Global Voices » Jordan

Jordan: The Gay Husband

Amira Al Hussaini — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 08:33:13 +0000

The Arab Observer, from Jordan, posts a letter he got from a reader who discovered that her husband was gay.

Video Highlights: Music, Indigenous Initiatives, Indignation and Wonder

Juliana Rincón Parra — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 04:44:07 +0000

This section aims to showcase interesting and recent posts in Global Voices that show the many ways in which videos are helping people tell stories all around the world. You can follow the activity by regions in our YouTube channel or by clicking on the regional header links.

Music and Indigenous Initiatives

Latin America

Brazil: Cultural Debate as ‘Oh if I Catch You' Song Goes Global

Music has spurred an ongoing debate in Brazil, as netizens realize they have a new cultural ambassador which they may not have chosen themselves. In this case, it is Michel Teló's song ‘Ai se eu te pego‘ which not only became the rhythm played over and over during the end of the year festivities, but has also crossed borders, even getting its own versions in English, Polish and Dutch.

Peru: Cápac Raymi, The Andean Christmas

In Peru, the Incan culture is still alive in most of the Andean region, and Christmas is a time when they have united their pre-Columbian traditions with the later Christian festivities. The festival of Capac Raymi takes place in December coinciding with the Winter Solstice and honors the Sun. Although the holiday is no longer observed as it was during the reign of the Incas, it has transformed into an Andean Christmas, where Christmas choirs sing in Quechua with Andean musical instruments and dances:

Another strong cultural group in Peru is the Afro-Peruvian community and they have also left their mark in how Peruvians celebrate Christmas:

Peru: Afro-Peruvian Christmas Music

The song “Black Christmas” by Cesar Calvo is a lament, where they sing to Baby Jesus who was born in a manger, but with a slight difference, he is black as the people surrounding him:

Washed by the night
Just like you and me
Born among blacks
the Baby Jesus.

Don't come down, Baby,
from your altar,
lest the master
has you whipped.

Venezuela: The Essence of African Music in Videos

African heritage in Venezuela has also strongly influenced the music, and online video is being used to spread the knowledge of the African Diaspora and Afro-Venezuelan Caribbean culture.

From Canada comes a video journalist with a project: To visit one country per week and to record the stories of under-reported minorities.

Video: One Year, One World and 52 Different Stories

So far she is still raising funds for this one year journey where she would be recording, editing and producing short documentaries from the road. A short video of her visit with the Embera indigenous communities in Panama gives us a promising look into the type of content she'd be delivering once her project takes off:

Video: Online Media by and for Indigenous People

Check out the list of 12 recommended films on indigenous issues that Indigenous Cry shared.

Indignation

In Guatemala, indignation has overwhelmed citizens after investigative journalism uncovered that the President of the Chamber of Agriculture of that country had children under 14 years of age working in his sugar cane fields. Cane cutting is considered very physically demanding even for adults, and the conditions under which the cane cutters work contrast with the growth of the sugar industry.

Guatemala: Child Labor in the Sugar Cane Fields

The video, made under the guise of a photographic project to make portraits using an old fashioned camera shows the workers, including children who work long days without even making minimum wage:

In Brazil, the indignation has been caused by the violent forced evictions in what is being called a massacre:

Brazil: “Massacre of Pinheirinho” Causes an Uproar

Urbanist and UN Special Rapporteur Raquel Rolnik reported:

Thousands of men, women, children and elderly residents of the Pinheirinho occupation are surprised by a siege consisting of helicopters, armored vehicles and more than 1,800 armed men of the military police. In addition to the exits of the occupation being blocked, the water, electricity and telephone were cut, and the order was for families to gather to begin the process of retreat. Determined to resist - as the repossession had been suspended on Friday - the residents did not accept the command, initiating a dramatically violent situation that lasted all day and that has resulted in homeless families, people injured, arrests and rumors, including of the existence of fatalities.

East Asia

Hong Kong residents are becoming outraged: the cultural clashes have citizens and bloggers in a tense situation where any event is cause for fury:

China and Hong Kong: Train Scuffle Ignites Cross-Border Fury

Hong Kong Rethinks its Relationship with Mainland China

While bloggers in Hong Kong complain about their stretched resources and bubble economy, seeing the mainlanders as the intruders and sharing music videos where Mainland Chinese are compared to locusts, others such as Grey Reporter see both parties as victims of the system:

Actually, Hong Kongers and mainlanders share the same destiny – to end the authoritarian rule of the Chinese Communist Party and the collusion between the rich and the powerful.

Wonder

Middle East & North Africa

Jordan: Let it Snow

Snow in Jordan had people whipping out their mobile phones and documenting the long awaited snow fall, even if it didn't stick.

But in case you are in a place where the snow does stick, what about checking out the video tutorial on how to build an igloo with just snow and a knife?

Eastern and Central Europe

CEE: A “Safe House” and an Igloo

Jordan: Let it Snow

Ali Alhasani — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 08:39:47 +0000

The long awaited white visitor has arrived to Jordan, after a couple of dry cold fronts it came and quickly melted. It didn't even accumulate but it brought in lots of joy and happiness to people eager for it.

As soon as it started snowing in the mountainous regions of Jordan (around 1,000 meters above sea level), a flow of tweets and Facebook posts, along with photographs and videos, started making the rounds on social media. In Jordan, citizen journalism plays it's role very well since almost everyone owns a smart phone connected to the Internet at all times.

Netizens were not only commenting on the snow and weather, but giving their followers updates on traffic caused by snow as well as warnings of slippery roads here and there.

Hanin Abu-Shamat, @HaninSh, tweeted this photograph of snow falling in her area in Amman:

Snow in Amman, Jordan. Photo credit: Hanin Abu Shamat, shared on Twitpic

Elwan Bader, @kharooof tweeted this picture from Queen Rania Street in Amman, aka University Street:

A photograph of snow on Queen Rania Street in Amman. Photo shared on Twitter by Alwan Bader

@BaselAnabtawi lives in Dubai, UAE, and he tweeted this picture on behalf of his sister who lives in Amman:

Man, the view from our house in Amman! It's snowing .. My sister just sent me this! Mashallah, enjoy it #amman

Snow from Basel Anabtawi sister's house in Amman, Jordan. Photo shared on Twitter

The photograph tweeted by Dima Haddadin (@Haddadin) of a young man directing traffic in one of Amman's traffic lights after it broke down gave Jordanians online a sense of pride of how the everyday citizens can help solve a big problem such as traffic. People talked about the photograph and shared it on all social networks:

A young Jordanian directs traffic after the traffic sign broke down. Photo shared by Dima Haddadin on yfrog

Netizens also shared numerous videos of snowfall across Jordan. Here are videos I shared on YouTube showing snow falling in two different areas in Amman:

All in all, snow brings joy and happiness to the people of Jordan and hope that the upcoming cold fronts would bring more snow to the lower areas in Amman, which fall below 1,000m above sea level.

Jordan: Alternative Voices on the World Economic Forum

Nadine Toukan — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 18:10:52 +0000

This post is part of our special coverage #Occupy Worldwide.

From October 21 to 23, 2011, Jordan hosted the World Economic Forum's (WEF) Special Meeting on Economic Growth and Job Creation in the Arab World at the Dead Sea. Jordan has had a long relationship with the World Economic Forum (WEF) since the mid-1990s, and a range of projects have been associated with the forum over the years with lots of glamor and hype.

This year as the Arab world continues to awaken and reshape its existence, a vocal and alternative narrative is growing, taking stock of such WEF associated projects in light of Jordan and the region's current challenges.

Over the past few days, I joined forces with an independent group of Jordanians and we co-authored a post published on the WEF's blog titled ‘Voices from Jordan: An Alternative Narrative‘ where we question Jordan's performance and track record with the WEF.

Through embracing a paradigm that strips economics of its political context, glazes over crucial issues with superficial platitudes, and fails to deliver, the economic dogmas of the past thirty years, promoted at institutions like the World Economic Forum (WEF), have failed to regulate markets or ensure equitable and sustainable economic growth.
As a group of Jordanians whose country frequently hosts the World Economic Forum, we have been reflecting on this involvement. Several critical issues arise: Click to read full post.

Participants captured during the Future of Libya session during the World Economic Forum Special Meeting. Image by Flickr user World Economic Forum (CC BY-SA 2.0).

On Twitter, Farah Ghniem, asks:

It doesn't matter that Jordan is full of people with potential. Everywhere is. What matters: why does the system fail them? #OccupyWEF #WEF

Urban activist, Raghda Butros, takes stock:

An education initiative was launched in ‘03 with #WEF. Today the quality of education in Jordan is in sharp decline. #OccupyWEF

Economist Ibrahim Saif shared his lack of conviction:

I am not very encouraged about the WEF and what it offers to the marginalized, there is a need for a new thinking. That won't come from WEF.

While attending the entrepreneurship lunch, Dina Shoman, head of branding at the Arab Bank tweeted:

10 years of discussion on #entrepreneurship there is a failure to launch from regulatory and governments side #wef #jo

Her Highness Princess Ghida Talal, chairperson of the King Hussein Cancer Foundation commented and couldn't resist retweeting:

Too funny and too true not to RT “@ThorayaER: Schwab at #WEF introducing all Their Excellencies. So many Excellencies, so little excellence!”

For more reactions, join the conversation on Twitter camped on the hashtags #WEF and #OccupyWEF, and on the WEF blog.

This post is part of our special coverage #Occupy Worldwide.

Jordan: New Government, Expectations and Hope!

Ali Alhasani — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 14:35:49 +0000

Jordan saw the appointment of a new prime minister today after the majority of parliamentarians sent a letter to King Abdullah, pointing out grievances with Dr Marouf Bakhit's government. Bakhit submitted his resignation, which was accepted by the King.

In addition to the MPs letter, Bakhit's ouster was the result of widespread anti-government protests which have been taking place in the kingdom since his appointment. Replacing Marouf Bakhit is Awn Khasawneh, an international judge.

Netizens have already reacted to today's fast paced developments on Twitter. Jordanian Fadi Samara expressed his disappointment with the constant reshuffling in cabinet positions.

@Fadisamara: Woke up to a new Government in #Jordan. Who is this Khasawneh? When will this destructive reshuffling act stop?

Mohammad Abandah is happy and optimistic with the changes. He noted [ar]:

أنا سعيد ومتفائل جدا بتعيين دولة عون الخصاونة رئيسا للوزارء في الأردن فهو شخص شريف مثقف ومشهود له بالإخلاص للوطن الحق والعدالة

@MoAbandah: I'm happy and very optimistic because Awn Khasawnah was appointed Prime Minister in Jordan, he's a honorable person, educated and known for his loyalty to the homeland and to the truth and justice.

Ghiya Rushidat is loving the suspense accompanying all what's going on in the Jordanian political scene. She remarked:

@GhiyaRushidat: Love the suspense of new government & anticipate ministry of culture, education, foreign affairs, interior & social development

Naseem Tarawnah wanted more changes. He said:

@tarawnah: I wonder if aside from these senior positions, whether we'll see massive overhaul of middle-management in Jordan's public sector.

And Anas H. Natour was surprised. He tweeted [ar]:

والله ما نمت غير ساعتين .. صحيت البلد كلها مقلوبة

@AnasNatour: I swear i only slept 2 hours, i woke up finding that the country is upside down!

Thumbnail image of Jordan flag by Flickr user Argenberg (CC BY 2.0).

Jordan: Prince Hassan Joins Twitter!

Ali Alhasani — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 18:29:46 +0000

Jordan's Prince Hassan joins Twitter, much to the delight of many Jordanian tweeps. He is the son of the late King Talal and Queen Zein al-Sharaf and brother of the late King Hussein and uncle of the present King Abdullah II.

The Jordanian royal, who was Crown Prince from 1965 to 1999, is the third member of the royal family to go on Twitter. The other high profile relatives are Queen Noor Al Hussein, King Hussein's widow, and Queen Rania Al Abdullah, King Abdullah's wife.

Prince Hassan was popular among Jordanian tweeps, who had taken to tweeting his appearances on television and whenever he speaks in public. Now he has taken the plunge and joins the Jordanian Twitterati.

Prince Hassan of Jordan

akrumidrees tweets [ar] the reasons why he is happy Prince Hassan has joined Twitter:

لأنك ترى رجلا يستحق الإحترام يعي ما يقول ويواكب روح العصر ونهجه المعرفي تركة للأردن بأكمله

Because you see a man who deserves respect; he realises what he is talking about and is tune with the spirit of this era and knowledge. He is an asset to Jordan.

Ahead of his appearance on AmmanTT (Amman Tech Tuesdays) where the Prince was scheduled to give a session about “Continuity, Innovation and Change: Building a Knowledge Economy,” he created his Twitter account (@HRHPrinceHassan), which attracted hundreds of followers within hours.

The prince announced on his official Facebook page that he's entering the world of Twitter:

So after hearing and reading a lot about twitter, i was prevailed upon to open an account… please bear with me: https://twitter.com/#!/HRHPrinceHassan @HRHPrinceHassan

Prince Hassan's official Twitter account

When followed by Prince Hassan, YazAmro tweeted:

This is the greatest email I ever received: (HRH Prince El Hassan (@HRHPrinceHassan) is now following you on Twitter!) may God bless you YRH.

wara23inab was also happy, she tweeted:

Heartfelt welcome to your Highness @HRHPrinceHassan, so delighted to have the chance to interact with you in this virtual yet intimate space.

RHammouri said:

it is great to be able to read your thoughts here your highness, this gives a better meaning for twitter. thank you sir.

Arab World: RIP Steve Jobs

Amira Al Hussaini — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 08:11:58 +0000

The Arab world is mourning the death of Steve Jobs, Apple's visionary leader. Tributes are pouring in via social media as netizens wake up to the news.

From Saudi Arabia, Aziz Shalan tweets [ar]:

شكراً ستيف، ماقدمتة لنا ليس منتجات ربحية، بل فرصة لتغير عالمنا #Stevejobs #StevejobsAR

@Azizshalan: Thank you Steve. What you gave us is not profit-based products but an opportunity to transform our lives

RIP Steve Jobs. Image by Flickr user noppyfoto1 (CC BY 2.0).

Egyptian Ahmed Naguib notes:

@ahmednaguib: The Internet today is all about Steve Jobs. That's how influential he was. #SteveJobs

And Shaden Fawaz, also from Egypt, adds:

@shadenfawaz: “Steve Jobs was born out of wedlock, put up for adoption at birth, dropped out of college, then changed the world. What's your excuse?”

From the UAE, Saleh Al Braik writes:

@FearlessinDubai: #ThankYouSteve for giving my generation the motivation to never give up on our dreams. #RIPSteveJobs

But if religion was not imposed into this, it wouldn't be the Middle East.

Egyptian Bassem Sabry informs us [ar]:

شخص شبه معروف على تويتر كتب تويت بيطالب المسلمين بعدم الحزن او الدعاء لستيف جوبز لأنه غير مسلم. المهم انه كتب تلك التويت من iphone…

@Bassem_Sabry: Someone semi-famous tweets calling on Muslims not to be sad or pray for the soul of Steve Jobs because he is not Muslim. What is important is that he sent his tweet from an iPhone

Dalia exclaims:

@Daloosh: Dear #Salafi: if you're going to tweet a fatwa against mourning Steve Jobs then for the love of God don't do it from an Iphone. #RIDICULOUS

For Jordanian blogger Roba Al Assi, the loss is more personal. She blogs:

A while ago, a friend asked me if I would ever cry over a celebrity death. I said, “Of course I would not”.

But this morning, I woke up to the terrible news of Steve Job’s passing.

And I cried.

Steve wasn’t a celebrity. He was a man who changed the world.

I didn’t just cry over the loss of a brilliant man. I also cried over death. Death by cancer. Death by liver cancer. And he was only 56. I don’t think I ever mentioned it here, but we lost our father three years ago to liver cancer as well. It was sudden. He was only 53. Another brilliant, kind man, lost forever.

RIP Steve Jobs.

Jordan: MPs Wage Battle Against the Youth

Nadine Toukan — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 18:29:04 +0000

This week's House of Representatives parliament sessions in Amman, Jordan, have been the center of public discontent, especially among the youth community. One topic open for discussion was a proposed constitutional amendment to lower the eligibility age required to run for parliament from 30 to 25 years. True to form, 20 MPs were absent, 49 MPs voted in favor of the proposed amendment, while 49 rejected it, and 2 abstained. A loud and heated debate took place under the dome around this proposal, where some MPs expressed strong disapproval to support the engagement of a younger age group in a country where 70% of the population is under 30 years of age. The amendment did not pass.

Ahmad Zatari summarized some of the offensive comments from the MPs:

علي الخلايلة “شباب الحراك تقودهم أمريكا وفرنسا وتحركهم بإرادتها، كما قال أثناء التصويت على سن 25 عاماً للترشح “ما ظل بالخم إلا ممعوط الذنب

@AhmadZatari: Ali Khalayleh: the active youth are being mobilized by the US and France who manipulate them as they wish.

And he commented on the proposed minimum age of 25:

“None left in the coop but the unfeathered chicks” (Arabic idiom that means none left but the dregs of society)

النائب محمد الذويب بمداخلته خلال التصويت على سن 25 عاماص للترشح بقوله “ما بدنا يجونا سكرانين

@AhmadZatari:
MP Mohammad Thweib's intervention while voting on the proposed minimum age of 25 said: “we don't want them to come in drunk”

Hazem Zureikat, a Jordanian transport planner and economist, tweeted the intervention of another MP:

طلال الفاعور: ” هؤلاء حديثو السن وعديمي الخبرة .. وموجهون من فرنسا والغرب ؟؟ هؤلاء صغار لا خبرة عندهم

@hazem: Talal AlFaour: those are young in age and inexperienced…motivated by France and the west…they are young without experience.

And this Jordanian, whose Twitter handle means the facade of corruption, asked:

لماذا يستسهلون اهانة شعب باكمله او جيل كامل و لكن يخافون حتى من انتقاد رجل واحد او امرأة واحدة في صنع القرار

@FacadeAlFasad: Why do they easily insult an entire nation or generation, however fear and refrain from criticizing a single male or female decision maker?

Ahmad Alhuwwari joked:

خبر عاجل: تأسيس جمعية ممعوطين بلا حدود، فمن يرغب بالاشتراك يعمل ريتويت

@huwwary: Breaking: we're establishing an unfeathered chicks without borders society, if interested in joining please retweet :)

And the Palestinian poet and author, Mourid Barghouti, tweeted a question I often wonder about myself when I hear youth bashing:

عدو الممعوطين كيف يعامل أبناءه؟

@MouridBarghouti: This enemy of the unfeathered chicks, how does he treat his own children?

A photograph of a sign held by a young Jordanian from the protest outside the parliament yesterday. The sign reads: If the whole world is against me, I'm an unfeathered chick. I love a challenge. Photo by @eman on Twitter.

Ahmad Zatari tweeted about an organized protest:

إذا شعرت بالإهانة من النواب، انضم/ي إلى اعتصام اليوم أمام المجلس، الساعة 5:30

@AhmadZatari: If you felt offended by the MPs, join the protest September 22 in front of Parliament, 5:30pm.

Activist Eman Jaradat mocked:

هل انت سكران و ممعوط و موجه من امريكا و فرنسا؟ اذا كنت فتاة هل انت مفرعة ايضا؟ و بتنزلي على المظاهرة مع صاحبك؟ اذن انت شاب اردني

@eman: Are you drunk, an unfeathered chick, influenced by the US and France? Are you a bare armed female? Do you go out to protests with your boyfriend? Then you are a Jordanian youth.

Batir Wardam, an environmental communicator, asked:

هل يمكن أن نستنتج من تعليق النائب المحترم حول “ممعوط الذنب” أن مجلس النواب هو خم؟

@batirw: Can we deduct from the respectable MP's comment about the unfeathered chicks that the House of Representatives is a coop?

Aya Almusa spoke out against the offense:

يجب حل الخم الذي أهان جيل بكامله بوصفهم ممعوطين الذنب. هيك نواب ما بمثلوا حدا

@Andareee: We must dissolve the coop that insulted an entire generation calling them unfeathered chicks. These MPs do not represent anyone.

And the pièce de résistance is that the House of Representatives decided to delete the insults from the session's minutes, offering an apology. Deleted from the minutes, perhaps, while videos on the Internet like this JordanDays recording (video Ar) ensure that authentic, untampered, archived documentation lives on.

Syria: World Cities Rally Against and For Bashar

Thalia Rahme — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 22:23:19 +0000

This post is part of our special coverage Syria Protests 2011.

As the death toll in Syria increases, the International Community is running out of patience and hardening its tone against Syrian president Bashar Al Assad demanding for change and reforms. Abroad the diaspora has also been involved actively since the beginning of the protests in March 2011. Almost all cities around the world have witnessed rallies and demonstrations, some asking Assad to leave, and others declaring their dying love for him.

From San Francisco (11 June, 2011) and Chicago (July 3), to Washington DC ( 23 July), the US capital, where people chanted: ‘‘Leave Leave Bashar” in front of the White House; almost all big cities in the US witnessed opposition gatherings manifesting their solidarity with the people of Daraa, Homs and Deir el Zor among others.

Here is video uploaded by AhmedIbnAlsham on August 6, where protesters where carrying a poster representing Hafez and Bashar Al Assad and written on it: ”Like father, like son”:

Assad also has his supporters in the US like in California (April 3). Chicago too, held another pro-regime rally on April 3 and June 10 while defenders of the regime met in front of the United Nations Headquarters in New York (May 1) to assert their love to their leader.

Wave of rallies hit Latin America as well. On June 26, Syrians in Santiago, Chile, chanted “El Pueblo Quiere Bashar el Assad” or ”The People Want Bashar Al Assad”, as we can see in this footage by Zaizuni:

We move to Europe and start with London (June 18) where Syrians called Assad an assassin, to Brussels (July 23), the headquarters of the European Parliament, to Milano in Italy (12 and 17 July). There, potesters, it seems, are no longer satisfied with reforms or even the call for the toppling of the regime. They want to bring it to trial.

Here's a video by Hazem Daoudi, taken in Geneva on August 6, Switzerland, facing the UN Headquarters:

France which is home to a large Syrian community has been witnessing continuous demonstrations, like in Strasbourg on 2 and 16 July, and this two-week sit-in, facing Place du Châtelet in Paris. YouTube user Mesudh75, posts this video showing a peaceful protest in front of the Syrian consulate and the Syrian Cultural Center in Paris:

In Germany, people took to the streets in Leipzig (July 7), Berlin (July 23) and Bonn on August 6 and August 8, not to forget Munich where on that same day, where this video from HutaafElhurriyyeh shows Germans showing solidarity with Syrians and singing the Syrian National Anthem:

Close to Munich, in Vienna, Austria, another protest took place, where this footage was taken and posted by AhmadSouri during a demo on August 9, in front of the Syrian Embassy:

Anti-Bashar protests also took place in Ukraine (April 22) Romania (June 30), Russia (July 31) and Greece (August 2), calling for the end of fascism:

In Turkey, protesters gathered in front of the Iranian embassy in Istanbul on August 5, denouncing the Islamic Republic stance towards the protest. They were joined on August 7, by members of the Felicity or Saadet party in front of the Syrian Consulate as we can see in this video by khaled111h:

But Assad can also rely on his supporters in Europe, who consider him as the only guarantee for stability and security in Syria. The streets of Paris, France, witnessed severaldemonstrations on June 11 and July 3 , 4 11 and 12 .

Diaspora in Odessa, Ukraine, flew balloons with the Syrian flag on June 4 for Assad. Others marched on June 6 in Kazan City in Russia for the same reason.

Syrians in Armenia also portrayed their support to their president on March 2011:

Despite the turmoil and unrest in the Arab world, and its own inner revolution, its capitals were keen on showing their solidarity and compassion with the Syrians.

This is Tunis on August 6, in a video by wadoodfreesyrian where people were chanting:” Syria is Free! Bashar get out!”:

In Egypt on August 1, OmawiTV shows angry people following the Hama Massacre and calling for the expulsion of the Syrian Ambassador:

In Lebanon, the situation is a bit delicate due to the complex relation between both countries. Quite often, opponents and loyalists of the Damascus regime clashed and the army had to intervene to separate both parties. The latest rally in solidarity with the Syrian people was held on Monday, August 8 in Martyrs Square in Beirut. This was a gathering which was attended by a lot of intellectuals, journalists and activists among which we note the presence of prominent Lebanese composer and singer Marcel Khalife. You can check Mahmoud Ghazayel's photos of the event, on Facebook.

Participants were chanting “This a shout from Lebanon - Calling for Human Rights”:

Jordanians conducted Taraweeh, the nightly Ramadan prayers, on August 2 in front of the Syrian Embassy as we can see in this video taken directly from the scene of events by Basemaggad. Bassem recorded another video in August 8 too.

Similar rallies took places in the Gulf monarchies cities, like in Jeddah, in Saudi Arabia, on August 8, where we can hear people shouting “Syria is for us and not for the Assad Family”:

Here is another video from Jeddah at night on the same day by hama19822011:

In Kuwait (August 5 and 7) and Bahrain (August 5, 8 and 9, protesters are demanding the expulsion of Syrian Ambassador from both respective countries and the freezing of the bilateral ties with Damascus. Protests were attended by several political figures and members of both parliaments.

This video by daraahoran shows people in Kuwait in front of Syrian Embassy, calling for the overthrow of the Baath party.

Syrians and Bahrainis rallied in Manama on August 9, chanting“Daraa, we're with you, till death !”

We conclude our round up in the Australian continent, where seems the Assad opponents and partisans also voiced their support and vice versa.

In Auckland, New Zealand, approximately 200 people gathered in protest against the regime for killing innocent Syrian civilians on July 30.

Demonstrations were also held in Sydney, Australia, on August 2 against the regime:

In another demonstration in Sydney on April 3, protested to say that ”Bashar is the best president in the whole Middle East and the world there will be no one like him”.

Protests against the Syrian regime, are penciled in for London, Paris and Tunis tomorrow (August 13).

This post is part of our special coverage Syria Protests 2011.

Thumbnail and featured image ‘Protest to support Syrian opposition at State Department - Berlin', by Thorsten Strasas, copyright Demotix (06/08/11).

Jordan: Photos and Audio of July 15 Protest

Nadine Toukan — Sun, 17 Jul 2011 23:47:45 +0000

Reform protests in Amman picked up some heat on Friday after a relatively quiet few weeks. Here's a summary of part of the day as witnessed by Lina Ejeilat, multimedia journalist, co-founder and editor-in-chief of the Jordanian citizen-media platform 7iber.com.

Jordan: King Abdullah Shares His Vision for Reform

Nadine Toukan — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 12:04:41 +0000

In a much needed speech during tense times, His Majesty King Abdullah II of Jordan spoke to the country Sunday night about national unity, reform, priorities and his vision.

The Jordanian monarch stated clearly that the country would move to a constitutional, elected government, and pledged to forge forward with democratic political and economic reform, guaranteeing fairness and transparency of the electoral process. Actions will be implemented based on the recommendations of the National Dialogue Committee.

Jordanians have been wanting to hear the King speak directly with them, especially after ongoing protests that started six months ago, escalating frustrations, and a general communication breakdown between the government and citizens that has left a gaping void in leadership narrative.

Here's the complete televised speech of His Majesty King Abdullah of Jordan [ar]:

Jordanians were quick to share their reactions on the speech on social networking sites Twitter and Facebook. Here is a snap shot of some of the reactions.

Salah tweeted:

خطاب جلالة الملك موجهة للكل من حكومة وشعب وجهات التنفيذية وتشريعية وقضائية ليقوم كل واحد بدوه على اكمل وجه .فلنبدأ بأنفسنا

The King's speech is addressed to the government, people, executive, legislative and judicial branches so that we each deliver our part. Let's start with ourselves.

Blogger JawazSafar live tweeted quotes from the speech:

HMK Abdullah: A Parliament with an active political parties presence & with a majority to form a government.
HMK Abdullah: We'll ensure applying the outputs of National Dialogue committee in regard of Elections & Parties laws #ReformJO

Also quoting from the speech, printmaker _yaz shared:

HMK Abdullah: nationality is based on loyalty to the country not origin nor religion. RT @JawazSafar

ZeinKF picked up on the King's emphasis on women's rights:

1 of the best points of HM speech is how he highlighted woman rights.Where can u find that? Next to #JO they can't even drive #ReformJo

Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh tweeted:

Address to the nation by HM King Abdullah ll. Clear roadmap for political, economic and social reform. HM himself leads the process.

From the Facebook group “Le Café Politique - Amman” Engineer Faris Ghawi commented:
(screen shot taken with permission)

FadiSamara was not content:

Why is everyone that pleased with HM's speech? Nothing we haven't heard before. Didn't feel the passion to #reformJO!!!

And Jamal_Bat felt some exclusion:

The King's vision? I think we're grown up enough to have our own vision. Gov & king should be working on people's vision not other way around.

MohannedA did not find anything new in the speech:

رأيي المتواضع:لا جديد في الخطاب..لم تكن هناك مفاجأت سوى أن الخطاب كان خالي من أي مفاجآت..تقريبا نفس العموميات والمحتوى لخطابات الملك السابقة

In my humble opinion, there is nothing new…No ground breaking announcements..Along the themes of previous speeches over the last 12 years.

JawazSafar replied:

@Hazem @MohannedA not even this “تشكيل حكومات على أساس الأغلبية النيابية الحزبية” ? its not a surprise i know but its good to be there

future cabinets will be formed according to an elected parliamentary majority

HaithamAbulfoul quoted His Majesty:

King's Address: I favour no one individual or group in the family or differentiate between them. I am one of you, and I am all for you #Jo

LumaQ highlighted:

HM King Abdullah speaks of rumours, and how they effect our country,and that rumours on corruption and defamation are unacceptable.

Nostalgic yasmeeneh tweeted about missing HM King Hussein:

I miss King Hussein's speeches. the beautiful accent, the strong voice, the comfort and love we felt with him. R.I.P your majesty

And geek RaniDababneh shared:

Direct words by #KingAbdullah (على الوجع) I wish gov & people will take it into action now! Loved King Hussein pic in background

Lawyer Nasser Khasawneh tweeted a call for action:

The promise of a parliamentary government in King's speech is a major step forward. It's now time to set a clear timetable.

The complete English transcript of His Majesty's speech is available on this link at the Jordan Times.

King Abdullah's speech was delivered on the evening of June 12 marking the anniversary of the Great Arab Revolt, Army Day and Coronation Day.

Jordan: Debating Economic Policies and the Road to Reform

Nadine Toukan — Sat, 28 May 2011 09:31:53 +0000

The state of Jordan's economy, specifically discussing economic policies since 1989 and the national debt, were the highlight of the 7iber #HashtagDebates. Held at Makan House in Amman, the conversation hosted prominent Jordanian economists Ibrahim Saif and Yusuf Mansur, and was streamed with aramram.com for an online audience. The 7iber #HashtagDebates are part of a vital and ongoing conversation on reforms in Jordan.

Here's a summary of the conversation from Twitter:

Mahmoudhomsi notes:

Awesome from the beginning no bullshit Ibrahim Saif says we are in the same situation as 89! (The 1989 economic crisis in Jordan)

Linashannak adds:

Dr Saif: if the state seeks to impose taxes, then it should be held accountable.

And hazem continues:

@ymansur: Since 1990, public sector employment has been increasing at about 6% a year

tarawnah reports:

Seems government spends more on employee salaries than paying down the debt. What a vicious circle. @ymansur

hazem tweets:

@ymansur: 70% of govt expenditures go to salaries. Capital expenditures rely primarily on foreign aid.

and tarawnah continues:

We are one of the few countries where sales tax is higher than income tax. @ymansur

rimasaifi quotes Dr Saif saying:

Dr Saif: in order to pay back debt, state tends to reduce expenditures on education & health

hazem adds:

The 800-pound guerrilla: Defense & security expenditures - higher than exp on education, health & infrastructure combined.

And tarawnah continues:

@Ibrasaif touching on the lack of transparency & ability for parliament to discuss expenditure on security apparatus.

hazem adds:

@ibrasaif: Private sector also partly to blame. Much of that sector has gotten used to relying on govt ‘grants'.

Meanwhile, Ayman Rashdan asks:

why do we want to the government do everything for us while we sit back and wait, the private sector is more to blame

And hazem quotes Mansur:

@ymansur talks about the “superman model”, in which we put more trust in individuals rather than institutions.

Back to Saif, tarawnah quotes:

If you want to see an economically competitive #JO, you need an educational system that yields capable people - @Ibrasaif

And tallouza asks:

Is there any danger on the Jordanian dinar…devaluation in particular?

Yusuf Mansur expressed his confidence in the Jordanian Dinar, pointing to his recent analysis posted at UrdunMubdi3, “Nowadays, the dinar could not be safer.”

On the issue of corruption which has erupted over the recent months in Jordan, @ymansur shared:

lina18

هناك مبالغة في الحديث عن الفساد ولكنها مبالغة مشروعة بسبب غياب المعلومة الدقيقة

There is exaggeration when speaking of corruption, but this exaggeration is inevitable in the absence of accurate information.

Lina18

@Ibrasaif we don't want to wait till there's an imminent threat

tarawnah

We criticize because we want reform & a better situation. We need to start accepting it as being good for the country said @ymansur

May 25th, is Jordan's Independence Day, and 7iber's fourth anniversary. The #HashtagDebates ended with an invite from Naseem Tarawnah, one of the 7iber founders:

Wrapping up the #HashtagDebates for the night. For those of you here, stick around for some cake to celebrate our 4th anniversary :) #JO

yshomali concludes the event with a birthday wish:

Also Happy Birthday @7iber and thanks for organizing a great discussion today #hashtagdebates.

Technology for Transparency: Final Report

Renata Avila — Sun, 22 May 2011 22:20:18 +0000

The Technology for Transparency Network is proud to announce the release of its final report, Global mapping of technology for transparency and accountability.

The report is being published by the Transparency and Accountability Initiative (@TAInitiative) along with a over a dozen other reports on the global transparency movement. The reports focus on three key research areas: Impact and Learning, New Technologies, and Policy Innovations.

Many thanks go to the Transparency and Accountability Initiative for supporting our work, to our amazing team of researchers, and to David Sasaki, who launched and directed the initial phase of the Technology for Transparency Network, which laid the groundwork for this report.

Get the report

Executive Summary

This report contains the key findings from having reviewed more than 100 projects and having interviewed dozens of practitioners in Central and Eastern Europe, East Asia, Latin America, the Middle East and North Africa, South Asia, Southeast Asia, the former Soviet Union, and Sub-Saharan Africa who use new technologies as a means to increase transparency and accountability. This summary helps to ‘take the pulse‘ of the Technology for Transparency and Accountability movement and suggests both exciting possibilities for scaling impact as well as important caveats and challenges.

For practitioners in the transparency and accountability space, it is useful to frame the potential for leveraging technology towards transparency and accountability initiatives in at least four ways:

Bringing projects and interventions to scale.
Bringing citizens closer to the policymaking process through new and improved channels of participation as well as citizen monitoring of government.
Identifying policy priorities and service delivery challenges through ‘data mashing‘ and other visualisation and data manipulation techniques of both government and private datasets.
Improving the efficiency of civil society organisations working in the transparency and accountability space through adoption of best practice technology platforms.

Additional Findings

The majority of projects we studied focus on the executive or legislative branches of government. A smaller number of projects focus on the judicial branch, the media, the private sector, and donors.

Nearly half of the projects focus on monitoring elections. While many of these use Ushahidi, some have developed their own approaches, including aggregating elections news from multiple sources on a single site and tracking official election monitors’ reports on Google Maps.

Projects in multiple regions focus on transparency in the legislature, often tracking legislative bills and posting profiles for each representative that include biographies and voting records. Some also include profiles of political parties or records of legislative spending.

Data visualization and navigation tools are a key feature in more than half of the projects we documented, as are diverse forms of data collection from citizens. Approximately one third of the projects use mobile phones in some way, most commonly by allowing citizens to submit or receive information via text messages.

What's next?

The Technology for Transparency Network website will remain open as a place where we can share projects, tools, and ideas, as a meeting point for successful initiatives and those who want to learn from the work others have done. You can subscribe to our mailing list, read or contribute with specialized articles on Global Voices Online, and follow us on Twitter (@techtransparent) and Facebook. This field is just beginning to emerge, and we look forward to helping nurture global efforts through collaboration and communication across borders.

Jordan: Debating a Possible GCC Union

Betsy Fisher — Tue, 17 May 2011 11:29:19 +0000

The announcement that Jordan and Morocco might join the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) caused an immediate shockwave of reactions.

The GCC was founded in 1981 by Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Oman and Kuwait in order to encourage economic integration and security coordination between Gulf states. Stock markets across the GCC reacted positively to news of GCC expansion.

While reactions from citizens of GCC countries were often against the potential addition of Jordan and Morocco, many Jordanians were elated at the news. Ghada al-Kurd described potential economic benefits:

Flags of the original Gulf Cooperation Council GCC members. Image by Flickr user abcdz2000 (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0).

@Shusmo Supply #JO & demand #GCC, market penetration &reach, emplymnt, venture invstmnts #Amman #JO, better Economy part of #ReformJO

Amar Majali, after a series of jokes, concluded:

Joking aside, this could be really good economically. No taxation is the GCC way. Jordanians can do with no taxation. #JOGCC

Not all were so convinced. 7iber.com, a social dialogue site, asked its readers to post their thoughts on the idea. Responding to those commenting on economic benefits for Jordan, Mahmood wrote:

umm seriously ! so you dont think this move is just a stunt by KSA to balance the scale and set egypt back ! KSA hates the idea that EGYPT is back as the leader of arabs !

bottom line they the GCC is shopping for voting power and we happened to be the cheapest on the market as usual !

Mohammed Husa wrote, in part [ar]:

من ناحية استراتيجية وعمق استراتيجي دول الخليج هي المستفيد الاكبر لمواجهة النحدي الايراني ولاعادة صياغة محور الاعتدال بعد الاهتزازات الكبرى وخصوصا في مصر

2-من ناحية اقتصادية انا متأكد انه ستكون هناك تحفظات وشروط تعجيزية من ناحية حرية الحركة للاردنيين كما هو الحال مع موضوع تركيا للدخول للاتحاد الاوروبي

In terms of strategy and strategic depth, Gulf states are the biggest beneficiary in the the face of the Iranian threat and strengthening the moderate allies after major reverberations, especially in Egypt.

Secondly, in economic terms I am sure that there will be reservations and burdensome requirements in terms of freedom of movement for Jordanians, as with the issue of Turkey's accession to the European Union.

Rasha Khalifeh tweeted sarcastically [ar]:

انتهت مشكلة اردني فلسطيني صرنا كلنا خليجي #GCC #JOGCC

The Jordanian-Palestinian problem is over - all of us are Gulfi

Lina Ejeilat wrote humorously:

who needs good governance, democracy, and human rights when you can have oil money? Woohoo! #JOGCC

And some were undecided. Photographer EHamdallah commented on her need to learn more about the situation:

I need to know more about this whole #JO joining #GCC thing! I am not getting it! #ReformJO #JoGCC #GCCJo

Hanan Abu-Shamat jokingly reprimanded those who said that Jordan's addition to the GCC would not bring the GCC any benefit:

Now a country of the #GCC has snow in winter! This is something and you say #Jordan adds no value! Tsk tsk tsk! Hehe. #JOGCC #GCCJO

Maha Mousa remained undecided in her post on 7iber:

It is still up in the air and there is still a lot of work that needs to be done… by the way for those who were asking why the Jordanians were not consulted: I believe that the GCC people should have been consulted of what they think about this issue… don't you think so??

For more reactions to Jordan's possible entry to the GCC, follow the hashtag #JoGCC on Twitter, and read comments on 7iber.com.

Jordan: Marches to Palestine

Betsy Fisher — Tue, 17 May 2011 11:13:24 +0000

Salem Husseini posted a Storify article on the Jordanian marches in honor of Nakba, or catastrophe, on the anniversary of the founding of Israel.