Dear Blog,
Yesterday, June 11th, everybody here in Jordan working on the JRP was busy with meetings. The first meeting of the day was at 10 A.M. with Tawfique Hasou, the Director of Research at the Jordanian Institute of Diplomacy. The JID is an institution for academic research and training, in order to "build the capacity of human resources". Most members of the group attended this extremely informative meeting. The main topic of discussion was how the Arab-Israeli conflict affects the whole region, but specifically Jordan. All of us gained a new perspective on not only this conflict but also on US involvement in the process. The Arab-Israeli conflict has become a theme of many meetings so far, and this issue is obviously very important to everybody in the Middle East.
After trying new kinds of food at Old Times Restaurant on Rainbow Street, the eight of us that attended the first meeting split up into two groups to attend two more meetings. In the afternoon, myself, Margaret, Sally, Ivette, Chas, and Mia got the opportunity to speak with Dr. Oraib Al Rantawi from the Al-Quds Center for Political Studies, an independent research institute that studies many different problems facing Jordan. Mr. Al Rantawi discussed with us at length issues ranging from security threats to Jordan to political reform challenges within Jordan. This meeting was just as informative as the first meeting of the day, and after this, the six of us headed back to the apartments to record our notes and reflections on the computer.
The refugee group was able to conduct their first interview with an Iraqi refugee today. Thanks to Ibrahim, their friend at the downtown suq whom they met last week while shopping, they went to a makha - coffeshop - nearby and spoke with an Iraqi man from Basra who came over in the 1990s. While his story was not directly related to the 2003 war, he is unable to return and laments not being able to see his family that all live in Basra. During the course of the discussion, several men joined in and left, as could be expected in such circumstances because of the customs here in the Middle East. People gave their inputs and opinions regarding everyhting from what the next US president should do to how the Palestine - Israel feud could be solved. Apparantly, the Palestinian issue is more important than what is currently happening in Iraq according to all - even the Iraqi refugee. This synchronized perfectly with the opinion that Mr. Hasou expressed at the meeting earlier today at the Institute of Diplomacy. If the Palestinian issue is solved, there would be no need for extremism and no need for the wars that chronically plague the region, as they explained. Perhaps not as simple, it is nonetheless crucial to our research to understand that Iraq is less of a dire issue, despite the level of displacement and bloodshed of the Iraqi people. Frankly, it seems rather illogical, but I suppose it reveals more a mindset and character of the people - a finding that appears no where in the literature that calls for more money, more aid, more services, and espouses cold numbers.
The group will hopefully return to Ibrahim tomorrow to speak with a young man they met at the store also, who was displaced as result of the 2003 war and who is now a UNHCR card-carrying refugee living in Jordan. The comparison with the older man they met with today would be helpful and hopefully he will be able to lead them to further contacts and stories. In sha'allah.
The refugee group was able to conduct their first interview with an Iraqi refugee today. Thanks to Ibrahim, their friend at the downtown suq whom they met last week while shopping, they went to a makha - coffeshop - nearby and spoke with an Iraqi man from Basra who came over in the 1990s. While his story was not directly related to the 2003 war, he is unable to return and laments not being able to see his family that all live in Basra. During the course of the discussion, several men joined in and left, as could be expected in such circumstances because of the customs here in the Middle East. People gave their inputs and opinions regarding everyhting from what the next US president should do to how the Palestine - Israel feud could be solved. Apparantly, the Palestinian issue is more important than what is currently happening in Iraq according to all - even the Iraqi refugee. This synchronized perfectly with the opinion that Mr. Hasou expressed at the meeting earlier today at the Institute of Diplomacy. If the Palestinian issue is solved, there would be no need for extremism and no need for the wars that chronically plague the region, as they explained. Perhaps not as simple, it is nonetheless crucial to our research to understand that Iraq is less of a dire issue, despite the level of displacement and bloodshed of the Iraqi people. Frankly, it seems rather illogical, but I suppose it reveals more a mindset and character of the people - a finding that appears no where in the literature that calls for more money, more aid, more services, and espouses cold numbers.
The group will hopefully return to Ibrahim tomorrow to speak with a young man they met at the store also, who was displaced as result of the 2003 war and who is now a UNHCR card-carrying refugee living in Jordan. The comparison with the older man they met with today would be helpful and hopefully he will be able to lead them to further contacts and stories. In sha'allah.
--Zack and Piyali
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