Teachers on strike in Jordan demand higher income and ‘dignity’
AL JAZEERA (26/9/2019) Teacher by day, deliveryman by night. In a public secondary school in central Amman, a maths teacher moonlights as a delivery driver outside his schoolroom hours to supplement his income. An Arabic teacher works in a grocery shop. Others drive taxis or give private tuition on the side. Most teachers in the […]
Read →Darfur refugees dream of return
QANTARA DW (2/9/2019) Military and pro-democracy leaders signed a power-sharing agreement in August paving the way for a promised democratic transition after 30 years of authoritarian rule in Sudan. But refugees who fled genocidal violence in Darfur are expressing their reservations about the deal. When Ahmed Yusuf Ahmed heard that Omar al-Bashir had been overthrown […]
Read →Little hope for change among Sudanese refugees who fled violence in Darfur
AL ARABY (15/8/2019) Ahmed was 16 years old when he fled his village in the Karnoi area in west Darfur. “In the beginning there were planes bombing the area. In November 2003, the Janjaweed came. There were rapes, beatings. They killed my father and stole our cattle,” he says, referring to the Arab militias recruited […]
Read →“Discounted Maids” – ads perpetuate modern slavery conditions in Jordan
PUBLIC RADIO INTERNATIONAL (14/6/2019) “Discounted maids!” announces a male voice on the radio. “If you’re not satisfied you can return your maid for free.” Every week, ads aired on the radio in Jordan offer “one-month trial” periods and “cash on delivery” options for employers who want to hire migrant domestic workers. Online ads via social […]
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In Jordan, Some Refugee Fathers Find a Place to Be Vulnerable
NEWS DEEPLY (26/3/2019) Humanitarian aid organizations tend to view men as more capable of coping with hardship and often overlook them as a vulnerable population of refugees, writes Marta Vidal. One group in Jordan is trying to change that. Each week, a group of 15 or so refugee men meet at a community center in East […]
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Desert green: Jordanians on frontline of climate change turn to permaculture
MIDDLE EAST EYE (23/3/2019) Olive, lemon and palm trees provide shade over the small garden where Abu ElHajj recently started growing carrots, tomatoes, beans and herbs. Surrounded by arid cliffs and a harsh desert landscape, it seems an unlikely place to start cultivating food. Facing drought and rising temperatures, Jordan is on the frontline of climate change. Overgrazing […]
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After fleeing conflict at home, African refugees battle racism in Jordan
EQUAL TIMES (22/3/2019) “There is war in Sudan. Many people are getting killed, women raped, men beaten. In Jordan, we just stay at home but it also feels like war. Discrimination. Not being able to work. It’s just like war,” says Abdul*, who fled Darfur in 2010. He is among the more than 4,000 Sudanese […]
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War is hell for animals too: In Jordan, bears, lions and tigers have found a sanctuary
MIDDLE EAST EYE (20/12/2018) Animals rescued from Aleppo, Mosul and Gaza have found new lives in a peaceful sanctuary surrounded by mountains north of Amman When he was eight years old, Loz was evacuated from Aleppo. It was July 2017, seven months after Syria’s second-largest city finally fell to the forces of Bashar al-Assad’s government. […]
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The Jordanian women fighting for labour rights
EQUAL TIMES (4/12/2018) In Jordan, more women than men are going to university and girls have been consistently outperforming boys academically. Yet women’s participation in the workforce remains one of the lowest in the world. Meet some of the women trying to change this. When Dina Saad attended a job fair in Jordan’s busy […]
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Cruising through Jordan with ‘Nancy’, the vintage Mercedes covered in books
MIDDLE EAST EYE (25/9/2018) A 1974 Mercedes, wrapped in a blanket of books, stands still on Rainbow Street – one of the oldest and busiest streets in central Amman. Curious pedestrians stop to take a look at the rare model and do not hesitate to flick through the pages of books that catch their eye. “It’s like a […]
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