Ok, now I'm ashamed of myself!
I realized today morning that there was an ignored email in my inbox advertising Amman Summer Festival. I wished that the festival organizers decided to cancel the event or at least modify it to show some solidarity with the Palestinians and the Lebanese. Few minutes ago I got shocked -or probably I shouldn't- when I watched the videos of the festival posted in Jad's blog. It wasn't the bands on the stage that shocked me, but rather the enthusiastic audience. What kind of insensitivity and apathy is this?! Now I fully believe the good guy who made the effort to 
answer my question: "Why is it only now that Jerish Festival organizers decided to cancel its events -due to the situation in Lebanon as they stated-?" It had nothing to do with Jordan or with the Jordanian organizers. It was the Lebanese and Syrian singers and artists who refused to sing in Jordan with their Families weep in Lebanon. It seems Amman Festival's organizers took all the needed precautions by making it a solely Jordanian festival and avoiding the invitation of Lebanese, Palestinian or Syrian artists.
I was watching the films and I thanked God zillion times that I wasn't attended by anyone else. Otherwise I would have become speechless if I were asked on what Jordanians were celebrating!
To add to my pain, I came across another even more frustrating peace of news today. My x-university, the University of Jordan, has been involved in research collaboration with the bloody Zionists at least since 2004, and not with any organisation but the worst of all, the Jewish National Fund (JNF). JNF is the main Jewish funding source for the Israeli brutal, racist, illegal, inhuman, criminal policy in Palestine. Its crimes are countless, just a small sample of these were complied by the Palestine remembered team. I wish I wasn't born to see the day in which my Jordanian university is shaking hands with the butcher while the UK's largest union of university teachers (NATFHE) are adopting a policy to boycott all the Israeli academic institutions. Will I see a demonstration in JU calling for the boycott of research with Israeli institutions? Never!
Today I am full of shame and disgrace. Until further notice, if anyone asks me: where is Jordan? I'm going to say it is just at the northern edge of Antarctica. Aren't you Arabs in Jordan? Oh no no, we are Arams, you know, it's just a common mishearing. I thought you are Muslims, aren't you? What?! Muslims! In Jordan?! No way, I think you are mixing with another country. In Jordan we are still working on our own religion, it may need few more decades to see the light but I assure you it's gonna be amazing, crashing, wicked!
(Photo courtesy of Naharnet)
3 comments:
Well, you might be right but I still think people has the right to turn off the TV and do anything other than hearing bleeding news.
In the last week which was the first week of war; I or We at office didn't work for $00.00001; we were just refreshing the new sites to get the latest updates but did that change anything? did that free Palestine or Lebanon ?
One of colleagues suggested to start collecting money or food to send it to the Lebanese embassy but we postponed it until the next paycheck.
I can't really see myself just watching the bleeding news, losing focus on work without being able to do anything that help in changing ohh well anything.
Anyway, what do you suggest? what we can do ? what you've done so far, share your experience?
sitting sad at home or office wont make a difference.
Helpless it is.
Jad, of course we have the right to take a break from the news, but not to celebrate, sing or dance.
The problem is that in Jordan whatever we do to the Palestinians and the Lebanese we subconsciously feel as if we are doing them a favour, thus we give them few minutes a week -that's of course if we are to do it-.
Let me put it this way, if -la sama7a Allah- someone lost one if their family members, are they going to wait? Are they going to delay the funeral? Are they going to celebrate?!
To answer the "What we can do" question, I think I'm going to write an article about it tonight.
I'm saying all and what in my head is an understanding that the Jordanians, the Lebanese, and the Palestinians are part of one big nation. If this is not true then you can forget all the nonsense I said.
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