MA'AN, JORDAN // A growing number of unemployed inhabitants of this impoverished city in southern Jordan are getting weary, not from hours spent looking for work, but from what they say is the government's refusal to hear their pleas.
Now, they say they are prepared to graduate from street protests to blocking the city's main roads to get the government's attention.
"We want to step up our measures because nobody is listening to us," said Rashed Al Khattab, 38, one of hundreds of men who gathered one afternoon last month to protest against the lack of jobs at the Jordan Phosphate Company, the main employer in the country's underdeveloped south.
In recent months, the rumbling of discontent from Jordan's south has grown louder as poverty has deepened. As Jordanians prepare to vote for a new, 150-seat assembly on Wednesday, more residents here believe that they are no longer served by the ballots they have traditionally cast for tribal candidates.
"The regime thinks the [Muslim] Brotherhood is the only opposition in the country, and has placed everybody else on the shelf, ignoring our demands. We are boycotting the elections too," said Akram Kreishan, 60, an activist and lawyer in the town of Ma'an, 220km south of the capital, Amman.
"Our main problem lies with the political system, the king, the royal court and the Mukhabarat. In the past two years we have been asking for reforms, but the regime has fallen behind in its promises," he said.
Last month, about 200 unemployed men in Ma'an marched to one of the city's main intersections chanting "Martyrdom is better than a bitter living". They wrapped themselves in burial shrouds and prevented company trucks loaded with phosphate from reaching the port of Aqaba. Police dispersed them with tear gas.
"The company is in Ma'an and therefore it has a duty to benefit the local community. It has become a matter of dignity, and we want to obtain our rights. Our right is to have jobs there," Mr Al Khattab said. "If there is no response, we are also going to burn our voting cards."
The residents of Ma'an, like inhabitants of other towns in Jordan's predominantly Bedouin and tribal south, have their particular reasons for resentment.
Ma'an is the second-poorest city in the country, after Mafraq. About 24.2 per cent of its population live below the poverty line of US$950 (Dh3,490) a year, according to the department of statistics. An 2011 survey also showed that the annual average household spend on meat and poultry in the town stands at $850, one of the lowest in Jordan.
What heightens the sense of grievance here is that Jordan's deposits of potash and phosphate are located in the south, yet jobs, especially at the Jordan Phosphate Company, remain scarce and the local economy continues to worsen.
The town was declared a development zone in 2007 to lure investors. Work on a $170-million glass factory, which was supposed to create 250 jobs, was suspended a few years ago amid allegations of mismanagement.
The result of this growing poverty and lack of economic opportunity is festering anger, according to analysts, academics and lawyers.
"In the south, resentment is increasing and is fuelled by the economic hardships and lack of economic development projects. People feel marginalised," said Basim Tweissi, head of the development studies centre at Al Hussein Bin Talal University in Ma'an.
"Reform is not just about the election law, but it is related to economic development and equal distribution of opportunities," he said.
The persistent feeling that these problems are being ignored threatens to weaken support for the regime in an area traditionally known for its loyalty.
"Tribes are bitter because they feel they had a role in building the country," Mr Tweissi said. "Instability in the south will shake the regime's legitimacy."
Nabeel Ghishan, editor-in-chief of the Arab Al Yawm, an independent daily in Amman, said the government neglects the grievances of Jordan's poor and jobless at its peril.
"In Amman, you find the Palestinian, the Circassian, the Jordanian, but in the south the society is closed and homogeneous and they can easily organise themselves. Now there are new forces in the streets asking for a role in the decision-making process."
Unrest in the south is not unprecedented. In 1989, when the government lifted subsidies on bread, riots erupted in Ma'an and spread to several cities in the south. The late King Hussein responded by adopting some democratic reforms. That year, Jordanians went to the polls for the first time in 22 years.
In an attempt to ease the grievances outside Amman and Jordan's other urban centres, Abdullah Ensour, the prime minister, said last month that government initiatives, such as the Governorates Fund, would finance income-generating projects in rural areas and ease demand on public-sector jobs.
Several activists in Ma'an said that the lack of jobs is not the only issue.
"The problem is that there is public mistrust. The regime has two options: to listen to people so that we can overcome the current phase peacefully and to crack down on entrenched corruption. Otherwise, it will face the same fate of other Arab leaders," warned Mohammed Jarar, who also teaches at Al Hussein Bin Talal University.
To other Ma'an residents, the region's traditional close ties to the government are now at risk.
"The social contract has been shaken. The trinity of corruption, inequality and lack of social justice exists in its ugliest form," said Maher Kreishan, a lawyer. "Now we are witnessing the calm before the storm.
foreign.desk@thenational.ae
The specs
Engine: 2-litre or 3-litre 4Motion all-wheel-drive Power: 250Nm (2-litre); 340 (3-litre) Torque: 450Nm Transmission: 8-speed automatic Starting price: From Dh212,000 On sale: Now
Your rights as an employee
The government has taken an increasingly tough line against companies that fail to pay employees on time. Three years ago, the Cabinet passed a decree allowing the government to halt the granting of work permits to companies with wage backlogs.
The new measures passed by the Cabinet in 2016 were an update to the Wage Protection System, which is in place to track whether a company pays its employees on time or not.
If wages are 10 days late, the new measures kick in and the company is alerted it is in breach of labour rules. If wages remain unpaid for a total of 16 days, the authorities can cancel work permits, effectively shutting off operations. Fines of up to Dh5,000 per unpaid employee follow after 60 days.
Despite those measures, late payments remain an issue, particularly in the construction sector. Smaller contractors, such as electrical, plumbing and fit-out businesses, often blame the bigger companies that hire them for wages being late.
The authorities have urged employees to report their companies at the labour ministry or Tawafuq service centres — there are 15 in Abu Dhabi.
The Freedom Artist
By Ben Okri (Head of Zeus)
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
England's Ashes squad
Joe Root (captain), Moeen Ali, Jimmy Anderson, Jofra Archer, Jonny Bairstow, Stuart Broad, Rory Burns, Jos Buttler, Sam Curran, Joe Denly, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, Olly Stone, Chris Woakes.
'Midnights'
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The specs: 2018 Nissan Altima
Price, base / as tested: Dh78,000 / Dh97,650
Engine: 2.5-litre in-line four-cylinder
Power: 182hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque: 244Nm @ 4,000rpm
Transmission: Continuously variable tranmission
Fuel consumption, combined: 7.6L / 100km
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
The specs
Engine: Dual 180kW and 300kW front and rear motors
Power: 480kW
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh359,900 ($98,000)
On sale: Now
Cricket World Cup League 2
UAE squad
Rahul Chopra (captain), Aayan Afzal Khan, Ali Naseer, Aryansh Sharma, Basil Hameed, Dhruv Parashar, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Waseem, Omid Rahman, Rahul Bhatia, Tanish Suri, Vishnu Sukumaran, Vriitya Aravind
Fixtures
Friday, November 1 – Oman v UAE
Sunday, November 3 – UAE v Netherlands
Thursday, November 7 – UAE v Oman
Saturday, November 9 – Netherlands v UAE
The Buckingham Murders
Starring: Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ash Tandon, Prabhleen Sandhu
Director: Hansal Mehta
Rating: 4 / 5
Tree of Hell
Starring: Raed Zeno, Hadi Awada, Dr Mohammad Abdalla
Director: Raed Zeno
Rating: 4/5
Company%20profile
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
The Little Things
Directed by: John Lee Hancock
Starring: Denzel Washington, Rami Malek, Jared Leto
Four stars
What is the FNC?
The Federal National Council is one of five federal authorities established by the UAE constitution. It held its first session on December 2, 1972, a year to the day after Federation.
It has 40 members, eight of whom are women. The members represent the UAE population through each of the emirates. Abu Dhabi and Dubai have eight members each, Sharjah and Ras al Khaimah six, and Ajman, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain have four.
They bring Emirati issues to the council for debate and put those concerns to ministers summoned for questioning.
The FNC’s main functions include passing, amending or rejecting federal draft laws, discussing international treaties and agreements, and offering recommendations on general subjects raised during sessions.
Federal draft laws must first pass through the FNC for recommendations when members can amend the laws to suit the needs of citizens. The draft laws are then forwarded to the Cabinet for consideration and approval.
Since 2006, half of the members have been elected by UAE citizens to serve four-year terms and the other half are appointed by the Ruler’s Courts of the seven emirates.
In the 2015 elections, 78 of the 252 candidates were women. Women also represented 48 per cent of all voters and 67 per cent of the voters were under the age of 40.
World Cup League Two
Results
Oman beat Nepal by 18 runs
Oman beat United States by six wickets
Nepal beat United States by 35 runs
Oman beat Nepal by eight wickets
Fixtures
Tuesday, Oman v United States
Wednesday, Nepal v United States
COMPANY PROFILE
● Company: Bidzi
● Started: 2024
● Founders: Akshay Dosaj and Asif Rashid
● Based: Dubai, UAE
● Industry: M&A
● Funding size: Bootstrapped
● No of employees: Nine
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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Thank You for Banking with Us
Director: Laila Abbas
Starring: Yasmine Al Massri, Clara Khoury, Kamel El Basha, Ashraf Barhoum
Rating: 4/5
Other simple ideas for sushi rice dishes
Cheat’s nigiri
This is easier to make than sushi rolls. With damp hands, form the cooled rice into small tablet shapes. Place slices of fresh, raw salmon, mackerel or trout (or smoked salmon) lightly touched with wasabi, then press, wasabi side-down, onto the rice. Serve with soy sauce and pickled ginger.
Easy omurice
This fusion dish combines Asian fried rice with a western omelette. To make, fry cooked and cooled sushi rice with chopped vegetables such as carrot and onion and lashings of sweet-tangy ketchup, then wrap in a soft egg omelette.
Deconstructed sushi salad platter
This makes a great, fuss-free sharing meal. Arrange sushi rice on a platter or board, then fill the space with all your favourite sushi ingredients (edamame beans, cooked prawns or tuna, tempura veggies, pickled ginger and chilli tofu), with a dressing or dipping sauce on the side.
We Weren’t Supposed to Survive But We Did
We weren’t supposed to survive but we did.
We weren’t supposed to remember but we did.
We weren’t supposed to write but we did.
We weren’t supposed to fight but we did.
We weren’t supposed to organise but we did.
We weren’t supposed to rap but we did.
We weren’t supposed to find allies but we did.
We weren’t supposed to grow communities but we did.
We weren’t supposed to return but WE ARE.
Amira Sakalla
Company%20Profile
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Sleep Well Beast
The National
4AD
HUNGARIAN GRAND PRIX RESULT
1. Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari 1:39:46.713
2. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari 00:00.908
3. Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes-GP 00:12.462
4. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes-GP 00:12.885
5. Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing 00:13.276
6. Fernando Alonso, McLaren 01:11.223
7. Carlos Sainz Jr, Toro Rosso 1 lap
8. Sergio Perez, Force India 1 lap
9. Esteban Ocon, Force India 1 lap
10. Stoffel Vandoorne, McLaren 1 lap
11. Daniil Kvyat, Toro Rosso 1 lap
12. Jolyon Palmer, Renault 1 lap
13. Kevin Magnussen, Haas 1 lap
14. Lance Stroll, Williams 1 lap
15. Pascal Wehrlein, Sauber 2 laps
16. Marcus Ericsson, Sauber 2 laps
17r. Nico Huelkenberg, Renault 3 laps
r. Paul Di Resta, Williams 10 laps
r. Romain Grosjean, Haas 50 laps
r. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull Racing 70 laps
MATCH INFO
Liverpool 3
Sadio Man 28'
Andrew Robertson 34'
Diogo Jota 88'
Arsenal 1
Lacazette 25'
Man of the match
Sadio Mane (Liverpool)
