ALLIES Joint Research Project: Jordan 2008

Southern Hospitality

2008-06-22T15:35:00.000-07:00

In the past weeks, we have been following a strict schedule of two (and sometimes three) daily interviews. In addition to body of research we have been collecting, we have also had many opportunities to build relationships with Jordanian scholars and journalists, American foreign service officers, and Iraqi refugees. These interactions have been absolutely incredible ways for me to enrich my understanding of the Middle East.

A researcher at the Center for Strategic Studies at the University of Jordan, Dr. Hassan Barari, has taken the political reform group under his mentorship. We have spent a few evenings talking and watching the European Cup under a thick haze of hookah smoke with Dr. Barari and his friend Sami Zubaidy, a journalist for Jordan’s principal daily, Al Rai (The Opinion).

The entire JRP has befriended Katie Schaefer, a Presidential Management Fellow fulfilling part of this two-year fellowship by interning at the US Embassy in Jordan. She accompanied us on our trip to the Dead Sea, and we have also gone out to watch soccer together. Last week, we hosted both Katie and Benjamin Ball, the Embassy’s political officer, came to dinner at our apartment. We had a really great discussion about careers in the foreign service, the changes the service demands of one’s life, and what kind of individual contribution one can make while in the service.

On Thursday, I became an honorary member of the refugee group. We went to see a play put on by refugees and sponsored by CARE International, and later had a traditional, exquisite dinner at the home of an Iraqi family. This was a purely social affair; Nancy, Tim, Alex B and Piyali had met and interviewed the widowed mother of four earlier in the week. The food was amazing and there was far too much of it; the stuffed eggplant was my favorite. I also enjoyed the company of their 8-year-old daughter. We “played” monopoly (i.e. just counted the money) and drew pictures, taking turns to write captions in Arabic and English.

After the meal, I was told the full details of what has tragically become this family’s history. It remains beyond my abilities to comprehend the magnitude of the calamity that has been inflicted upon a woman of my same generation. To extol her fortitude in words here would be grievously inadequate.

This weekend we traveled south to visit the Kingdom’s main tourist attractions on our last full weekend together as group in Jordan. Sally had a friend who visited West Point through an exchange program last year, and the Salameen family truly opened their arms, home and hearts to us. Friday the brothers Abdullah, Mohammed and Mahdi escorted us through the Nabatean ruins of Petra (a must see by all accounts), treated us to an amazing sunset view, and finally brought us to their homes where their mother and sisters had prepared mensaf (a traditional Jordanian dish of meat of rice with a yogurt-based gravy) for us for dinner. Men and women ate in separate rooms, and despite the fact we had all woken up at 5:30am to catch our bus, we lingered for four cups of tea, fruit, and dried yogurt.

Saturday we had a chance to sleep in, and by 9:30 we were on the road even farther south to Wadi Rum. Wadi Rum was the spiritual, political, and actual habitat of T.E. Lawrence, and we were not at all surprised that such a majestic landscape had spawned such drama. Giant rock mountains, both craggy and smooth, rose startlingly out of gentle sand dunes. We climbed them. Towering natural bridges connected their peaks at incredible altitudes. We climbed these too, and danced upon them. The dunes themselves sometimes spanned an area of 20 or more football fields. We hung out the windows of our Jeeps, hollering as we careened across them.

At the end of the day we watched another spectacular sunset, and then headed back to Petra. On the way, we pulled off the side of the road to look up at the stars. Far away from any sort of human settlement that could be realistically called a city, it was actually possible to see the haze of the galaxy.

This morning, our final workweek began with a visit to Hussein bin Talal University in Ma’an, but we said a fond farewell to the Salameen family before boarding our bus once again. After a short visit, a glass of Tang and two cups of tea, the Salameen gave each of us a Petra key chain and a string of prayer beads. The girls additionally got a scarf and a tutorial in hijab. Although at our previous dinner, the “language issue” had again prevented us from communicating anything more profound than the origins of our first names, Mama and daughters Salameen had clearly picked out a scarf for each of us individually. In our own estimation, their choices were impeccable: we all agreed we looked fantastic.

I was very reluctant to leave Petra, and the profound beauty and hospitality we had witnessed there. Yet it also gave me some small thrill to return to our apartment in Amman, and call it “home”. It is completely fair to say that I am obsessed with Jordan.

So Many Meetings, So Little Time to Blog

2008-06-09T00:33:00.000-07:00

Whew! It has certainly been a busy few days. It's been almost a week since my last post, and in that time we've had four amazing meetings and a very busy weekend. If you would like to read more details about last weeks' meetings than I have included below, please visit our group blog.

Our meeting at the US Embassy last Wednesday was an excellent way to kick off our research. Amb. David Hale honored us by spending a half hour speaking with us about the diplomatic relationship between Jordan and the US, and taking our questions. I for one was completely star-struck when the ambassador came in- this is someone who topped our "dream list" of contacts when we first started thinking about interviews this winter. We also met with deputies from the political, economics, public affairs, USAID, a security assistance branches of the Embassy. Everyone at the Embassy was encouraging of our research, and we have scheduled meetings with almost all of them for the coming weeks.

When we returned Jebel Amman that afternoon for more groceries, Piyali, Alex B and I attracted a lot of attention in the produce market. Because this time we were actually shopping rather than passing through, we had the time to talk with Saleh, an Iraqi refugee. Since Piyali and Alex are working on the refugee subtopics, they were elated. I too, was astounded when he procured his 4x4 UNHCR card. Unfortunately our surprise (and language skills, and the fact that we didn't have a consent form) prevented us from interviewing him on the spot. However, meeting him was a confidence boost that perhaps as students we will be able to bring perspectives as divergent as the Embassy and the "street" together in our research findings.

Thursday we met with Eva Abu Halaweh, director of Mizan, a Jordanian NGO. Mizan (meaning "balance") was established by lawyers in 1988 to promote democracy and civil rights in Jordan. In addition to running public awareness campagins about the rights protected by Jordan's constitution, the group provides free legal counsel to vulnerable populations including children, women at risk, and refugees. It was interesting to hear her say that Jordanians expect favors, not rights, from their government. Mizan is trying to change that.

We also spoke off the record with a representative of CARE International, a multilateral organization that offers services to Iraqi refugees in Jordan. One theme surfaced in all of our meetings: measuring the true volume of Iraqi refugees in Jordan has much more to do with pointing fingers and access to donor funding than simply looking at demographic data.

Thursday evening is the start of the weekend in the Middle East, and we celebrated the end of our first week and the success of our initial meetings by heading out to Rainbow Street. In both clientele and atmosphere, "La Calle" could have been a hip lounge in any East Coast city. The next morning we were up early and chartered a bus to take us to the Dead Sea.

I had been warned, "Floating in the Dead Sea is one of those things you know is true, but you don't quite believe it until you actually do it." This was certainly the case. It took a few minute for me to get used to the fact that treading water was unnecessary to remain a good head and shoulders above the surface. In such circumstances, one is at quite a loss as what exactly to do with one's arms. My favorite pose was to sit Buddha-style. Keeping my hands in my lap took too much of an effort, so I let them float to the surface. We paid 20JD to use the private beach and pools of the Dead Sea Spa Hotel, and it was nice to have showers to rinse off the salt, umbrellas under which to reapply sunscreen and take naps, and a water slide on which to make absolute fools of ourselves.

When we came back Friday afternoon, we were exhausted. Saturday was spent wrapping up reflections and thank-you notes for last weeks meetings, and heading out into Amman in groups for a little sight seeing.

Yesterday we met with Mohammed Abu Rumman, a journalist for Al Ghad and expert on Islamist movements, and his friend Dr. Hassan Barari, a researcher at the Center for Strategic Studies at the University of Jordan. They were both absolutely amazing sources for information on Jordan's political reform process.

Jordan's Electoral Law is at the root of a system that gives disproportionate power to tribes in rural areas (who are traditional government supporters) and sidelines voters in the cities (where there are higher concentrations of Palestinian Jordanians and opposition parties like the Muslim Brotherhood have more support). In doing my background research, I felt that in absence of the repeal or reform of this law, creating a lively democracy within Jordan would be nigh impossible. After meeting with Mr. Ramman and Dr. Barari, however, I have begun to think of alternative ways in which Jordanians can work within this system to expand their political horizons.

Although we have only spoken formally with three professional Jordanians, I am getting the distinct sense that the United States credibility is almost completely destroyed. Sadly, this only confirms my fears. People seemed to have mixed views about whether or not the next president will be able to repair the US reputation. Based on reading and my experiences so far, most of this cynicism in Jordan comes from a perceived discrepancy between sweeping statements of US values and US actions in the region (democracy vs. non-recognition of Hamas, human rights vs. support for Saudi Arabia).

My understanding of the Public Diplomacy division at the US Embassy to define and prosecute this distinction between American values and policy in countries where they operate (like Jordan). I find it interesting that when there is a gap between our values and policies, we effectively run marketing campaigns to soften this difference, rather than shifting policies closer to values. This is something I hope to discuss further with US Embassy officials when we meet with them later this month.

We are continuing print research even as we have meetings on the ground, and I am including a list of some shorter readings along the side of this blogs for those who might want to become more acquainted with the substance of our research.

Our First "Real" Day

2008-06-03T14:10:00.000-07:00

After a morning connecting with contacts, sharing background information, discussing interview protocol, and scheduling meetings, we headed into downtown Amman (Jebel Amman) for the afternoon.

Although this is my third day in Jordan, I had yet to take any photos. My ability to step behind a lens to document all of our adventures so far has been limited by the fact that we students are entirely responsible for the success of each endeavor, be it academic or practical. Since these first few days have been spent primarily dealing with the practical aspects, those of us who do speak Arabic have found our limited skills in particularly high demand. These responsibilities make it somewhat hard to brandish a camera. On the other hand, not taking any pictures so far has been liberating in certain ways, since I tend to be someone who wants to snap everything once the camera is out.

I finally did pull out my camera when we stumbled upon the Roman Theater. This ancient ruin sits unobtrusively in the middle of the Jordanian equivalent of a strip mall (much smaller storefronts for tobacco, clothing, fruit juice and music shops). After the photo op, we opted to continue exploring this shopping district rather than take a tour of the theater. We wandered through a really great produce market off of the main street between the theater and Hussein Mosque. Jordanians in the market seemed more concerned with pursuing their own affairs (although we were certainly potential customers) that those on the street who were happy to spend a few minutes chatting with us.

The longer we lingered, the more they had to say. We talked with a middle-aged Christian bookseller who held forth on the weather in Jacksonville FL (where he once lived), his children in Toronto, the media's scare tactics, and signs in today's world that could indicate the End of Days. We had an equally eclectic conversation with some engineering students that discussed, among other things, the Democratic Primary (one supported Clinton, the other was an Obama fan).

My attempts to speak Arabic have met with mixed results. Understandably, Jordanians whose English is similarly limited are more patient. Others, like the students, prefer to speak English or have mixed conversations. The bookseller was patient enough to correct my pronunciation and try and introduce me to some colloquial. Personally, I am happily surprised with how well I understand others. I myself am rarely understood outside of contexts where one or two-word sentences are sufficient: Hello, How are you, I'm an American student, How much, Turn left, Turn right, Do you know Deir Ghbar?

Near the theater we met a jewelry teacher who spoke several languages and had lived in Israel, the United States, Romania and Jordan. He advised us to keep practicing Arabic as much as possible, to insist on speaking it, and reply in Arabic even if spoken to in English. I intend to follow his advice as much as possible, because I really do want to make the most of our short time here.

I should mention that Zack is particularly great at striking up conversations with Jordanians. West Point uses a different Arabic textbook than Tufts of the Naval Academy, and it is good to help each other. Tomorrow we are all looking forward to a morning at the US Embassy. In the afternoon we are hosting a reporter from the Jordan Times in our apartment for an interview.

Ahlan wa Sahlan!

2008-06-03T12:45:00.000-07:00

(posted June 2, 2008 on the ALLIES JRP group blog)

Welcome to Jordan! Leaving Queen Alia Airport, a road sign pointing motorists toward the Iraqi and Saudi borders made it unmistakably clear that we had arrived in Jordan.

We have spent the past 24 hours getting acquainted with our apartment, neighborhood and each other. After months of email correspondence and conference calls, we were assemble the entire group for the first time. Grocery shopping, cooking dinner, griping about lost luggage, and raving over our beautiful apartment were built-in icebreakers. More than one person noted that our neighborhood, Deir Ghbar, is both swank and "under construction". As soon as one turns off a major thoroughfare, the streets are quiet and lined with luxe 3 and 4-story houses and apartments, fronted by small gardens. These small patches of deep green provide a shady rest for eyes scorched by the bright, bright sun. Tim, our multi-media guru gave us all a tip for documenting our time here: "Photography in Jordan Lesson 1: Everything is overexposed. Naturally."

We're looking forward to embarking on our research tomorrow. The first step will be to follow up with contacts who asked that we contact them and arrange appointments upon arrival. Our first official meeting is Wednesday, with a number of figures at the American Embassy.

Inaugural Post

2008-06-02T13:41:00.000-07:00

Hello! Welcome to the inaugural post of my blog for the 2008 ALLIES Joint Research Project (JRP) in Jordan. The Alliance Linking Leaders in Education and the Services (ALLIES) is an undergraduate-led initiative dedicated to building a bridge for shared understanding between future civilian and military leaders through joint education, training, and relationship building. ALLIES is a program of the Institute for Global Leadership at Tufts University. The ALLIES Joint Research Project is an annual summer program in which ALLIES students come together from our respective institutions to conduct a substantive, challenging, and relevant research project abroad.

This June, my fellow JRP participants and I will spend 4 weeks in Jordan studying the impact of the Iraq War on Jordanian Society. My particular area of focus is the effect of the Iraq war on Jordan's political reform process. Other students will be studying refugees in Jordanian society, bilateral relations between Jordan and Iraq, and Jordanian-US security cooperation. Please visit our group blog if you wish to learn more about ALLIES, our progress as a group, or any of these other subtopics.

I will be updating this blog often throughout the month of June to record my impressions and reflections of everything I see, hear, and learn in Jordan. I hope to keep you interested by including highlights of the research process along with anecdotes about traveling in Jordan. I am grateful to the support of the Institute for Global Leadership at Tufts University, Hostelling International USA, Tufts University Undergraduate Research Fund, and my family for their support in pursuing this project.