Article

2023-06-27 Israel-Palestine-Jordan

Crown prince meant to embody Jordan's future, but prospects are bleak

From a week ago, following the wedding of Jordan’s crown prince to a pretty, rich co-ed from Saudi Arabia, the country the royal family used to rule before the House of Saud stole it from them.

[AnNahar] Visitors to Jordan this month noticed a new addition to the royal portraits over highways and hospitals. The 28-year-old Crown Prince Hussein and his glamorous Saudi bride, Rajwa Alseif, now beam down at motorists stuck in Amman traffic.

Their royal wedding represented the pinnacle of the monarchy's efforts to establish Hussein as the face of Jordan's next generation — a future king who can modernize the country, slash the red tape and set loose the talents of its bulging young population. Of nearly 10 million people in Jordan, almost two-thirds are under 30.

But in the dilapidated streets of the poorer districts in the capital, Amman, and in the dusty villages of the countryside, there is little hope for change. Almost half of all young Jordanians are jobless. Those with means dream of lives abroad. Many grumble but few speak out — the government is quick to quash hints of dissent.

The story of economic pressure and political repression is common across the Middle East. Like in Egypt, Iraq and Tunisia, Jordan's once-bloated public sector has left the state with little to spend on health and education. Efforts to slow public hiring and cut subsidies have eroded the social contract that kept citizens compliant. Many blame corrupt officials — and, increasingly, the palace — for their misery.

"The base of support is fraying," said Tariq Tell, a Jordanian professor of political science at the American University of Beirut. "Hussein has a difficult task on his hands."

While June's royal wedding generated momentary excitement in Jordan, its luxurious setting and VIP guests also highlighted the vast gulf between the prince's life of privilege and the daily struggles of most Jordanians of his age.

Here are some of the young faces of Jordan, a country central to the future of the Middle East.

Four examples of bleakness at the link.

Posted by trailing wife 2023-06-27 00:00|| || Front Page|| [11129 views ] Top

#1 [BBC]Jordan's beautiful, cursed landscape

Posted by Skidmark 2023-06-27 05:25|| 2023-06-27 05:25|| Front Page Top

#2 Remember why there was a Black September movement? The urban mob, mostly Palestinian or other Arab nationality immigrant origins, were sympathizers of the PLO. The King and his Bedouin allies crushed them before they turned Jordan into another Lebanon...

Still, Jordan has few resources that don't require a lot of hard effort to make profitable and a lot of young urban males. In Sir Richard Burton's , not the actor but the 19th century British officer and explorer, book Personal Narrative of a Pilgrimage to El-Medinah and Meccah(1855) ( link to downloadable .pdfs of his extensive works!) he gives some interesting insights on the culture both Arab and Muslim pilgrims he encountered. Basically, they despised workers as inferior to warriors -- barely better than chattel slaves. Not that Sir Burton seemed an arabophobe (he saves most of his bile for 'Hindoo Indians'), he actually seems more than friendly to the Sufi version of Islam.

How do you get anywhere if you don't want to work because it is demeaning?

Posted by magpie 2023-06-27 09:22|| 2023-06-27 09:22|| Front Page Top

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