RAMTHA, JORDAN // A thick stack of aid coupons sits on the countertop of a small, dark convenience store near Jordan’s frontier with Syria. On the front of each voucher is the handwritten name, address and phone number of the Syrian refugee who came to the store and redeemed the piece of paper for a basket of food.
On the back of some of the coupons is additional handwriting: the storekeeper’s scrawled notes detailing which Syrian refugee women are willing to have sex for money and what times of day they are available.
Ramtha, a scrappy town of cement buildings and faded shop signs has, residents say, developed a booming economy in sex, drugs, weapons and purloined international aid – all fuelled by the civil war in Syria.
The shopkeeper pushed the coupons aside and produced a large, gold-covered smart phone that was flamboyantly out of keeping with the sparse dust-coated tins of peas, tuna and vegetable oil on the store shelves.
On the phone’s large screen, the shopkeeper, a married man in his early 50s dressed dapperly in a houndstooth jacket and blue suit trousers, played a video of a young Syrian woman dressed in a flowing black gown who undressed as she twirled, the dance culminating with her displaying herself naked for the camera.
“She costs US$1,000 [Dh3,673] for 24 hours. She’s really beautiful, but I can get discounts on her, and there are all different prices for different women - some are US$100 or US$200 for an hour, some are US$3,000 for the month and you live with them in a temporary marriage,” the shopkeeper said.
His register of refugee women, written on the aid coupons, was compiled during a Ramadan charity drive funded by a Saudi donor who paid for hundreds of food packages to be distributed to needy Syrians.
The shopkeeper carried out most of the logistics work for the charity drive and during the campaign, when he found some Syrian refugee women willing, or desperate enough, to earn extra money through prostitution. Others involved with aid distribution in the area have compiled similar listings, he said.
Some 600,000 Syrians have taken refuge in Jordan, most of them outside of the United Nations-administered Zaatari refugee camp, a place once synonymous with squalor but now, according to some camp residents, significantly improved.
Those living outside the camp and beyond the reach of the UN system often struggle to pay rent and are heavily reliant on alternative sources of help, including private funding from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait and other countries in the Arabian Gulf.
While these private donations have extended a lifeline to tens of thousands of people, the cash is not always distributed solely for altruistic reasons, say aid workers and volunteers involved in distributing the cash.
“Everyone who comes here offering aid has some kind of ulterior motive. The UN and Western states, and the Gulf countries, are politically motivated, but some of the private donors come up here for women. They are giving aid, but they use it as a way of finding Syrian women,” said a volunteer from Damascus who helps link private donors with impoverished refugees.
The volunteer, in her mid-20s, said that in the course of her work she often had to fend off propositions from donors who covet Syrian woman.
“There are ways to manage things, but it is difficult to make sure that the money doesn’t have strings attached and that it goes to the right people. Some Syrian refugees are also trying to take more than their fair share, the situation is difficult.”
People-trafficking also is flourishing on the border, say Syrians crossing the frontier, particularly after Jordan imposed tight restrictions at the Ramtha border crossing almost three months ago to stem the flow of refugees.
For months the border has been closed except to a trickle of civilians, mainly women and children, not men of fighting age, as well as small numbers of wounded and rebel fighters with the right contacts to get them into Jordan. Others gain entry to the Hashemite Kingdom by paying traffickers 400 dinars (Dh2,080), according to refugees and members of rebel groups.
“Some of the smugglers take in people and also try to take weapons into Jordan, sometimes they clash with the Jordanian border guards,” said a young rebel fighter.
More often, though, weapons flow from Jordan into Syria, part of a pipeline of support for rebels, primarily backed by Gulf states, in their fight against forces loyal to Bashar Al Assad.
Jordan remains tight-lipped about the illicit trade in weapons and people. Yet rebels and residents along the frontier attest to the transfers, saying in the case of weapons that they mainly involve ammunition and small arms but, more recently, Saudi-supplied pickup trucks mounted with high-calibre guns.
“Every month or two before a big attack by the Free Syrian Army, a convoy of cars without number plates comes past, they pick up weapons and go back to Syria,” said a Jordanian who lives along the road that leads to the Syrian frontier and is familiar with the trafficking of weapons.
In addition to the steady flow of arms, the shopkeeper says Ramtha has become a destination not only for hashish and other drugs but for Saudi men seeking Syrian wives.
“There are apartment buildings and homes that have been paid for by donors for refugees to live in, but they are really just nightclubs now,” he said. “And we get lots of people from the Gulf coming for wives, second wives sometimes, they like them aged between 15 and 22 years old.”
The shopkeeper said he was opposed to people marrying teenagers and only took clients to see women who were in their 20s.
A veteran security adviser working with an international organisation dealing with refugees confirmed that some privately rented buildings and hotels along the border were being used for prostitution and that the transactions typically involved young Syrian women and Saudi men who have driven into Jordan from across the desert.
“It’s something everyone is aware of but it’s not a simple problem to solve. This kind of thing unfortunately always pops up on the edges of war zones - people come in and exploit the desperation of refugees who don’t have many choices about how they feed their families,” he said.
Khaled Khalaldeh, Jordan’s minister of political and parliamentary affairs, said that, unfortunately, people taking advantage of the desperate during conflict was not uncommon in any part of the world.
“During times of war there are people who break the law, thefts including exploitation of women. They are taken advantage of because of their difficult situation,” he said.
For his part, the shopkeeper has little, if any, sympathy for the Syrians who have sought safety in Jordan from a war that has claimed the lives of more than 100,000 people and, according to the UN, uprooted another 6.1 million from their homes.
“No one forces them to do this. They worked as prostitutes before. It is their profession, and I think they are disgusting people.”
psands@thenational.ae
Brave CF 27 fight card
Welterweight:
Abdoul Abdouraguimov (champion, FRA) v Jarrah Al Selawe (JOR)
Lightweight:
Anas Siraj Mounir (TUN) v Alex Martinez (CAN)
Welterweight:
Mzwandile Hlongwa (RSA) v Khamzat Chimaev (SWE)
Middleweight:
Tarek Suleiman (SYR) v Rustam Chsiev (RUS)
Mohammad Fakhreddine (LEB) v Christofer Silva (BRA)
Super lightweight:
Alex Nacfur (BRA) v Dwight Brooks (USA)
Bantamweight:
Jalal Al Daaja (JOR) v Tariq Ismail (CAN)
Chris Corton (PHI) v Zia Mashwani (PAK)
Featherweight:
Sulaiman (KUW) v Abdullatip (RUS)
Super lightweight:
Flavio Serafin (BRA) v Mohammad Al Katib (JOR)
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
Directed: Smeep Kang
Produced: Soham Rockstar Entertainment; SKE Production
Cast: Rishi Kapoor, Jimmy Sheirgill, Sunny Singh, Omkar Kapoor, Rajesh Sharma
Rating: Two out of five stars
RESULTS
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West Asia Premiership
Dubai Hurricanes 58-10 Dubai Knights Eagles
Dubai Tigers 5-39 Bahrain
Jebel Ali Dragons 16-56 Abu Dhabi Harlequins
MATCH INFO
Syria v Australia
2018 World Cup qualifying: Asia fourth round play-off first leg
Venue: Hang Jebat Stadium, Malayisa
Kick-off: Thursday, 4.30pm (UAE)
Watch: beIN Sports HD
* Second leg in Australia on October 10
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Origin
Dan Brown
Doubleday
The Facility’s Versatility
Between the start of the 2020 IPL on September 20, and the end of the Pakistan Super League this coming Thursday, the Zayed Cricket Stadium has had an unprecedented amount of traffic.
Never before has a ground in this country – or perhaps anywhere in the world – had such a volume of major-match cricket.
And yet scoring has remained high, and Abu Dhabi has seen some classic encounters in every format of the game.
October 18, IPL, Kolkata Knight Riders tied with Sunrisers Hyderabad
The two playoff-chasing sides put on 163 apiece, before Kolkata went on to win the Super Over
January 8, ODI, UAE beat Ireland by six wickets
A century by CP Rizwan underpinned one of UAE’s greatest ever wins, as they chased 270 to win with an over to spare
February 6, T10, Northern Warriors beat Delhi Bulls by eight wickets
The final of the T10 was chiefly memorable for a ferocious over of fast bowling from Fidel Edwards to Nicholas Pooran
March 14, Test, Afghanistan beat Zimbabwe by six wickets
Eleven wickets for Rashid Khan, 1,305 runs scored in five days, and a last session finish
June 17, PSL, Islamabad United beat Peshawar Zalmi by 15 runs
Usman Khawaja scored a hundred as Islamabad posted the highest score ever by a Pakistan team in T20 cricket
Who has lived at The Bishops Avenue?
- George Sainsbury of the supermarket dynasty, sugar magnate William Park Lyle and actress Dame Gracie Fields were residents in the 1930s when the street was only known as ‘Millionaires’ Row’.
- Then came the international super rich, including the last king of Greece, Constantine II, the Sultan of Brunei and Indian steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal who was at one point ranked the third richest person in the world.
- Turkish tycoon Halis Torprak sold his mansion for £50m in 2008 after spending just two days there. The House of Saud sold 10 properties on the road in 2013 for almost £80m.
- Other residents have included Iraqi businessman Nemir Kirdar, singer Ariana Grande, holiday camp impresario Sir Billy Butlin, businessman Asil Nadir, Paul McCartney’s former wife Heather Mills.
Hunting park to luxury living
- Land was originally the Bishop of London's hunting park, hence the name
- The road was laid out in the mid 19th Century, meandering through woodland and farmland
- Its earliest houses at the turn of the 20th Century were substantial detached properties with extensive grounds
Five expert hiking tips
Always check the weather forecast before setting off
Make sure you have plenty of water
Set off early to avoid sudden weather changes in the afternoon
Wear appropriate clothing and footwear
Take your litter home with you
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
'Midnights'
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'Falling%20for%20Christmas'
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Monday's results
- UAE beat Bahrain by 51 runs
- Qatar beat Maldives by 44 runs
- Saudi Arabia beat Kuwait by seven wickets
MATCH SCHEDULE
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Tuesday, April 24 (10.45pm)
Liverpool v Roma
Wednesday, April 25
Bayern Munich v Real Madrid (10.45pm)
Europa League semi-final, first leg
Thursday, April 26
Arsenal v Atletico Madrid (11.05pm)
Marseille v Salzburg (11.05pm)
The%20Roundup
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Why does a queen bee feast only on royal jelly?
Some facts about bees:
The queen bee eats only royal jelly, an extraordinary food created by worker bees so she lives much longer
The life cycle of a worker bee is from 40-60 days
A queen bee lives for 3-5 years
This allows her to lay millions of eggs and allows the continuity of the bee colony
About 20,000 honey bees and one queen populate each hive
Honey is packed with vital vitamins, minerals, enzymes, water and anti-oxidants.
Apart from honey, five other products are royal jelly, the special food bees feed their queen
Pollen is their protein source, a super food that is nutritious, rich in amino acids
Beewax is used to construct the combs. Due to its anti-fungal, anti-bacterial elements, it is used in skin treatments
Propolis, a resin-like material produced by bees is used to make hives. It has natural antibiotic qualities so works to sterilize hive, protects from disease, keeps their home free from germs. Also used to treat sores, infection, warts
Bee venom is used by bees to protect themselves. Has anti-inflammatory properties, sometimes used to relieve conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, nerve and muscle pain
Honey, royal jelly, pollen have health enhancing qualities
The other three products are used for therapeutic purposes
Is beekeeping dangerous?
As long as you deal with bees gently, you will be safe, says Mohammed Al Najeh, who has worked with bees since he was a boy.
“The biggest mistake people make is they panic when they see a bee. They are small but smart creatures. If you move your hand quickly to hit the bees, this is an aggressive action and bees will defend themselves. They can sense the adrenalin in our body. But if we are calm, they are move away.”
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
Hili 2: Unesco World Heritage site
The site is part of the Hili archaeological park in Al Ain. Excavations there have proved the existence of the earliest known agricultural communities in modern-day UAE. Some date to the Bronze Age but Hili 2 is an Iron Age site. The Iron Age witnessed the development of the falaj, a network of channels that funnelled water from natural springs in the area. Wells allowed settlements to be established, but falaj meant they could grow and thrive. Unesco, the UN's cultural body, awarded Al Ain's sites - including Hili 2 - world heritage status in 2011. Now the most recent dig at the site has revealed even more about the skilled people that lived and worked there.
THE CLOWN OF GAZA
Director: Abdulrahman Sabbah
Starring: Alaa Meqdad
Rating: 4/5
The%20specs
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Company%20profile
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How to help
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