Who-sane’s is not a political blog, but there’s been a great deal of political turmoil in the region lately that one can’t sit and observe silently.
Frustrated Jordanians took the streets yesterday, Friday the 14th of January, the same day Tunisians put a end to an era of tyranny, in protest against the ever increasing cost of living.
Protestors mostly asked Al Rifai’s government to step down.
via 7iber.com
Were you there? What happened?
It’s really sad and frustrating to observe from afar what things have now come to.
What’s interesting is the definition that the situation has been described by: racism. It just doesn’t make any sense here. Think about it.
Racism: noun \ˈrā-ˌsi-zəm \ a belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race.
That’s why the word racism is inapplicable in this case by the lexical and cultural definition of the word. Simply because the two parties involved here, Jordanians and Jordanians of Palestinian origin, do not only share the same race, but also share the same nationality, language, religions, history, culture, demography, pains, hopes, dreams, etc, etc. Same … every … single … thing.
I suppose denying that a problem exists would be silly, but it’s definitely not a “national crisis that threatens the unity of the country” as all the media have portrayed it! And that’s why I like to believe that all the unfortunate events that took place in Amman recently are the acts of an insignificant segment of the society and that by no means does it reflect the sentiment of the united Jordan I know.
Football stadiums shouldn’t and were never the index by which a country’s national integrity is measured (otherwise England would have been the most divided country in the world, which it isn’t).
On a related note, Prince Ali was elected today as the new FIFA vice-president. Following the recent win Qatar scored to host the 2022 World Cup , Prince Ali’s election is considered the second achievement for Arabs in international football in a month’s time.
Credited for progressing Jordanian football, Prince Ali recently said:
“Football is more than a sport. It’s a culture. A lifestyle. A Powerful medium for uniting people. I’m running because I want to see Asia taking its rightful place in the football family. I am running because it is time for change. It is time to work together as one continent. United.“
This is why I am more confident than ever that winds of change are already blowing, and the mistakes that would occasionally happen every now and then will be something of the past.
Jordanian romance might sound like an oxymoron, but let me assure you that it is alive and well. And here’s a recent video to prove that (may provoke suicidal thoughts, or like in my case, hysterical laughter):
(I liked the echoing “Titjawwazeeni?” LOL!)
Although now I’m really wondering, did Hala stand him up or are they now living tacky ever after?
Or, hmmmmm, could it be a PR stunt from Grand Hyatt Amman?
It doesn’t matter, because it was a good laugh!
My brother got me this bumper sticker as a gift and a joke of course.
!وظفك؟
I LOL’d!
To make more sense for non-Arabic speakers, the phrase ‘What the f**k’ (pronounced ‘Wath-tha-fuk’) translates to “Did he hire you?”
It comes from a joke that came out several years ago, where a dim-witted fellow (Dim-wit) walks out of a building where he was being interviewed for a job, as an angry dude (Angry-dude) walks in.
Dim-wit accidentally bumps into Angry dude. Angry-dude, being the angry dude that he is, cries out “God damnit!“. Dim-wit, thinking Angry-dude is saying “Gaddamit?”, (“Did you apply?” in Arabic) replies “Ah wallah Gaddamit!” (Yes, I applied!).
Baffled by Dim-wit’s idiotic response, Angry-dude bellows: “What the F**K!“. Now Dim-wit, thinking Angry-dude asked him “Did he hire you?”, responds: “La wallah ma wathafni, Allah yikhrib baito!” (No, he didn’t hire me. That jerk!)
So if you ever see a car roaming the streets of Dubai with the infamous ‘Did he hire you?‘ bumper sticker on, do say hello, it’s probably me.
And yes, of course, it’s from Jordan! 
Childbirth: Isn’t that such a beautiful word? Shouldn’t it only be synonymous with joy and happiness? I for one think it should not be associated with anything but words such as: happy, congratulations, mabrook … so on and so forth.