Jordanian City Votes to Avoid ISIS Aesthetic
By RANA F. SWEIS MARCH 10, 2015
AMMAN, Jordan — Push brooms in hand, the sanitation workers who clean the streets of this capital could be easily recognized by their bright orange work suits. The city’s mayor, Aqel Biltaji, even donned the municipal uniform in 2013 to help show Jordanians that there was no shame in a job that requires “dedication and loyalty.”
But that uniform has become more closely associated with Islamic State militants who force their captives to wear orange jumpsuits in videos that show grisly deaths, including beheadings and the recent immolation of a Jordanian fighter pilot.
A video released on Tuesday purportedly shows the killing of a Palestinian man by the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, wearing the orange outfit.
In an effort to erase what has become a daily reminder of the militants’ violent crusade, the brother of First Lt. Moaz al-Kasasbeh, the fighter pilot burned alive inside a cage by ISIS militants, has led a campaign to change the color of the uniform worn by nearly 4,600 sanitation workers here.
“It’s the right of our children not to see this color in the streets,” said the pilot’s brother, Jawad al-Kasasbeh. “Our workers and our people deserve not to have to see this color, which reminds them of the evil actions of Islamic State.”
Mr. Kasasbeh’s initiative gained momentum online, and the city responded by forming a committee to consider changing the uniform and conducting a public poll to choose a new color.
“My message spread, and citizens responded positively, and the municipality took action quickly,” Mr. Kasasbeh said.
Visitors to the city’s website were asked whether they favored changing the color and, if so, their preference among eight options, including bright green, fuchsia and turquoise.
Mr. Kasasbeh said in a telephone interview that he did not want Jordanian citizens to think about “revenge” when they see sanitation workers. City workers have the right to do their jobs without wearing “this ugly color” that ISIS hostages are forced to wear, he added.
Instead, sanitation workers will wear turquoise uniforms printed with the city’s emblem starting on March 21, Mother’s Day here in Jordan.
The new color, Mr. Kasasbeh said, is “beautiful and signifies life and energy, everything that is the opposite of Daesh,” another name for ISIS.
Since the immolation of Lieutenant Kasasbeh, Jordan has increased its participation in the American-led assault against the Islamic State.
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