Article: Rights of disabled

Published in The Jordan Times, September 29, 2006

Campaign to spread awareness on rights of disabled

By Grace Peacock

AMMAN — While the acceptance and integration of people with disabilities in Jordan is expanding, barriers still stand to full accessibility and the elimination of shame culture associations.

The Amman-based Cerebral Palsy Foundation (CPF), is hoping to spread awareness of these issues as part of an educational campaign for Cerebral Palsy Day on Oct. 5.

Dr. Samira Baban, the organisation’s medical director, says attitudes towards the disabled have improved since the foundation’s launch in 1978 but there is still much more to be done.

“It takes a long time to convince people,” she said, “but we’re hoping to one day have a healthy society that accepts children with special needs and to have a public that participates in taking care of them through donation and support.”

Accessibility around the city and in schools is one of the biggest challenges facing the disabled, according to Baban.

Although the municipality requires new buildings to accommodate the disabled with accessible wheelchair ramps and manageable facilities, older buildings are not being retrofitted to the same degree.

Baban says until now, much of Amman’s urban planning has paid little regard to the needs of the handicapped.

“Have you ever seen a person in a wheelchair in the streets of Amman?” she asked. “They can’t get around because of the streets and the sidewalks — they’re full of trees. The city is a hilly area and most buildings and schools have plenty of stairs, but no ramps. This causes difficulty for children with motor disabilities,” she said.

Cerebral palsy is a non-hereditary, non-progressive disorder affecting body movement, posture and muscle coordination. It is caused by damage to the brain during pregnancy, birth or in the first years of a child’s life. The disorder is not a life-threatening condition and with proper care and accommodation, it is no barrier to leading a long and productive life.

However, Baban says barriers within society continue to make life difficult for the physically challenged.

Schools for instance, are required by law to accept children with motor disabilities but many of them are ill-suited to accommodate them.

“This problem should not be a barrier to accepting a child into a school,” said Baban. “But the child cannot go to a school where they don’t have ramps for wheelchairs or walkers and don’t have easily accessible washrooms with big doors. When you accept a child into a school you have to make the environment suitable for them.”

She says schools that have children with motor disabilities should also ensure that their classrooms are always on the ground floor so they don’t have to struggle with stairs.

“We need to change people’s mentality so they are opening doors for these children instead of closing them,” Baban said.

The CPF has six centres across Jordan that provide medical, diagnostic and rehabilitation services as well as family counselling and mobility aids.

The foundation also has two schools specially designed for children with disabilities. As of June this year, 16,784 disabled children were registered with the CPF.

Samah Rahahleh, an occupational therapist at the Amman centre, says some parents still feel ashamed about their child’s disability.

“Sometimes they hide them away and don’t integrate them with society. But people with disabilities have rights and we show parents that children with CP can grow up to have jobs, and go to university. We tell them that they can overcome their disability and achieve many things,” she said.

Baban added that all disabled people should be given the opportunity to lead a normal life through accessibility and accommodation, otherwise their situations can become very dismal.

“Imagine a person imprisoned within the difficulties of their own body as well as the difficulties of society at large. It would be very sad.”

Images of Ramadan

There's a miscellaneous set of photos I've posted online. Most of them are from my evenings out during Ramadan thus far, enjoying the company of friends and smoking argileh in the Ramadan-themed bars and restaurants.

Check back often - I'll try to post more as I take them this month!

You must be mistaken

That's what I've been thinking these last few days after my editors told the two new interns to come to me for advice because after having lived in Amman for three months they think I'm some kind of expert.

Expert at what? Getting hung up on and going on wild goose chases? Screaming at taxi drivers? Getting lost? Surviving?

The Canadian intern, Cheryl, arrived last week and just yesterday an American named Stephanie started work. I'm thrilled to have two new friends and prospective travel buddies. I'm also constantly amused as I witness their gradual adaptation to their new environment. It's like seeing myself three months ago. They're asking the same questions, having the same reactions - it's deja vu.

To help with their adjustment, I’ve compiled a short little fact/ tip list about living in Jordan:

1. The sound you hear at night is not gun fire.
2. The sound you hear at work is not the ice cream truck and there's nothing you can do to keep that song from playing over and over in your head.
3. Honking is Jordan's official second language.
4. No one uses street addresses and people love to stare (they'll probably stare lots more at the two of you as you're both blond. Lucky you.)
5. Sidewalks are just for looks.
6. Don't pet the cats. They're not nice.
7. Always leave early for appointments and interviews cause you're almost guaranteed to get lost. And get lost some more.
8. Cops are camera shy in the worst way.
9. Get used to the kissing.
10. Ok, I lied. Sometimes the sound you hear at night is gun fire.
11. You will lose it on a taxi driver sooner or later.
12. People will want to know about your husband and children.
13. The washrooms at work suck. Bring tissue and watch for bugs.
14. Getting someone's name and title is a lot harder than you may think.
15. Your job will make you feel like banging your head against a wall.
16. Strangers ask the darndest things.
17. Covering conferences is not always fun.

Good luck girls - your Jordanian adventure awaits!

Five days in

Five days into Ramadan and I've surviving quite well. In fact, I'm rather enjoying the festivities associated with the Holy month and am not even really minding that I have to sneak bites of my lunch from my desk drawer everyday.

Though today I have soup and am not sure how well it'll fit in the drawer without splashing around every time I open it.

(Kidding. I’m not that ridiculous)

I doubt that my Muslim colleagues in the office would mind much if I ate my lunch in the open, but I'm forever paranoid that I'm going to offend someone and get a lecture on Ramadan etiquette. Better to be safe than sorry.

Twice this week I went out in the evening to participate in the post-Iftar social nights at a place called Eden and also at Blue Fig. Both restaurant/ bars (though no alcohol served for the month) were decked out in Ramadan themed decorations, tents were up, Arabic music filled the air, as did the smoke from the dozens of argileh water pipes at nearly every table. I was encouraged by my Jordanian friends to try some of the special Ramadan juices including kamar el dine (apricot), tamar hindi (dates), sous (licorice flavoured drink), hot cinnamon tea, and sahlab (a thick vanilla tasting hot drink with nuts and raisins). We also had a variety of Arabic sweets like dumplings and samosa-looking things filled with either cheese or nuts and coated in a sugary glaze.

There's a tent set up at the bakery down the street from me where they sell the pastry you use to make some of the sweets. They cook them up on flat grill and sell them by the dozen. When I first passed by and saw them pouring a batter and flipping these round dough things I thought, pancakes! and considered buying a few and finding some maple syrup.

I didn’t though, and was later clued in by a friend who couldn’t stop laughing at my mistake.

People do that a lot here. Laugh at me, that is.

And as I was warned, the working hours for many offices and shops are shorter - ending at 2 p.m. By 6:30 p.m. the streets are absolutely deserted (such a beautiful thing!) as everyone has rushed home to feed their starving bellies. And those few who are still on the roads are driving like maniacs to get to their dinner tables.

The one thing that's caught me a bit off guard is the fact that no one sells alcohol for the entire month. Not just in bars - that I was prepared for - but also in stores.

It's sad, but if I had known that ahead of time I most certainly would have stocked up. I look longingly at the little store on my corner whenever I pass by...

Funny how you tend to crave things so much more when you know you can't have them.

Happy Ramadan!

The holy month of Ramadan has arrived.

Starting today and lasting until October 23rd, all practising Muslims will be fasting from sun up to sun down - not eating, drinking, smoking, swearing etc. This time is also marked by prayer and charity, although I've been warned fasting can also make people a bit grumpy and if you're not careful foul moods could be taken out upon you.

This is rather contradictory to the whole benevolent idea of Ramadan, when people are supposed to be treating one another nicely, but okay.

I'd be moody too if I couldn't eat all day (which may become the case if I can't find a secret place to eat my lunch).

Families apparently get up for a pre-dawn meal and then break fast after dusk with iftar (literally means to break fast). Special events are being held all across the city in hotels and restaurants in the evening to celebrate the holy month. Hopefully I'll get a chance to join in the festivities and see what it's all about.

The month ends with Eid - a big celebration marking the breaking of all fasting.

I'm interested to see how Ramadan will affect the rest of us, namely the Christian foreigners not used to this particular religious observance. We've been advised to eat/ drink/ smoke as discreetly as possible so to not offend anyone who's fasting.

Today already I was given a hundred apologies from officials at a government department where I was doing an interview. They felt terrible they couldn't offer me coffee or tea. I laughed and said that's hardly a problem!

The only issue I may have with Ramadan is that the work day for some becomes shorter. As if I didn't have enough trouble getting in contact with people for the newspaper, now I've got a shorter timeline within which to do so!

Return to the Dead Sea

I finally made a proper trip to the Dead Sea. See photos here.

Yesterday, a group of us spent a day at the Movenpick hotel & Dead Sea Spa - a quieter, adult-version of the other busy, noisey and kid-filled pools at the other hotels in the area. Despite the appearance of the first clouds of the season and despite being the farthest away from the sun than anyone else on earth (being at the lowest point on the planet) it was still a gorgeous day to tan and lounge around by the pool.

Though I got some colour, I hate to report I'm still the whitest girl I know.

I bobbed around in the Dead Sea too - but only long enough for some photos to be taken to prove I actually did it. The high salt content can really sting recently shaved legs!


At one point while floating in the water, I accidently flipped over to my stomach and couldn't turn myself back over or get my feet down to the ground. I laughed so hard at myself I thought I'd drown. It felt like you were totally weightless! Very cool. Thankfully I righted myself and managed to stand up. No need to alert the lifeguard.

Some of us also booked massages at the spa, which were wonderful. I could have fallen asleep under the hand work of my Russian masseuse. We booked these later in the afternoon and good thing too - we were all sleepy write-offs after that. We made it through lunch then decided it was time to head back to the city before we all passed out on the lounge chairs.

It's funny how a day of doing nothing in the sun can be just as exhausting as a day hiking through a canyon.

Seasons are changing

All this past week the sky has been filled with clouds - something that freaked me out a bit after I got used to living 100 days here with nothing but sun and blue sky. The nights are getting cooler too. I'm so happy! Winter's coming :)

Date with a fig and a couple of strange nuts

I promise to get on the food photos soon, but I'll start with this for now. From top left clockwise, two fresh figs, a couple of sweet dates, dried chickpeas and kri kri nuts. I had never had any of these things before coming here!

Article: Animal hospital

Published in The Jordan Times, September 21, 2006

Animal hospital to open in December

By Grace Peacock

AMMAN — Jordan’s first animal hospital draws near completion, after construction was delayed three months due to a peak in the price of cement and iron.

The Humane Centre for Animal Welfare’s (HCAW) 2,000-square-metre facility was scheduled to open last month but will now be finished in November, with a grand opening planned for early December.

“Since the day our organisation was established, we could see the need for such a hospital. It’s for the working animals of the underprivileged whose livelihood depends on them and it’s also for small animals — from wildlife to exotic birds to pets,” said Margaret Ledger, director general and co-founder of the HCAW.

The JD500,000 facility will house a wing for large equine animals and a section for smaller animals like cats and dogs. Most of the structure has already been constructed at the King of Bahrain Forest, located off the Airport Road. In addition to kennels and stables, the hospital will feature offices, examination rooms, laboratories, incubator rooms, isolation areas, grooming and bathing areas and large operation theatres.

“We hope that with the opening of the hospital we will have increased awareness of our causes,” said Ledger, who together with the support of HRH Princess Alia, the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA), the Greater Amman Municipality (GAM) and the ministries of planning and education launched the hospital project last year.

Ledger hopes to partner with local universities and bring veterinary students to the new centre to learn first- hand what it is like to treat and care for animals. As well, she hopes children will visit the site to learn more about animal welfare. Elements of the building’s design have incorporated glass windows and steps for many of the rooms for safe viewing access.

“They’ll be allowed to see many areas of the hospital and we’ll help them learn that animals, just like people, need a lot of attention and care,” she said.

Pet owners will be able to board their animals with HCAW and the hospital will have a special adoption room for cats and dogs.

Another service the hospital will provide, in conjunction with the municipality and WSPA, is the spaying and neutering of stray dogs to help keep the population under control.

Education is also a big part of HCAW’s mandate and once funding is in place, phase two of the hospital project will involve the construction of an 18,000-square-metre educational section for families and school groups.

Currently, HCAW works with “animal clubs” in 62 schools across the country where lectures are held and activities are designed to help spread animal awareness.

“Our main objective is to change the attitudes and behaviour of people so they deal with animals in a more humane way,” said Nadia Hamam, HCAW co-founder and director of education.

She says the lectures held at the schools this fall would focus on the role of the veterinarian — an occupation not held in a high enough regard in Jordan.

“It’s very rare for me to hear the children in schools say they want to become vets. That’s why we need to talk about this subject, to encourage people to think differently about these roles,” she said.

HCAW has also been working with the municipality on establishing regulations and a licensing system for pet shops to ensure animals are kept in safe and healthy environments. The animal welfare agency sent inspectors to local stores this year and three shops were permanently closed after eight had their licences suspended for not complying with the new rules.

Article: Arabian horse show

Published in The Jordan Times, September 20, 2006

Show brings Arabian horses back into spotlight

By Grace Peacock

AMMAN — More than 110 Arabian horses from across Jordan, the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Palestine came to the Royal Stables this week for the three-day 2006 Middle East Championships.

Organised by the Royal Jordanian Equestrian Federation, the show was designed to bring Arabian horses back into the spotlight as one of the jewels of Arab culture, said HRH Princess Alia, president of the federation.

“These horses have largely been neglected in the Arab world. Besides racing, there hasn’t been much else to do with pure-bred Arabian horses,” she told The Jordan Times.

“They are such an important part of our culture and our history. The shows act as a gateway for all these things,” she added.

The annual horse show, which wrapped up on Tuesday, not only included horses and breeders from various countries, but also invited judges from Italy, France, the UK, Germany and Spain.

Princess Alia believes competitions like this help bring countries together during hostile times.

“The Arabian horse is synonymous with positive images — it’s beautiful, intelligent and tough. Sadly in this day and age many things to do with Arabs have such negative connotations. This helps counteract the negativity and brings people from different places together to cooperate — people who may be fighting the rest of the time,” said Princess Alia.

The Middle East Championships began in 1999 and became a European-affiliated “A” show two years ago.

Ghalia Nooreddin, the show’s organiser, said classes are arranged by age.

“You have the fillies, the colts, the mares and the stallions. They’re each judged on type, head and neck, body and top line, their legs and movement,” she said.

As each horse is trotted out by its handlers before the judges, people standing at the edge of the show ring rattle plastic bags and flick whips in the air to excite the horses and get them to stand at attention.

It livens them up, says Princess Alia, but she acknowledges that in some shows the handlers go too far and frighten the horse to get it to perform.

“There’s a lot of abuse that goes on at horse shows sadly. It’s becoming more artificial and handlers are sometimes abusive to the horses to get them to pose. People start copying these methods just to get a result,” she said, adding that horses need to be treated humanely, inside and outside of competitions.

“They have lives too,” she said

All the pretty horses

You can't get a more authentic Arabian horse show than one held smack in the centre of the Middle East, featuring the best fillies, colts, mares and stallions from the finest breeders in Jordan, the UAE, Palestine and Saudi Arabia.

That's where I hung out today. I couldn't take my eyes off the beautiful animals and the huge collection of photos I took proves it. I swear, they know they're gorgeous!

I was invited by the director of Jordan's humane animal centre and the president of the Jordanian equestrian federation - the King's eldest sister. We all sat at a table together to watch the events. Actually I think I sat for a total of 10 minutes before succumbing to the photographer's itch to move around and snap some shots.

Sitting at the same table as the princess was pretty cool though, while it lasted.

Seeing the horses and nosing around the stables brought back memories of my horse-riding days. My very first job had me mucking out horse stalls in exchange for a bit of pay and free horseback riding lessons. I loved it, despite the job's lack of glamour, having to get up at 5:30 a.m. on weekends and fishing dead rats out of water troughs.

I dreamt of the day I might have a horse of my own.

Yes, I know I should just keep dreaming for all the money I'll be making as a journalist - but a little fantasy never hurt!

Here are some of my favourite shots from the show:

Boy, this feels familiar

It's that time again.

Time when I start agonizing over my future and wonder if/ when/ where I'll find a job when my current occupation comes to an end.

How many times have I gone through this routine? It came 'round like clockwork every spring during high school and university when I needed a summer job. It hit me hard after I finished my undergrad degree and I spent three frustrating months searching for something I felt worthy of the years of pricey education I had just finished. I almost gave up in desperation, thinking I was doomed to take a job that had no relevance whatsoever with my degree or aspirations.

I'm hoping I won't have to use this button when I get home.

Luckily I found a great position at my hometown newspaper where I worked for two years.

Then I went back to school for my masters degree. Again, this past spring I found myself in that oh so familiar situation, contemplating my future, searching job sites furiously and wondering where I'd end up once graduation had passed?

Then this internship came along.

So here I am. And though I still have three months left before I return home, I find myself visiting the journalism job sites and wondering what will be available when I'm done? Because this time is different. This time I'm looking to stay put in one place for as long as I can manage.

I'm tired of moving around. Of always looking ahead, like my current situation is just a means to some far-off end. I want to find my place and *gasp* .... settle.

Yes, I said it.

I want to live somewhere long enough to really get to know the place - not just know it like a passing acquaintance. I want to live in an apartment/ house long enough for it to feel like it's MINE. I want to work somewhere long enough to generate some substantial savings. I want to work somewhere and feel like there's room to grow, positions to move up to.

I just want to get on with the rest of my life.

Article: Stray dog solution

Published in The Jordan Times, September 15, 2006

Officials look for humane answer to end stray dog attacks

By Grace Peacock

AMMAN — The government is reviewing its strategy on controlling the stray dog population after the Ministry of Health announced a cost of JD200,000 per year to treat bite victims in Jordan.

At a recent meeting among the Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad (SPANA), the ministries of health and agriculture, and the Greater Amman Municipality, it was discovered that dogs have bitten 2,000 people so far this year.

Dr. Mohammad Rashdan, head of the Department of Chronic Diseases, told The Jordan Times it costs JD80 to treat one person for an animal bite.

“It’s a very expensive treatment and one that involves a vaccination (against rabies),” he said.

In some areas, people have been afraid to go outside at night and have even been prevented from visiting their mosques in the morning for fear of a dog attack.

Rashdan says it is not possible to know by looking at a dog if it has rabies, which is why it’s necessary for anyone bitten to be vaccinated immediately afterwards.

Though there is no official task force designated to control the dog population, people have taken it upon themselves to use methods like strychnine poisoning — a highly toxic, colourless crystalline alkaloid placed in meat and left as bait for dogs. When consumed, the poison triggers painful seizures and respiratory paralysis. It is also very dangerous for other animals and children; it can remain active in the soil for up to 12 years and can contaminate water sources.

Another method often resorted to in communities with stray dogs is shooting, but Ghazi Mustafa, director of SPANA, says this is not always effective as it scares off other dogs and can often be a painful death.

“The dogs do not always die straightaway. Some have been hit by six bullets and have suffered lingering deaths. Poisoning and shooting aren’t effective and give a bad reputation to the country that chooses to use these methods. They are both very inhumane,” said Mustafa.

Earlier this year, SPANA experimented with cage traps (at left) where dogs would be lured by food, trapped, then sedated. They were then taken to one of SPANA’s facilities in hopes of keeping them there until they could be integrated into a new home.

Though this technique is much more animal-friendly, Mustafa said it will not work for large numbers of dogs and given their rapid rate of breeding, another solution will be needed soon.

According to SPANA’s figures, there is evidence to show that one stray female dog can produce 4,400 descendents over seven years.

This is why Mustafa believes spaying and neutering as many dogs as possible — pets included — is an important part of the solution. Owners should also have their pets vaccinated against rabies and other diseases and should make sure they have a dog licence from the Greater Amman Municipality.

The participants of the meeting agreed that the Ministry of Agriculture should provide free rabies vaccinations for all dogs. Additional meetings will be held in the coming weeks to follow up on the suggestions made last week with the intention of possibly putting forth new legislation to deal with the stray dog problem.

Keeping my head above water

I used to love covering conferences. Though they were always a lot of work - trying to catch everything of importance that everyone said throughout a whole day - they were also pretty straight forward, you knew you'd get at least one good story out of it and they were usually designed to give the reporter everything he or she needed, without them having to ask for it.

Plus, you often got fed and got to take home free stuff. The last conference I went to sent me home with a brand new work bag. Mind you, I've got to live with a big logo of the sponsoring company on the side of it - but really, I'm not complaining.

Yesterday's conference, however, was not all fun and games. The subject of the seminar sounded harmless enough - building national identity in Jordan - and when asked to cover it, I didn't hesitate to say yes.

I made sure that there would be translation services available in case anyone spoke in Arabic, I read the background documents provided to me and was set to go.

Though there have been times when I've found tackling something new to be personally enjoyable - this was not one of them. I was lost by the second hour, after having listened to political analysts and anthropologists discuss in great depth the influence of Jordan's historical events upon national identity.

Kerak rebellion? What was that - when did it happen?
King Talal? Who was that?
Refugee influx during the late 60s - was that because of the 1967 war?
Feyadeen? What's that mean?

I was a little out of my league.

So many things were discussed, but not often explained as the speakers assumed everyone in the room knew what they were talking about. Everyone but ME. I cursed myself for not reading the 10 books on Jordan's history that I had taken from the library before I left for my trip.

Back in April I took out a bunch of books on Jordan from the library. I even took a photo of them, thinking I could blog about my research. Too bad the due date came along before I even got around to cracking them open...

So I scribbled notes and drew big asterisks besides the comments I knew I'd have to get clarified during the coffee breaks. How the hell I'd pull a story from all this was beyond me.

Because the conference was a mix of English, Arabic and French presentations they had those handy translating headsets for all the participants. During the deputy mayor's opening remarks (in Arabic) I switched on the receiver and started writing. I thought it odd he was referencing the security situation in Iraq, but shrugged and continued to listen to the translator.

Then the deputy mayor stopped speaking, everyone clapped and he got down from the podium. The only trouble was that the translator was still going on about the death toll of security officials in Iraq!

It reminded me of those dubbed Japanese ninja films where it takes the actor 30 seconds to say a 5 second phrase. Maybe the translator was just catching up?

One of the organizers then took to the microphone to explain (in English) that everyone using the headsets needed to stay on channel A to hear the translations - otherwise we'd pick up the frequency from the conference on Iraq happening in the next room.

People laughed. Oh, ha ha. Funny.

I could have slapped myself.

By the embarassed looks of some of the faces of the other participants, I figured I wasn't the only one to make that mistake.

I made a note to catch the deputy mayor at the coffee break and ask him some questions to make up for the fact that I just missed his entire speech.

Unfortunately, five minutes later he and the French ambassador got up and left.

This was a typical occurance at these conferences. The big wigs show up for 10 minutes and then take off. Everyone makes a big deal about them being there and suddenly you turn around and they're gone! What is the point of showing up at all? They might learn something useful if only they'd stick around. Isn't that the point of these things? To suggest new ideas to the policy makers, the people in power?

Getting the key points of the conference in a memo at the end of the day just doesn't seem to cut it.

The next presentation was in French. I made sure I had the right frequency and put on the headset. But channel A was only translating into Arabic. I looked at the device - where's the English option? I turned around to look at the little booths where the translators sit. There were two and only one of them was speaking.

One of the organizers must have been watching me and noticed my confusion because he came hurrying over and squatted beside me to whisper his utmost apologies. He said they could only get two translators and they didn't have anyone translating the French presentations. He assured me there were only a few french presentations, apologized again and then left.

I sighed, threw the headset on the table and wished I had retained more of my French abilities from high school. I suddenly felt very language-inept. I wondered how much more of this conference I would miss?

I amused myself during the French presentations by doing the following:

- trying to understand the speaker. I only caught every sixth word, couldn't make heads nor tails of the speech and quickly gave up;
- making notes about what I could blog about;
- noting that the man sitting beside me looked remarkably like the dead guy from Weekend at Bernie's;
- watching the chair of the panel who could not stop rubbing his nose. I thought perhaps he needed a kleenex;
- smirking at one of the participants down the table from me who had fallen asleep;
- and thinking how the peppermint candies on the table tasted just like candy canes and then dreaming of how it'll be Christmas when I go home. Then I thought how strange it was that all the television programming they're currently showing on TV here are Christmas-themed (Elf was on the other day, Martha Stewart is making gingerbread houses and I saw a commercial for an oldie, Christmas in Conneticut). Perhaps it was a way to make everyone think "cold" thoughts to get through this hot weather.

I lucked out about halfway through the day with an English panel that involved only a few historical references and a wonderfully large amount of simple language. Finally, something I could follow - something I could write about!

After the day was done I felt like I had tossed myself into the deep end without knowing much more than the doggy paddle. I treaded water as long as I could, keeping my head barely above water until I was saved by a passing life preserver.

I wasn't very happy with the story I ended up writing, but my editors had no complaints and published the thing. Perhaps another one of the reporters at the paper, one who knew more about the country's history could have done a better job. Who's to say?

I wouldn't say I'm an expert of any particular thing, but I'm getting damn good at just surviving...

Crazy is world-wide

The horrible shooting incident at Dawson College in Montreal yesterday just goes to show crazy people are everywhere.

Many people assume cities in the Middle East are dangerous, but really some of them are no more dangerous than any Canadian city back home.

We've all got to be vigilant. Bad guys know no bounds.

Mujib photos online

Wow - what a difference you notice in the quality of your photos when you suddenly go from a digital SLR to a crappy disposable! I finally got the Mujib photos developed and have put them online.

Here's me descending the waterfall - at the exact moment I was asking myself, "Holy sh** what the hell am I doing?"

Article: World Press Photos

Published in The Jordan Times, September 12, 2006

Prize-winning news photographs on display

By Grace Peacock

AMMAN — For the first time, Jordan is hosting 200 prize-winning news photographs at City Hall as part of the annual World Press Photo Exhibition 2006.

Under the patronage of HRH Princess Muna and with the support of Amman Mayor Omar Maani and Dutch Ambassador Hugo Gajus Scheltema, this is the first visit to this region of the Middle East in the show’s 50-year history.

“It is fitting these photographs should be on display in Amman where human cultures have come together for so many centuries,” Maani said.

“I urge the people of Amman and the many tourists in the city to take this unique opportunity to visit it and to see how much more these pictures can convey than words alone,” he added.

The Dutch Ambassador and Sec. Gen of the Ministry of Culture view the photos at the exhibition's opening.

The photographs will be on display until Oct. 1. Over 4,500 photographers from 120 countries took part in the competition and the best pictures, in a wide range of categories, will be on display in 92 other countries.

“It is very important to allow the public to see the world through the eyes of press photographers,” the Dutch ambassador said.

“[This exhibition] affirms the vital role that free and dynamic media play in providing people around the world with access to news, information and images that have an impact on all our lives,” he added.

The World Press Photo of the Year 2005 was awarded to Canadian photographer Finbarr O’Reilly of Reuters for his picture of the emaciated fingers of a one-year-old child pressed against the lips of his mother at an emergency feeding clinic in Niger. A devastating swarm of locusts and the worst drought in decades left millions of people short of food in the African state.

“What struck me about this winning photo was the fact that this was not the picture of a typical conflict you’d find on the front news pages. Its meaning is much more deeper — that of hunger and poverty,” said Scheltema.

World Press Photo Project Manager Jeroen Visser said only 10 Jordanian photographers entered the contest and he hopes the exhibition’s exposure will encourage others to enter next year.

“Our mission is to encourage and stimulate the world of press photography — this is what we fight for at World Press Photo,” he said.

The jury gave prizes in 10 theme categories to 63 photographers of 26 nationalities. The judging sessions took place in Amsterdam in January and February and were completely digital.

Visser says the contest rules did not allow for any digital manipulation of the photos beyond adjusting for light and shadow.

“The photographers are allowed to apply the same techniques that they would in a dark room. But they cannot change the content of the picture,” he said, pointing out that the contest relies heavily on the expertise of the jury to pick out the cheaters. This year there were many photographs that were disqualified due to digital doctoring, he said.

World Press Photo 2006 was brought to Jordan by the Royal Netherlands embassy and sponsorship from Frico Foods, the Tala Bay development near Aqaba and TNT, which, along with Canon, is also a global sponsor.

How about that weather?

Yesterday it was 40 degrees celcius here. In Toronto it was 17 degrees.

My mind and body have been expecting that after three straight months of nothing but blue sky and blazing sun the temperature here would cool. I'm such a naive little Canadian.

The absense of clouds and rain - of ANY variety in the weather - has been difficult to accept. I keep feeling like I'm stuck in some twilight zone, or am living in one of those worlds advertised in the movie Total Recall where they say "Come to Amman! The only place where you'll have perfect weather everyday! Nothing but blue skies and sunshine 365 days of the year!"

(Really, I don't know what it is with me and Arnold Schwarzenegger films - this is the second reference in two weeks).

I didn't realize though that I'd get so used to it that on the odd occasion when a cloud did appear, it would put my whole day off. I remember waking up one morning and feeling immediately like something was wrong. What was going on? What was different? It took me a minute to realize that the sun wasn't blaring in my face as it usually does every morning.

And yesterday, the entire sky was filled with dark cloud. It almost scared me - like the cloud was ominous of some greater trouble happening nearby. My roommate said it might rain. RAIN? I thought... what would we do? Where the heck was my umbrella? Did I own one? As much as I've been wishing it to rain, I was rattled to think it actually MIGHT.

But it didn't. Turns out the recent heat wave and dark clouds were the result of some freakish weather system moving through. It did rain in parts of the country and people said it was like it was raining mud. I suppose all the dust and sand blowing around mixed with the rain and voila - dirty rain.

There were also accounts in the newspaper today of sandstorms popping up in various parts of the country:

Sandstorms, especially in the eastern and central parts of the country, caused poor visibility and halted traffic on some roads on Sunday. On the road from Amman to Karak, reduced visibility resulted in an accident that killed two people and injured seven, four seriously... The sandstorms were accompanied by high temperatures, which reached a peak this season, with a maximum of 40˚C recorded in the capital and 43˚C in Zarqa. “Sandstorms are a natural result of seasonal weather instability this month and the next,” Raed Rafed, a meteorologist at the Jordan Meteorological Department, told The Jordan Times.

GREAT. I'm so looking forward to it.

A reason to celebrate September 11

Though the rest of the world is mourning, my family has reason to celebrate this day - a day unfairly tarnished by the horror brought upon it five years ago.

September 11 is my parents wedding anniversary! And today marks the 30th year that they've been husband and wife. Congratulations mom and dad!

No matter the darkness everyone else sees on this day, you both give the light a reason to shine through. Now on to the next 30 years!

Mujib group at the falls

Thanks Roba for sending me this photo! Here we all are, soaking wet and thrilled to be alive after surviving the waterfall descent at Wadi Mujib. (I'm fourth from the right)

Surviving Mujib

My body is expressing its anger with me through all sorts of torturous pain. I’ve got cuts, bruises, stiff joints and pulled muscles (in places I didn’t know had muscles).

I’ve got a mountain hike, a waterfall and canyon to thank for that.

Yesterday, nine of us woke up bright and early and drove to the Dead Sea where we had signed up for a four-hour hike at a nature reserve called Wadi Mujib. The whole thing was my idea.

Many of my hiking companions would not let me forget this little fact throughout our trip – which ended up taking us five hours to complete in the end. I could hear my name being cursed under the breath of a particular few as we made our painful way through the adventure course.

Our two guides (who I took to calling Mountain Man No. 1 and No. 2) got us started with a shockingly steep mountain trail that caused the lungs to feel like they were collapsing, your legs were full of lead and made you sweat like a bucket of water had been dumped on your head.

Did I mention this was at 8:30 in the morning?

It was the Stairmaster hike from Hell. The bunch of us who weren’t so fit gave the bunch who were fit looks that could kill. You were so out of breath you couldn’t talk. All you could do was focus on putting one foot in front of the other and wish that a cloud would appear in the bright blue sky to block the heat of the sun. I was personally wishing a thunderstorm would magically appear and drench us with rain. The mountain men were constantly in the faces of those lagging behind trying to give encouraging advice, but I swear if any of us had energy we would have tossed the guys over the edge.

By some miracle we all made it through the hour hike to the top of the canyon and came upon a river that wound its way into the dark chasm of the rock. We gladly jumped into the river and followed it.

Looking back, I realise that this bit was the easiest part of the hike. The water was shallow and relatively calm and the shadow of the canyon provided some cool relief from the blaring sun.

We walked along, playfully splashing and admiring the rock faces rising up on either side of us. Disturbingly we discovered many dead birds along the sandy edges of the river and two of us even saw a bird fall into the water and get washed away, its head bobbing as the little rapids pulled it further downstream. It was awful, but there was nothing we could do!

Much later we arrived at the next challenge of our hike: a 20-metre waterfall.

The only way to get down was to strap into a harness and rappel down the rock wall. This terrified a good number of people in the group and immediately they all turned to ME and demanded again WHY I had made them do this?? I swore ignorance and said while I knew there was a waterfall involved, I had no idea we would have to rappel down the thing! I thought perhaps we had to climb down some rocks along the side. Honestly!

It took us a long time to get everyone down, but we did and no one was left behind. I went second last and was pretty calm about the whole thing despite having just seen several girls crying over the deal and watching most everyone struggle with the task.

The biggest problem was allowing yourself to lean back. When you’re hanging 20 metres in the air it’s not the easiest thing to let go of the rope and lean back into the space of air when you know there’s nothing there. It also meant you had to put complete faith into the Mountain Man who was holding onto the other side of the rope – and if you had gotten to know him like we had, you’d have problems trusting him too.

The bugger even asked me if I had any last words to say to my friend Yazan, who was still waiting to descend, in case I never saw him again? I told the evil guide to shut up and get this overwith.

The next problem was the slippery rock wall. We were told to use our feet and hands to move ourselves about as the guy lowered us down. It wasn’t just a straight drop. We had to manoeuvre ourselves to the right once we passed the first overhang. Unfortunately because our shoes were soaking and the wall was wet, you couldn’t get any grip on the thing and you’d slip and go crashing into the rock!

From where you stand at the top you can’t see the path you need to take once strapped in. So none of us knew what to expect once we started to be lowered. SOMEONE should have at least told us that once we got about a quarter of the way down we’d suddenly swing right and be thrown right under the waterfall where all the water comes crashing down on your head.

I hadn’t been worried about falling to my death, but suddenly stuck under the waterfall I thought there was a good possibility I could drown to death. Bloody Mountain Men, I thought.

The rest of my decent was hard to remember. There was a lot of water, a lot of banging into the rock – scrapes all over my body. I recall looking down to the group for some sort of direction, now that the two Mountain Men were out of sight. Thank God for our friend Duried who had gone down first to help us at the bottom. He shouted what to do and the next thing I knew I was down in the pool of water under the waterfall and he was helping me out of the harness – completely drenched but happy to be alive.

As the group collected themselves and coughed up a lungful of water, our two guides rappelled neatly down the wall – hopping from one spot to the next – and we all stared in disbelief.

The last leg of the hike had us traversing strong rapids, climbing over more slippery rocks and injuring ourselves in all the ways we had yet to be hurt. At one spot we had to snake down a rock with help of a rope right beside a little mini waterfall. At another, we had to slide down a flat slippery rock with the rushing water into a pool at the bottom of the rapid. One of the guides stood near the pool, ready to fish you out of the bubbling water once you fell in.

Again, our guides withheld some important information. None of us had any idea you’d plunge into the water and smash your butt on the rocks hiding under the rushing water – something we discovered at the most inopportune time (while we were busy trying again NOT to drown). All of us complained of the bruises we were sure to see in coming days on our rears.

Finally, finally we finished the hike, exhausted but proud of our accomplishment.

Well, some of us were proud. Others swore they’d never do it again and would never so readily agree to a trip organized by yours truly.

*Photos still to come. I took a little disposable camera with me and carried it in plastic ziploc bags to protect it from the water. Not sure if that worked - so hopefully the photos turn out and I'll have something to show for all this besides my bruises.

Uncharted territory

The previous two posts feature my contribution to a series in JO Magazine on Jordan's most prominent architects. The series was entitled "Urban Inspiration" and it was my job to interview three architects for two stories - Faris Abdulrahman and Faris Zaru of the firm Faris and Faris (appropriately titled), as well as Meisa Batayneh of Maisam Architects and Engineers.

My experience with architecture was limited to a phase I went through as a teenager where I used to buy issues of Architectural Digest and admire the pretty photographs of buildings and interiors I dreamt would one day be mine.

No one at JO Magazine seemed to mind I knew nothing about the profession. Actually, now that I think about it, I don't think I ever revealed this little fact to them. No one asked and I wasn't about to ruin my chance to write two stories for the cover feature, so mum was the word.

Truthfully I don't think anyone cared. It's my belief that a writer who tackles a foreign subject can produce a better quality product than a writer who holds the subject close to heart. I viewed the challenge before me as an opportunity to tell a story that the average person would want to read and could understand.

Isn't that always the job of a journalist?

I don't think it ever does any writer any good to think there's anything they can't write. I've written about topics very foreign to me in my short time here (archaeology and Sufi chants come to mind) but never once did I think there was an assignment I couldn't do. So what if a little bit of research is required?

As long as I'm not required to write a story in Arabic, I should hope I am able to follow through on any story I'm assigned. Let's hope this fearlessness lasts.

Article: Architect profile - Faris and Faris

Published in JO Magazine, September 2006

Faris²

Words: Grace Peacock

“We spend a lot of time trying to convince people that things can be done,” explains Faris Zaru. “We educate them and show them pictures from around the world that it has been done and they too can achieve it.”

“Even though there is a lot of oppositon at the start, when it is done everybody falls in love with it,” says his partner, Faris Abdulrahman. “The contractor says, ‘Yes, look what I have done.’ But we don’t mind; this is exactly what we want.”

Abdulrahman and Zaru are better known as Faris and Faris, heads of the leading architectural firm (of the same name), which was catapulted into the spotlight by high profile projects like a geological museum in Disi and the huge National Children’s Museum in King Hussein Park, a personal initiative of HM Queen Rania.


Although both considered looking for work abroad, Abdulrahman and Zaru said they couldn’t resist tackling the new oppotunities Jordan presented as a country just starting to open its eyes to the possibilities of architecture.

“We are now witnessing the evolution of architectural design in Jordan, a new kind of appreciation emerging,” says Abdulrahman.

“Fifteen to 20 years ago, people didn’t really distinguish between an architect and a structural engineer, for example. They thought everything was done by engineers and if a building stood up on its foundations, then that was the end of the story.”

“Our firm is always trying to introduce new ideas; creativity,” adds Zaru. “But the challenge we always faced was with the contractors, the workers and the factories who would say if they hadn’t done it before, then it cannot be done.”

The outdoor area of the Children’s Museum, for example, features tilted columns, and the Farises had to convince the contractors to keep them tilted and not build them straight. They also had trouble introducing exposed metal in their interior designs and having stone cut in smaller proportions than had been previously used. Still, the Farises say, their design expertise won out in the end – and everyone was happy.

The children’s museum is a groundbreaking project – both for Jordan and for the architects who are designing it – and Faris and Faris give much credit to the Queen for creating such a unique project in the region.

Sadly, few of Jordan’s new development projects are being undertaken with the care and craftsmanship of the children’s museum. Both partners say they’re concerned that the building boom in Amman may sacrifice quality for quantity, and, worse, could hurt the city’s architectural heritage.

“Easily, we could become another Dubai,” says Zaru.

“But I hope that all of the architects involved in these big development projects will take in the character of Amman and be sensitive about preserving it.”

The difficulty, says Abdulrahman, is that many people are caught up in the short term money-making opportunities provided by development and do not take the time to consider proper urban planning and quality design.

“Anybody who has a little bit of cash can go into the construction business to build an apartment or office and then sell it to make money,” he says. “Shortcuts are being taken and buildings are being built right on top of one another without any consideration for what’s around them.”

But, they say, people’s mentalities are slowly changing. The Municipality of Greater Amman is working on a master plan that will hopefully address the lack of urban planning among new development projects.

And the more Faris and Faris continue to push the limits of the long-established design boundaries in Jordan, the easier it gets to make new ideas take shape in Amman.

Article: Architect profile - Meisa

Published in JO Magazine, September 2006

The Paradox Principal

Words: Grace Peacock

Championing the cause of female Jordanian architects wasn’t exactly what Meisa Batayneh set out to do in the course of forging her own high-powered brand, which is garnering international attention.

It was after an encounter with a young architecture student that Batayneh became motivated to make a change. The girl asked her what she and other established architects were doing to improve the situation for the next generation of architects.

“It touched my heart. I couldn’t stop thinking of this girl. I thought I was not giving enough. She wouldn’t be saying these things if we were giving enough,” says Batayneh.

So she started taking a more active role in her profession: Batayneh founded an architecture and engineering business forum, and her close association with urban upliftment led to her appointment to the Amman Commission, a body organized by HM King Abdullah to affect urban renewal in the nation’s capital.


Today she also chairs DesignJordan, a design house dedicated to improving the competitiveness of Jordanian products in local and global markets. It’s an effort that has to start at the roots – at the core of the Jordanian philosophy regarding design and architecture.

“The profession itself is not understood. I worked at a time when people didn’t understand creativity and architecture engineering as a service was not given its full potential,” says the 46-year-old founder and principal architect of Maisam Architects and Engineers.

Though Batayneh herself never had difficulties working in the sector as a woman, she acknowledges that the combined challenges within the architecture field and a woman’s family life can be demanding.

“In this profession you cannot fall out of touch, otherwise you’ll develop fears about your job. You start thinking I’m not good enough, I’m not up to date.”

After raising three children of her own, she felt the need to accommodate. Currently, all her female architects are given the opportunity to work part-time from home while they raise their children. It’s a policy she believes should be implemented in other firms and businesses.

“So this way the women can keep working and be with their families and have the option to come back full time when their children are grown,” Batayneh enthuses.

Before launching her own firm in 1985, Batayneh worked with Jafar Toukan and his international team in Amman. It was this experience, coupled with her family’s extensive travelling during her childhood, which continues to influence her work to this day.

“As you grow up, you subconsciously train yourself to respond to monuments and places visually,” says Batayneh, who was born and raised in China, but later lived in Jordan and North Africa during her father’s postings as an ambassador.

She says her exposure to different cultures and environments gave her a creative edge while in school, but her family’s strong values about their own Arabian identity always remained front and center.

“My father always used to tell us ‘A woman’s work is her armament.’ But that does not mean you forget who you are. No matter where our family was in the world, we were always very clear about what made us unique,” she says.

As a result, her design direction fuses the modern age with tradition and encapsulates the values and spatial relationships unique to varying cultures.

The importance of local relevance for Batayneh is taken a step further in her projects in Jordan and the region, where the Arabian influence in the unmistakably modern interpretation of architecture gives her a creative edge.

Some of these local projects include heading up the sustainable master planning of the Rift Bay Project on the Dead Sea, completing work on the College of Art and Design and designing the new headquarters for the Ministry of Information and Communications Technology.

Internationally, Meisam Architects is blending nature, culture and metropolitan life in an “Island Development” community in the Gulf and is designing an “iconic” tower straddling land and sea in the Huda II Hotel and Residential Complex in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

“Our job is to understand the dimensions behind people’s behaviour and reflect that in architecture. In our work, you’ll find layers of application and you look at the understanding of space. It’s abstractive yet Arabian. It’s modern yet truthful. All these paradoxes come together and that is what makes our architecture stand out.”

A circus of an interview

Never a dull day, I swear.

I got lost this morning. Or rather, I didn't get lost - I knew exactly where I was - I just couldn't find my destination. So really, my destination was lost.

I jumped into a cab with plenty of time before my interview, having thus far successfully fought off the Arab "lateness disease", and went about my usual routine of getting to a difficult-to-find-place.

First step was to inquire as to my driver's language abilities. No English, no surprise. Second step, tell him the general location to head to (this morning it was Jebel al-Weibdeh). Third step, call someone who speaks Arabic and can give the driver instructions.

Too bad I wrote the number of the place down wrong and so the man who answered had no idea what I was on about. So I called my interviewee's mobile number directly, hoping he didn't mind I was bothering him (he's a official military type and I'm always wary of these guys, thinking they have much more important things to be doing than dealing with some lost journalist).

Unfortunately he didn't speak English very well either and misunderstood the reason for my call and hung up before I could pass the phone to the driver. I called back again and immediately said, "Please don't hang up. Don't hang up. One minute," and tossed the phone to the driver like a hot potato, hoping I could get it to him before the man hung up again.

Success!

A few minutes later we pulled up on a skinny little street crowded by the rows of cars parked along both sides - the Italian Embassy on one side and a police station on the other. The driver pointed to the police station, I said thank you, paid the man and got out.

My destination was actually a government-run drug rehabilitation centre but I figured perhaps it was in the police station? Or at the back of it? Surely the officers there would be able to point me in the right direction.

As soon as I stepped into the police station I knew something was wrong. The sign above the door hung a little crooked, some of its bolts having come loose. The trees and bushes grew wild along the path and branches creeped into the open windows. There was no door and an eerie silence hung in the air.

"Hello?" I said cautiously, looking into the empty hallway where some discarded papers and plastic bottles lay. I stepped forward lightly, not wanting to disturb the quiet, peering into one empty room after another. The place had long been abandoned. This was not where I was supposed to come. And the creepiness of the place made me want to get out as quickly as possible.

It was all I could do to prevent myself from turning and running back to the street. Like a kid stuck in a dark basement who runs up the stairs as fast as he can, for fear some monster is after him in the shadows.

I found two men who spoke English standing outside of the Italian embassy. They politely informed me they also spoke Italian as if I might decide I'd prefer their services in that language instead. They didn't know where this rehab centre was but after deciding I wasn't trying to find it for the purpose of checking myself in, they agreed to help me look.

We must have asked 10 people in the neighbourhood. We asked the guards at the embassy. We asked shop owners. We asked people walking in the street. They each raised a brow at me when it was explained I was trying to find it - as if they too were trying to decide if I was a drug addict in disguise. But no one could help.

Finally - and I don't know why I didn't do this sooner - I called the military guy again and passed the phone to my multi-linguistic friends (they spoke Arabic too, talented fellows). The man shook his head and seemed to be double checking what was being said, as if he didn't believe it. Once off the phone he said it's supposed to be in front of the embassy!

Impossible, I said. We walked back and the three of us stood looking dumbfounded at the empty police station, wondering how this could be? Then a man walked around the side of it and appeared quite suddenly out of the bushes, causing us all to jump.

"Hello! This way please," he said, ushering me to a small path around the side. I shrugged, waved thank you to my Italian friends and followed.

The rehab centre was in fact at the back of the building. I had just been too chicken to keep walking through the empty police station to find it! But seriously, could we make the place any more difficult to find? Someone could have at least told me it was back there!

I went on to have a very difficult interview. If I were to describe the ideal situation for an interview, it would be one-on-one, in person and in English, in a quiet room without any distractions. Imagine the exact opposite of this and you have the situation I found myself in this morning.

Because the military guy didn't speak English, he brought in a translator. These are always troublesome because I never know if I'm allowed to quote my source directly or if I should assume the translator has thrown in his own two cents and changed the words around a bit.

However, this translator wasn't particularly good and another man wandered in during the interview to sit in and decided he'd help out with the translating. So here I am asking questions of one man and getting the responses of two others - each of whom have taken to finishing each other's sentences. Any hope of quoting someone directly went straight out the window.

A television in the room was also on and some bird had chosen to perch outside the window and sing us a song. I knew the sound on my tape recorder would be terrible. To make up for it I wrote as quickly and as accurately as possible, despite the distractions.

Several other men kept wandering in and out of the office, asking the military guy questions and having conversations as if there was no interview taking place and interrupting us was the most natural thing to do.

I left the place quite exhausted, with a useless taperecording, a notebook full of scribbles and a wish that I'd never have to sit through anything like that again.

Gunman acted alone

Update: The Jordanian authorities have concluded their investigation into the shooting death of one tourist and the injury of five others and a policeman at the Roman Amphitheatre on Monday.

According to a report in The Jordan Times today, a government spokesman said the suspect, 38, worked alone without any connection to any organization, terrorist or other, and the incident was not based upon any religious ideaology.

The man's motives seemed to be linked to the killing of his two brothers during Israeli attacks on Lebanon in 1982. The man allegedly claimed during questioning that he “waited until his children were older to commit his crime,” the spokesman said.

100th Post!

Congratulations to me for hitting the 100 mark!

Now for the next 100 posts. With three months and 15 days left to go, I think I'll hit 200, no problem.

Onwards!

Article: Peace cycle

Published in The Jordan Times, September 6, 2006

From London to Jerusalem, cyclists ride with a message of peace

By Grace Peacock

AMMAN — After bicycling from London, through central Europe and now the Middle East, a group of cyclists arrived in Amman on their way to Jerusalem as part of a campaign to encourage peace between Israel and Palestine.

The 22 participants of “Peace Cycle 2006” stopped in the city yesterday for a peaceful demonstration at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) headquarters in Shmeisani before continuing on to Palestine today.

The cyclists met with Jordan’s UNDP Deputy Resident Representative Mona Hider to share their concerns about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and Israel’s refusal to comply with the UN’s resolution declaring its occupation of Palestinian lands illegal under international law.

“We’re here to promote the idea of peace in the entire Middle East region,” said New Zealander Conrad Libischer, who is riding with the team. “But we can’t seriously promote the idea of peace until we get justice for the players involved. We don’t want anyone to suffer and until there is some sort of justice for the Palestinian people, there cannot be peace in the Middle East.”

Team leader Sheridan James is from the UK and participated in the first Peace Cycle in 2004. She says she got involved because she became disillusioned with the traditional forms of protest and the minimal effect they were having on policy-makers.

“I felt none of it was making any difference. The government was not listening. People were not listening to the truth of what’s happening,” she said. James turned in protests in street squares with placards for protests on a bicycle while riding through Europe and the Middle East.

James said it has been a challenging ride, having to deal with extreme weather and steep climbs through mountainous areas, including the Alps. In some ways, she said, the Middle East has been just as difficult as some of the tougher terrain in Europe.

“Here the trouble is the heat. There’s also been a lot of steep hills and in Amman the pollution has been terrible,” she said, adding that the city’s ill-marked speed bumps and road studs have been dangerous for the bikes and riders when they approach them at high speeds.

During their stay in Amman, the group has been hosted by members of Follow the Women, an international cycling organisation also dedicated to peace in the Middle East.


Fotouh Younes, national coordinator of Follow the Women, said the common interests made partnership a natural conclusion.

“We all have the same mission — to promote peace and encourage peaceful settlement in Palestine. We want to change the negative image of the Middle East and its people and shed some light on the Palestinian issue,” she said.

This morning, the cyclists will attempt to cross into Palestine via the King Hussein Bridge and in the coming days will visit two refugee camps before completing their journey in Jerusalem on Sept. 15.

At varying stages of the Peace Cycle ride, the group of cyclists has included Muslim, Jewish and Christian members. Among this year’s cyclists is a 70-year-old man and a young Palestinian graduate who trained for the ride under the restrictions of occupation.

The Peace Cycle is a biannual event and was founded in 2004 by Laura Abraham, a British woman who wanted to bring attention to the Israeli occupation of Palestine and bring justice to the Palestinian people.

Where do they get the energy?

Today I met a group of extraordinary people. A group of cyclists arrived in Amman on their way from London to Jerusalem as part of Peace Cycle 2006 - a cycling campaign that's taking them across Europe and through the Middle East in seven weeks.

They're average people like you and I ranging in age from late teens to 70 years and are as diverse in nationality as they are in religious backgrounds. What makes them amazing is the challenge of cycling so far through unimaginable weather and terrain and how committed they are to their cause: raising awareness of the Israeli occupation in Palestine and the promotion of peace in the region.


The team's leader told me she got involved during the first Peace Cycle in 2004 because she was tired of being ignored and of seeing how little effect traditional kinds of protest had on her government in the UK. She said the first ride was grueling and involved a lot of blood, sweat and tears and she's shocked to find herself heading up the second trip.

"It's like having a baby - you swear you're never going to go through that torture again, but after some time you forget the pain and the idea starts to grow on you," she said.

*Before she told me this she asked if I had children? I think I have to accept the fact that I am now at that age where I look old enough for this to be possibile. The more people ask me this the more I learn to respond politely "No" instead of being overcome by shock at the idea and insulted by the suggestion that I am of that "certain age" where baring children is commonplace. It's occurred to me I've been living in denial of the fact that I AM indeed at that certain age where many women have children. Needless to say I am still coming to terms with this revelation. I will let you know how the recuperation goes.

Anyways, I was impressed by the efforts of these people and thought what an adventure it would be to bike through Europe (they went through the Alps, good God) and down through the Middle East. They told me this region is posing its own challenges what with the heat, steep gradients (some team members protested that they thought the desert was FLAT... surprise!), the pollution (hey, I hear ya) and the dangers posed by those silly unmarked speed bumps and speed studs they've got all over the roads in this country.

Yes, this is why I don't see any bicyclists in Amman. These people are lucky their trip doesn't require them to travel around the city too much - there'd be a fatality for sure, what with the crazy drivers and horrible traffic.

After listening to their more positive stories, I briefly entertained the thought of doing the ride myself in 2008. Several of the cyclists actually put the idea into my head and proceeded to brainwash me into believing this would be the greatest thing. In my current state of being I'd probably keel over and die from the pain before we ever got out of France - but if I trained? What a great way to get in shape, see the world and support an important cause!

Ok, back to reality, that'll probably never happen. But I'm going to make a point of letting my brother, the cycle nut, know about this and if he does it I'll live vicariously through his experience.

Good luck to the team of Peace Cycle 2006! Congrats on everything you've already achieved!

"Cowardly" terrorist attack

Today a British man was shot and killed by a gunman in downtown Amman by the Roman Amphitheatre - a place I visited merely two days ago.

Five other people were injured, including two other British tourists and a police officer. Witnesses say the man,who is Jordanian, approached the tourists yelling "God is great" in Arabic before opening fire. He was later caught by bystanders and arrested by the police.

Interior Minister Eid al-Fayez told reporters at the scene this was a "cowardly terrorist attack".

I would also like to add the descriptives: sad, disgusting, pointless and shameful.

A policeman at the Roman Amphitheatre in downtown Amman. BBC photo.

When I heard of the attack I was surprised by my reaction. I half expected such an obvious targeted attack on foriegners to make me want to hole up inside my apartment and hide myself from the rest of the Arab population. But I wasn't afraid. I was shocked and right pissed.

How dare he take the life of an innocent man, I thought. How dare he think he has the right to open fire on these people. I felt terrible for the family of the dead British man and for the other people involved. It was comforting to see this same anger and upset among the rest of the Jordanian population. This fanatical behaviour is not being tolerated by anyone and people are standing up against it together.

What gain does a person like this hope to achieve by killing innocent people? What is the point? And when will these attacks come to an end?

He's wrong if he thinks his act did him or his cause any good. Rudolph Giuliani once said in an interview with CNN:

"We can't accommodate terrorism. When someone uses the slaughter of innocent people to advance a so-called political cause, at that point the political cause becomes immoral and unjust and they should be eliminated from any serious discussion, any serious debate."

I couldn't agree more. And this goes for everyone for whom the above applies, not just this maniac at the Amphitheatre...

Future discoveries

I came across this cartoon and thought it fit nicely with the previous discussion about future archaeologists discovering our lost civilization and the conclusions they'd make about us from the things they might find.

Article: Violence against women

Published in The Jordan Times, September 3, 2006

Project empowers abuse victims in Sweileh

By Grace Peacock

AMMAN — Several women in Sweileh are finding the courage to face their fears, stand up for their rights and change their lives for the better, with the support of a project for women who have experienced domestic violence.

Sadine, whose name has been changed to protect her identity, is one of those women. A 35-year-old single mother of three, she was widowed, remarried but separated after suffering abuse at the hands of her second husband.

She turned to the Community Development Centre in Sweileh (CDC) for help and after participating in its single mothers’ support programme and the Violence Against Women (VAW) project, she has filed two lawsuits against her husband, demanding he provide financial assistance to his family.

“The centre gave me a lot of support, skills and knowledge. Before, I didn’t know my rights as a woman or a wife but now I’m empowered to take control of my life and make my own decisions,” Sadine told The Jordan Times.

She also took advantage of funds available through HRH Princess Basma’s Jordanian Hashemite Fund for Human Development (JOHUD) to start her own income-generating project — a hair salon — and is now financially independent.

“Now I can buy food and new clothes for my children,” she said.

The friends she made at the centre have also been invaluable.

“Talking to the other women I realised I was not alone. It became easier to discuss issues of abuse and I tried to encourage others to stand up for their rights too,” Sadine said, explaining that she knows many other women who are suffering violence in their homes, either physical, sexual, emotional, verbal or other.

The Violence Against Women project at the CDC began in October 2005 with funding from the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM). Since then, its volunteer staff and community liaison officers have provided a variety of training and awareness programmes, workshops, lectures and community meetings, all dealing with the various forms of violence and abuse.

Enam Qasem, VAW programme coordinator, says much has been accomplished in this short time.

“In a lot of instances the violence doesn’t happen anymore. The women learn what to do and where to go and the husbands start to understand that what they’re doing is wrong,” said Qasem, who said change is brought about by raising the women’s self-esteem, teaching them their basic human rights and opening dialogue within families.

The VAW project also involved the creation of a database to track the number of abuse cases in the Sweileh neighbourhood. Of 68 women surveyed, there were 33 cases of physical abuse, 20 cases of sexual abuse, 50 cases of psychological abuse, 23 cases of social abuse, 10 cases of verbal abuse, seven cases of financial abuse and one case of health abuse.

The VAW project hopes to better the lives of at least 100 abused women before the UNIFEM funding ends later this year.

“Although 100 women seems like a very small number, it’s really making an impact. Just talking about violence against women is something that has been very taboo and to have them talking about it with each other and in groups is something truly amazing,” said Ruweida Shakhshir, CDC programme development officer.

Qais Tarawneh, community organiser, saw the change occur before his very eyes.

“I was really shocked to hear about such violent things happening here. But at the same time to see them discussing it openly, even in front of me [as a man] was incredible,” he said, adding that the women appreciate the fact that for the first time they’re being asked to express their feelings and opinions.

Part of the VAW project includes weekly lectures by Sheikh Bassam Kawasmeh. He meets with women in the community to discuss the religious implications of violence against women.

“It’s important to talk about the woman’s position in the family according to Islam but we also discuss that there are women all over the world who suffer the same kind of abuse,” Kawasmeh said.

“It’s not just Jordanians. Any man should know a woman deserves our respect because she has a great position in the family,” he added.

The CDC is embedded in the eastern neighbourhood of Sweileh, the most impoverished and culturally diverse area of Amman. Sponsored by the Middle East Peace Programme of McGill University in Montreal, Canada, and linked with the University of Jordan, the CDC was established in 2000 based on the belief that sustainable change occurs when power is given back to the community through the promotion of responsible citizenship.

The volunteers at the centre plan to continue their Violence Against Women project even after the UNIFEM funding ends this year.

As for Sadine, she has become one of the CDC’s community liaison officers and hopes one day to expand her hair salon business into a full beauty centre.

Her advice for women in situations similar to hers is simple: “Don’t surrender and don’t accept injustice. Sometimes we view ourselves as weak creatures. Sometimes the community views women as weak creatures. But now I tell women you are strong and you have to stand up for your rights.”

Godspeed little postcards

I just got back from the post office. As I've been told post offices are difficult to find in the city, I thought it a stroke of luck that there's a huge one at the second circle, just several blocks from my apartment.

And I'm ashamed to admit it, but I have only JUST gotten around to mailing the postcards I promised to send months ago. I had bought them, written on them, but never got around to making the hike to the post office to have them sent off.

My apologies friends and family!

I suppose I was a little wary of parting with the things. I've heard that the Jordanian postal service isn't the most efficient postal service in the world and I was worried all this effort would be for naught if they didn't eventually arrive at their final destinations!

Perhaps this would have been a more efficient mailing option?

Hoping for the best, I walked into the place and handed them over. I told the lady at the desk I needed some international stamps for my postcards.

"What kind of stamp?" she asked.

"An international stamp. You know," I pointed to the box on the back of the postcard where the stamp goes, "a stamp. To get this to Canada."

"Ah ok." she said and went to work doing something on her computer.

Alright, not so bad. This may turn out ok after all.

"Please. You fill this," she said, passing a document over the counter.

I blinked at the paper before me. What was this? It looked like a UPS form you fill out when sending large parcels through express post. I shook my head and passed it back, explaining I only needed stamps for these postcards. No package was being sent.

I was perplexed as to how she concluded I needed a parcels form from the brief, simple three sentences I had spoken - one of which included a handy little demonstration with the postcard!

After a few more minutes of expressive explanation on my part, she finally got out the sticky things I had been talking about and put them on my postcards. Though, they were a bit large and she ended up wrapping it around to the front of the card too.

I recall being told once in Canada that you can't wrap a stamp around a letter, but thought to hell with it - maybe the Canadian postal workers will see it's from Jordan and take it upon themselves to be a little flexible with the rules.

As I left I thought, if only they can make it outside of the country, they should be fine. I had written CANADA in very big letters and highlighted it to avoid any kind of confusion.

Who knows, with any luck, by the time they get through the Jordanian mail and make it over to Canada those little postcards may just beat me home.

In'shallah - God willing!

Exploring the old downtown

Yesterday I finally made my trip to al balad, the old downtown of Amman. See all my photos here.

Some of the shops were closed because it was early Friday afternoon and some of the shopkeepers had not yet made it back to their stores from the morning prayers at the mosques. But the places that were open seemed enough to satisfy the shopping needs of the masses of people wandering around down there.

Colourful glass of hubbly bubbly in a window.

The streets were a beehive of activity - cars rolling by bumper to bumper, honking horns and people weaving in and out of the traffic to cross the streets. Navigating the sidewalks was like tackling an obstacle course. Broken pavement, beggars sitting all over the place, shopkeepers waiting to lure you into their stores, market goers coming at you from all angles... it was a bustling place!

I had been eagerly anticipating my trip downtown. I knew it'd be smelly and dirty and I'd be stared at, but I also knew it would provide more colour, texture and character than any trip I've taken to malls or the modern shopping areas of Amman. This place has been the life of the city for hundreds of years. I was bound to be entertained.

Herbs, grains and nuts for sale.

One of the first things I noticed when my friend Qais and I began walking around was the lack of women in the streets and shops. It was no wonder I was the subject of so much rubber-necking (def: act of turning your neck around like rubber to stare at something - usually a traffic accident). I was the only woman there!

As the day went on more women came out to shop, but all of the shopkeepers and vendors were men.

In the fruit market, a darkly-lit tented area filled with stalls selling every kind of imaginable fruit, the vendors shouted out offers, trying to best the guys selling the same thing only a few feet away. You had to be careful where you walked, in case you should happen to step on a squashed banana or any of the other discarded fruit littered all over the floor and go out like the star of some slap-stick comedy. I only nearly fell once, thank you very much.

This tented market was bursting at the seems with fresh fruit.

While downtown we tried some unusual cactus fruit (ok, unusual to ME), sugar cane juice (liquid from a stick, how does that work?) and fresh lemon juice. Yum. There were also plenty of places selling falafel sandwiches, Arabic sweets, nuts, herbs and grains.

Me and my very sweet sugar cane juice.

Tourist shops full of traditional Arabic and Jordanian wares were popular. I'm going to have to make a point to go back one day for all my gifts I'm going to be bringing back to Canada!

An Arabic sweets shop with treats I was miraculously able to resist.

We also passed by a place called "the thieves market". Apparently the name was inspired by the fact that a lot of the stuff sold there is stolen and resold. And here I thought they called it that because the deals are so good they're practically a steal!

... What, nobody finds that funny?

Downtown you'll also find tons of little shops selling pirated DVDs with movies that haven't even yet gone through the theatres. Who knows what the quality of the things are like, but at one JD a piece, I'm sure they're hot sellers.

Arabic guitars.

We also passed by little movie theatres advertising old classics like Kung Fu Master and Conan the Barbarian. It was explained to me however, that the featured films are only covers for the real X-rated films that start to play 15 minutes into the show, once theatre staff can assure there are no police authorities present.

Can you imagine the shock that would be to some poor little kid who was really hoping to see Arnold chop off the head of James Earl Jones one more time? Instead he gets Debbie does Amman.

I noticed that there were shoe stores everywhere, with pairs of shoes hanging from the doors, the canopies and displayed on racks. For those who could not afford a new pair, they could always pick through the piles of used shoes for sale in the middle of alleyways.

Used shoes in the street.

We also stopped by the Roman Amphitheatre, checked out the two associated museums and walked by the King Hussein Mosque before retiring to Books@Cafe for some lunch.

It was a nice afternoon. I didn't even mind the heat. In fact I think it's getting cooler, believe it or not. Instead of a swealtering 38, I think we're down to 37 degrees!

I think I'm the only person in Jordan looking forward to winter.

Article: Eco-lodge opens

Published in The Jordan Times, September 1, 2006

Eco-friendly lodge reopens after scorching summer

By Grace Peacock

AMMAN — Jordan’s tourism sector needs to embrace environmentally-friendly concepts to balance the need for investment with the need for environmental protection, otherwise the country’s unique ecosystems will suffer the consequences.

This is the message of the Yehya Khalid, director general of the Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature (RSCN) just days before the reopening of Wild Jordan’s Feynan Eco-lodge on Friday.

“There are two routes that tourism is travelling,” he told The Jordan Times, “one is going to the environmental way, the other unfortunately is going the other. They’re worried only about increasing capacity — considering numbers of visitors and money, not thinking about environmental issues.”

Khalid hopes to put places like RSCN’s nature reserves on the country’s tourism map.

“We need to change the mentality of the Jordan Tourism Board and show them that highlighting these places will add value to Jordan and complement the already existing tourist destinations,” he said.

Situated at the western gateway to the Dana Nature Reserve, the Feynan Eco-lodge is isolated from paved roads and electricity supplies, and all essential utilities are solar-powered.

At night, the lodge is lit by candles, creating an extraordinary spiritual atmosphere reminiscent of ancient desert monasteries.

Zaid Goussous, deputy director of Wild Jordan, says the Eco-lodge is a much more beneficial business for the area than what Feynan was known for in the past: Copper mining. It was the first place in the world where copper was smelted and at the height of its prosperity, it was supplying most of the known world with copper goods.

“This is a very important area to protect because of the copper mines. Investors have their eye on the mines all the time and we want to give an alternative employment option to the local community,” said Goussous.

“We need to show them that eco-tourism is not only better for the country but it gives back to the local community as well.”

The Feynan lodge supports local community development by recruiting staff from local bedouin tribes, and using food and supplies purchased from nearby villages. It also dedicates surplus revenue to the continued preservation of the Dana Nature Reserve.

“This is one of the few lodges in the Middle Eastern region that attempts sustainability so that it does not harm the environment,” said Goussous.

“It’s a healthy place to be for hikers and campers — it’s a good place to reenergise,” he added.

The lodge, which had its grand opening in 2005, is closed for July and August due to the extremely hot weather.