To dispell the rumors and incite the adventurer

My house has been receiving calls, emails, facebook messages expressing worry over my upcoming trip to Jordan. To put everyone's worry to rest: Jordan is a very stable country and I will not be swept up in any kind of hostile protest or regime change. There has been a lot of activity on the facebook group page of fellow CIEE participants expressing their worries, fears, and excitement about what is going on in the Middle East. The conclusion I have come to from both messages there and watching the news closely is that as long as I am in Jordan I will be safe. Protests are few and scattered in Jordan, unlike in Egypt where protesters boldly call for Mubarak to resign, Jordanians have not targeted the king and have mostly focused on a push for economic reforms. Whereas footage of the protests in Egypt show citizens being blasted by water canons, tear gas and rubber bullets by the police, in Jordan police officers wander the crowds handing out bottled water to keep protesters hydrated. The Hashemites (regime which rules Jordan) have long been an authoritative regime who rules with the sword behind its back, unlike many other hostile dictators in the region. In all truth I am nothing but thrilled to be in an area of the world where people are discovering their voice, standing up and calling for democratic-like reforms. Imagine if you had been in Tienanmen Square the day that photo of the iconic "Tank Man" was taken. I promise my family and friends that I will not act fool hearty when deciding where to be during such protests. As American citizens we are not despised and therefore should not recieve much resentment from protesters. Islamists point to the American government as a source of their woes and misfortunes, not at average citizens. Still, I would never put myself in harms way. Having read many of my fellow CIEE'ers posts I have selected two fascinating medias that show what is happening in Egypt (to be certain, Egypt is not the only country where all of this is going down, however, it has received a lot of attention ever since the regime change in Tunisia). This first link is a 12 minute long or so recording of an English reporter who was with protesters in Egypt and while recording was picked up and put in a police van and driven out to the desert (very exciting). And the second media is a photo taken by an Egyptian citizen; the photo is strangely similar to that of the Tank Man which I referred to before. I hope these two medias don't cause worry in anyone, but instead have the same affect they did on me: one of genuine fascination and excitement! Stuff is happening and I'm there to document and experience what affects it has on the average Arab!! Who knows, this stuff could lead to an amazing senior thesis (fingers crossed).

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jan/26/egypt-protests

http://i.imgur.com/rcPGl.jpg

Hope all is well to my friends abroad. I didn't think I would be posting twice before leaving but oh well.


Love,

Wylie of Arabia