AMMAN — Jordan has been rocked by the shock waves running across the Middle East, and tensions are still simmering.
Last week, about 200 protesters gathered at a traffic circle in the heart of Amman. Watched by police forces, they demanded the release of dozens of activists who were arrested a few days earlier and charged with opposing the regime, slandering the royal family and violating security.
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AMMAN — At a hospital in the hills of Amman, some patients have only one leg, others have no arms and most have been burned and scarred by exploding bombs. All have suffered complex injuries that require several operations, physiotherapy and psychosocial care.
The Amman surgical program, run by Médecins Sans Frontières, was originally set up in 2006 to treat casualties of the Iraq war. Médecins Sans Frontières renovated a floor of a hospital belonging to the Red Crescent in Jordan to house the program, which today has expanded to become a vital refuge for victims of the many wars raging in the region.
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AMMAN — For four days in a row this week, youths hurled rocks at police officers, burned tires and damaged properties in the ancient city of Salt, thought to have been built in the days of Alexander the Great.
Local tribal leaders and professional associations called for calm and condemned damage to property but also called on the government to address long-term grievances, including political detentions, rising prices and a lack of popular representation.
More than a year after the Arab Spring challenged the political status quo across the Middle East, leading to the regional rise of the Muslim Brotherhood and the spiraling war in Syria, Jordan is facing a crucial test of whether a new electoral law can quell the rising clamor for meaningful political changes.
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