is. Anyway, the other day the U.S. Embassy did warn Americans that it might be wise not to go downtown on Friday at the conclusion of the Friday noontime prayers. Well, my great friend Joan, an intrepid sexagenarian, decided she wanted to see what the big deal might be last Friday. She took a public bus down to the King Hussein Mosque area and waited for the prayers to end. As she waited, she watched the police form protective lines. She said to me later, “Well dahlin," (as she says in her Rhode Island accent), “the men came out of the mosque and it was hardly impressive! The men dispersed, the police waved at them, I saw no weapons, no demonstrations—wait, I did see some reporters and photographers trying to stage a scene for a photo op! It was really a non-event.”

Obviously none of us knows what lies on the horizon, but we don’t feel unsafe here, we don’t feel quite the inevitability that the American press is reporting. What I do know is that there was a traffic tie-up yesterday in Amman for a car show, essentially a big parade, in support of His Majesty. I know that whenever I have heard His Majesty speak, his voice is reasoned and often humorous, didactic rather than dictatorial; at times he seems to be speaking directly to a young audience, befitting his oft-articulated concern with Arab youth and educational opportunity. King Abdullah reminds us his audience directly that Jordan has often held the line against Muslim extremists who have hijacked Islam, the Palestinian plight, and international discourse.

Okay, that about does it for now. I will enjoy my little reverie as I hum away the tune from Arthur.

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