Observing three grand occasions

Jordan is celebrating these days three grand, festive, occasions. 

One is the Independence Day, observed on May 25. That day, in 1946, Jordan came from under the British mandate, became a full-fledged sovereign entity and wrote its own constitution. That was 70 years ago. 

The second occasion is the Arabisation of the “Arab Army”, during which, replacing the British commander of the Arab Legion, John Glubb, with a Jordanian army general.

King Hussein took that bold step in 1956, which exposed his Throne to intrigues and conspiracies that he spelled out in his book “Uneasy Lies the Head”.

That was 60 years ago.

The third occasion is the passage of a century since Sharif Al Hussein Ibn Ali fired the first shot ushering in the Great Arab Revolt against the Unionists in Istanbul.

These three events are the main landmarks shaping Jordan’s history, and their commemorative years all coincided: 70, 50, 100 years old respectively.

In 1946, when Jordan was declared an independent Kingdom, its population stood at about 500,000. Of these, more than 70 per cent worked in agriculture. 

The country’s infrastructure was quite primitive.

The average life expectancy was 50 to 53 years, and illiteracy stood at over 50 per cent among men and 70-75 per cent among women.

The Jordanian budget was barely £50 million; Jordan did not have its own currency.

Seven decades later, the budget exceeds JD8 billion and the economy is much more structurally wider.

The population is about 10 million and the rate of illiteracy among women is less than 12 per cent.

The purpose of these comparisons is not to make static analysis and boast about “how far we have come since”. The purpose is far more dignified: to understand the success and survival of a country that had been written off on many occasions and is now a force of stability, dignity and economic success.

What made these relative big achievements possible is the ability to create a synergy among three elements.

The first is the people. The original people of Jordan, who had braved centuries of hardships and marginalisation by whoever ruled Transjordan, were always hospitable to the continuous waves of refugees seeking abode in a country that had little economic promise. Thus people worked together.

The second factor was the terrain, which has also witnessed changes over time. 

The country, despite its meager resources, always managed to respond to people’s needs. It revealed its treasures in a slow but steady manner.

The third factor is the entrepreneurial spirit and hope that the Hashemites brought with them to this God forsaken terrain.

Their vision, wisdom ideals and historical legacy gave Jordan its identity.

These three cardinal factors created additional energy by being harmonised.

People, land and rulers performed an exemplary action that kept the country moving from one crescendo to the next.

The harmonic symphony of Jordan is what enabled this otherwise poor country to move through thin and thick and become a trusted ally, and a reliable friend and partner.

Jordan deserves congratulations, and its epic story deserves to be told absorbed and remembered.

The writer, a former Royal Court chief and deputy prime minister, is a member of Senate. He contributed this article to The Jordan Times.