Feature: The Lives of Iraqis in Jordan

A collection of three pieces done by me, Alia Nusseibeh and Yousef Ziad Shuwayhat about the issue of Iraqis living in Jordan. I believe the issue of what will happen to these people, whose hope of having a stable homeland seems to get slimmer every day, is one that Americans, Iraqis and Jordanians should all be taking very seriously.

  Underground - December 06

A story from a recent trip out with a group of cave-diving archeologists in the north of Jordan. I was a bit sad that I didn't get to go into all the caves they'd explored, but there are some great photos here from Jordan's underground.

  War of the Words - July 06

Liberal NGOs and government cultural programs are trying to step in and fill the culture gap between the East and the West – but can they make a difference?

  Travelogue: Drugs of Choice - May 06

Nations rise and fall in the quest to gain control of nature. But in Yemen, it’s the reverse. There the nation is controlled by a single plant: the Qat tree, source of the mildly intoxicating leaf that is the drug of choice for the vast majority of the Yemeni population. Photos are uncredited in this draft .pdf, but they were done by Philip Aaron Hannis.

  The Desert Dancers - May 06

A story I wrote with photography by Bryan Denton: Nomadic people always have a tenuous relationship with nation-states, which invariably try to control them, or settle them, or integrate their culture into a national culture. The Bedouin of Petra and Wadi Rum have fared better than most, but still, they have been removed from their land, deprived of many of their traditional sources of support, and forced to adjust to an ever-modernizing world. Now their culture has been declared a monument of the world’s heritage. I wanted to find out what "Bedouin Culture" meant...

  Managing the Monuments

If one is not in a developing country oneself, this piece may be a bit of a slog to read, I'm afraid. But then, we write for our audience. And it might be interesting for some other folks to look a bit at the conflict between "development plans" that focus on tourism as the salvation of the south and scholars and historians who think building restaurants on top of ancient monuments isn't such a great idea.

  Open Road - December 05

A year later, this is still one of my favorites: a story I did to accompany a photo essay by Bryan Denton, trying to get a look inside the lives of Jordan's truck drivers -- one of the country's largest cohorts of blue-collar workers. We did this story shortly after a major truck driver's strike in the port town of Aqaba, fueled by frustration over bad working conditions and a new port control system that many truckers felt was unfair. Also check out the followup we wrote when the port control system got changed again a few months later, Still On The Road.

  The Ground Beneath Their Feet - August 05

Jordan may not be a really advanced tourist destination or film production hub, but it has developed an enviable store of expertise in some other, if less glamorous, areas: Jordan's military de-mining teams are said to be the best in the region, and among the best in the world. I go spend a day talking to them -- and watching them risk life and limb at work.

  Picking Up the Pieces - July 05
  Part One     Part Two  

On the eve of another important archeological discovery, JO took a look at the issues surrounding discovery and conservation in Jordan.

This piece started out much smaller; just a brief, really, on a big regional food-security and GMO-issues conference being held in Amman. But as the conference went on, it became clearer and clearer how much issues like food security were not on anyone's agenda, including the government's, and the piece got bigger and bigger. It still remains shocking to me how little agency developing countries like Jordan have over things like their own food supply.

Another early piece that caused a lot of controversy: parts of the government were deeply committed to the idea that Jordan was going to be the major film production destination, like Ireland or Prague was in the late 90's and early-00's. No one likes to hear that their Broadway dream isn't really working out. Today, the situation remains remarkably similar to the one described here.

My first story for JO magazine -- ironically, the week after this came out, half of East Amman ended up sleeping in the streets in total panic, apparently because some morning radio show host said that there was about to be an earthquake. As far my sources have said, predicting quakes still remains beyond the reach of modern science! But it's an issue that's on people's minds, although no one in the government ever wants to talk about it.

A six-month series that I have been co-ordinating/editing, focusing on the state of Jordan's educational system, and the results of the many reform programs being advanced by the Jordanian government and international organizations. It includes my own work, and that of several of our other reporters, including Lina Ejeilat, Kate Washington, Dustin Andres and Kariman Mango (and it was originally all Lina's idea, it just quickly got too big for one, or even two or three people to handle!)

Part 01: Failing Tawjihi
Part 02: To Read or Not / Cheating Your Way to the Top
Part 03: Art Works / A Model Teacher
Part 04: UNRWA: Jordan's Other School System
Part 05: Early Childhood Education
Part 06

A quick summary of the British Council's 2006 report on the future of English and English teaching. Read the full report, and othe BC publications on English language and teaching here.

A series on blogging and bloggers in the Middle East, and the role they play in local politics and international media.

November 05: Abu Aardvark
Dec 05: Blogging in Egypt
January 06: Occupation Dissident
February 06: Baghdad from A-Z
Baghdad from A-Z Part II
March 06: Look Homeward, Blogger
April 06: Sandmonkey, Superstar
May 06: The New Gatekeepers
June 06: Egyptian Blogger Imprisoned
July 06: Not Just a River in Egypt
August 06: Finally Free / Net Neutrality