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AMMAN — A desire to bring fresh Middle Eastern voices rarely encountered by English readers pushed Jordanian writer Hisham Bustani to join “The Common”, a young literary journal based at Massachusetts’ Amherst College.

In its latest issue, “The Common” published a special portfolio of Jordanian short stories in English translation, which were presented on Saturday at Fann Wa Chai in Jabal Lweibdeh.

“Jordan, like many smaller Arab countries, has long been assumed to be a literary backwater: it lacks the political and cultural weight and massive population of Egypt, the financial resources of the Gulf states and the glitter of Lebanon,” said Bustani, The Common’s Arabic fiction editor, adding “this issue of Jordanian literature celebrates some of the country’s best authors, showcasing a cross-section of varied styles, themes and generations.”

Presented to a Jordanian audience for the first time at the event, The Common’s Issue 15 includes work by prominent writers such as Ghalib Halasa, Mahmoud Al Rimawi, and Elias Farkouh; established but lesser-known writers such as Jamila Amaireh and Mufleh Al Odwan; and emerging writers Majidah Al Outum and Haifa’Abul-Nadi. 

“Many of these writers are appearing in English translation for the first time. Even Halasa, an influential cultural figure in the Arab world from the 1970s until his death-in-exile in 1989, can rarely be found translated into English,” Bustani pointed out, noting that the event aims at bringing “fresh Middle Eastern voices scarcely encountered in English to an American and broader readership and, in so doing, foster rich cross-cultural exchanges”.

Speaking at the event, editor-in-chief of The Common, Jennifer Acker said: “I am thrilled to continue working with Hisham to showcase the literary richness of contemporary Arabic authors and we are committed to making The Common a home for talented Middle Eastern writers little known in the US.”

In 2016, Bustani and Acker co-edited The Common’s special issue “Tajdeed” dedicated to contemporary Arabic fiction, which was “a step towards remedying the under-representation of Arabic literature in the US”, they agreed, stressing that “less than 1 per cent of all works in translation published in the US every year come from Arabic”.

Following a presentation of the new publication, Bustani read an excerpt from Ghaleb Halasa’s “The Slaves”, a tale of the unexpected revolt of enslaved workers against their Bedouin owners, before another reader took over to present Fairooz Tamimi’s “Operating Manual”.

The other seven authors included in the issue read their work to the public, covering topics ranging from human struggles and longing throughout Jordan’s 20th century, women’s contemplation of life, relationships and motherhood, and the exploration of lineage and identity, among others.

“The pieces were brilliantly rendered from Arabic into English by four award-winning female translators: Maia Tabet, Elisabeth Jaquette, Thoraya El Rayyes and Alice Guthrie,” Acker noted.

The Issue 15 will also be simultaneously published in its original Arabic format in renowned Egyptian literary weekly Akhbar Al Adab, according to Bustani, who highlighted “this cross-continental literary collaboration will further encompass all of The Common’s forthcoming Arabic portfolios in translation.”

The event also featured some of the sketches by Jordanian artist Alaa Tawalbeh included in the issue.

AMMAN — A five-year national population media strategy was launched on Sunday with the aim of supporting efforts to achieve and invest in an expected “demographic window” which officials said Jordan can reach “soon”.

Officials present at the ceremony said that the media strategy will be aiding official efforts to spread awareness among the public of the relevance between the development processes and population issues, particularly the demographic window, which they defined as the period of time when the population at a working age becomes the prominent group in the national economy. 

According to the strategy, a copy of which was made available to The Jordan Times, Jordan is expected to enter the transition to this period of demographic window “soon when the working population in the age group 15-64 years would exceed in number the dependent groups aged under 15 years or more than 64 years”, thus requiring adjusting educational, training, employment, health and other relevant policies.

This transition requires the awareness of the public as a whole of the opportunities inherent in the demographic window which should be invested in wisely, the officials said.

Addressing the launch ceremony, Minister of State for Media Affairs Mohammad Momani said preparing the strategy highlights the importance of the media in addressing various societal issues and in countering challenges. 

Momani called for properly investing in the demographic window to give momentum to the development process, particularly that Jordan, which is countering various challenges at the present time, is capable of turning challenges into opportunities, relying on the efforts of its human resources, which the minister described as the country’s main asset.

Secretary General of the Higher Population Council Maysoon Zoubi said the strategy was intended to meet the continuous developments in the media as well as population fields.

The strategy, Zoubi told the ceremony, aims to draw a “detailed roadmap for the role of the media in population issues over the coming five years in accordance with a clear and flexible vision”.

The council’s most important role in this regard is to provide the media with the needed information, as well as training a specialised group of journalists on dealing with relevant issues in a professional manner.

Jordan Media Institute (JMI) Dean Basim Tweissi highlighted the importance of having media practitioners specialising in demographic issues, which have been changing drastically over the past decades.

The population of Jordan increased tenfold over the past 55 years, with Jordanians constituting only 69 per cent of the total, Tweissi said in outlining the main features of the strategy.  Half of the 31 per cent non-Jordanians of the population are Syrians, said the dean of the JMI, which was one of the council’s partners in preparing the strategy along with USAID’s Tawasol Project, adding that the illiteracy rate was estimated at 9.1 per cent, 6.7 per cent for Jordanians and 14.5 per cent for non-Jordanians.

He said that the population in Jordan has been growing at unreasonable rates due to forced migrations. The average population growth rate in the period 2004-2015 was 5.3 per cent, raised mainly by the non-Jordanian growth rate of 18 per cent, while the growth rate for Jordanians was 3.1 per cent, which he described as being relatively high when compared to global figures.

Still, there is an opportunity for Jordan to work on creating a demographic window characterised by a drop in population growth rate and rise in the workforce figures, he said, thus increasing economic opportunities if well exploited.

Tweissi added that the public needs to be aware of this window through professional media channels that target the society as a whole, including policymakers, with the right messages.

Among these messages that the media strategy aims to highlight are the importance of the nucleus family and reproductive health services, as well as supporting women’s and youth’s role in the economy.

“A small and happy Jordanian family advances through equality between the sexes” is one of the main messages of the campaign, he said. 

Another is: “The key to advancing the Jordanian society and serving its prosperity lies in empowering women politically, economically and socially.”

AMMAN — The Economic Research Forum (ERF) on Sunday inaugurated its policy conference on “Employment, Education and Housing in Jordan: The Impacts of the Syrian Refugee Influx” in Amman, which is set to continue through Monday. 

Held in cooperation with the Economic and Social Council (ESC) and the Department of Statistics (DoS), the conference started with a policy-oriented discussion examining the impact of the Syrian refugee crisis on the wellbeing of Jordanians, followed by an academic seminar presenting the results of a survey on the Jordanian labour market.

Planning Minister Imad Fakhoury thanked the partners “for their efforts in presenting facts, statistics and papers that are essential for decision makers and the conduction of national dialogue towards development”.

“However, in order to discuss this, we need to look at the refugee crisis as a whole,” the minister stressed, adding that “Jordan has never relinquished its duty to host our Arab brothers despite the challenges. But, in the 8th year of conflict, the crisis has already affected several sectors in the Kingdom and exhausted capacities”.

 “This adds to the delay — or rather inadequacy — in the support provided by the international community,” Fakhoury continued, highlighting the gaps and imbalances in the aid provided “despite Jordan’s appreciation”.

Outlining the figures provided in the studies, Minister of Education Omar Razzaz said: “Having numbers to analyse rather than just viewpoints gives us something to rely on when building our policies.”

He stressed that Syrian refugee children are distributed among 47 schools in refugee camps and 207 schools in the rest of the Kingdom, with a total of 130,000 children enrolled in formal education. 

 “This raises the question of where all the other children are,” the minister stated, noting that leaving children out of school leads to issues such as early marriage and child labour. 

Secretary General of the Labour Ministry Hani Khleifat underlined the severe impact of 1.4 million Syrian refugees on the Jordanian labour market, “in a context of unemployment rated already on the rise”.

“The Ministry of Labour has followed the Royal directions on dealing with refugees through a humanitarian approach,” the official said, noting that the ministry has issued over 100,000 flexible work permits that allow refugees to leave the camp and pursue employment. 

“But this has impacted the host communities and we need to hold hands with the Syrians while caring for the most vulnerable Jordanian people,” Khleifat continued, noting the ministry’s intention to apply the forum’s recommendations on enforcing labour laws and holding employers accountable for their application. 

“The deteriorating security situation in the region as a whole, and Syria in particular, has resulted in large flows of refugees into Jordan and a reduction in tourism and foreign investment,” a statement by the ERF said, adding that “the challenges facing Jordan have put serious strains on the Kingdom’s economy and its labour market, which were manifested in a substantial slowdown in economic growth and a decline in employment rates among Jordanians”.

Aiming to examine the impact of the Syrian refugee influx on the labour market outcomes and the access to education services and housing for Jordanians, the forum builds on the data collected as part of the second wave of the Jordan Labour Market Panel Survey, in 2016 and 2017, which was implemented by ERF in cooperation with DoS.

 “ERF has continuously supported decision making towards development and capacity building and we have shown great interest in establishing instruments in this direction,” ERF Managing Director Ibrahim Elbadawi said, pointing out that the organisation relies on data from 15 countries across the region, in 93 databases available for consultation by policymakers.

AMMAN — More efforts are needed to boost cooperation between Jordan and Finland and increase trade exchange, which is “low” and “below desired levels”, according to representatives of a Finnish delegation that visited the Kingdom recently.

The representative of the delegation, which included 14 companies from various sectors from Finland, said that their visit to Jordan, which took place between May 7 and 12 was “very fruitful” and “will help boost ties at all levels”.

“This is the best visit we have conducted to this region… The companies are satisfied with the visit and saw huge business potential and opportunities for cooperation with Jordanian counterparts,” Jyrki Harkki, director of Business Finland, which organised the visit in cooperation with Karelia University of Applied Science, told The Jordan Times.

“We will now highlight the business opportunities available in Jordan to various Finnish companies… we believe there is more to be done to boost trade exchange,” he continued.

At the end of 2017, the trade exchange between Jordan and Finland, including imports and exports, represented less than 1 per cent of the EU’s gross trade.  

“This is a low figure and we will continue holding visits for delegations from Finland to help boost trade and exchange and pave the way for increased bilateral cooperation,” Harkki stressed.

The Finnish delegation included companies working in the fields of early childhood education, environmentally friendly cold chain solutions for food and health safety, innovative natural resource management, solar energy equipment for demanding environments, as well as fast mobilisation systems for humanitarian personnel.

“The visit provided an opportunity for direct networking and communication between the Finnish companies and Jordanian counterparts, which is a step in the right direction,” the director said.

Discussions also covered cooperation in the sectors of renewable energy and education, Helena Puhakka-Tarvainen, senior project manager at Karelia University of Applied Sciences, told The Jordan Times.

She announced that a conference on bio-energy and renewable energy will be held in October in Amman, with the participation of Finnish experts who will explore cooperation opportunities between both countries, especially as Finland enjoys “a long experience in these two areas”.

She added that it was agreed during the visit to provide an opportunity for students of the Princess Sumaya University for Technology to receive training in Finnish companies.

“Some students will travel to Finland and will be trained in Finnish ICT companies as part of an ongoing project,” Puhakka-Tarvainen concluded.

AMMAN — Payments made through e-FAWATEER.com in the first four months of 2018 stood at JD2.119 billion, marking a 275 per cent increase, when compared to the same period of 2017, which registered JD593 million, the Central Bank of Jordan (CBJ) announced on Sunday.

According to CBJ data, cited by the Jordan News Agency, Petra, the number of bills paid through the online system in the January-April period of 2018 rose to 2.718 million, compared to 1.153 million bills paid in the same period of 2017, marking a 135 per cent increase.

E-FAWATEER.com, run by the CBJ, is a central system which allows the reviewing and paying of bills, as well as other electronic services through linking public and private institutions of various sectors on one side, and banks and payment service providers on the other.

The system provides access to all electronic payment methods related to banks such as branches, ATMs, telephone and Internet banking, and payment through mobile and kiosk devices.

Since its launch in 2015, e-FAWATEER.com witnessed payments worth more than JD6.068 billion by the end of April 2018, through 9.7 million transactions, according to CBJ data.

Public institutions amounted for the biggest share of e-payments, standing at JD2.009 billion by the end of April 2018.

The number of institutions that issue bills on the system currently stands at 136, CBJ said, expecting 18 new institutions to join the system during 2018.

AMMAN — The government on Sunday condemned the “cowardly act” of a terrorist who stabbed a group of people in Paris, resulting in a number of deaths and injuries, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The government also condemned the bombing attacks on three churches in Surabaya, Indonesia, which resulted in several deaths and injuries. Minister of State for Media Affairs Mohammad Momani said that Jordan condemns these “cowardly terrorist acts”, adding that “targeting places of worship is an offence that contravenes all religious values and principles”.

Momani, who is also the government’s spokesperson, said that “uprooting blind terrorism”, which kills innocent people across the world requires joint efforts of the international community. He conveyed the government’s condolences to the French and Indonesian governments and the victims’ families, wishing the injured a speedy recovery.

AMMAN — Minister of Justice Awad Abu Jarad on Sunday met with Ukrainian Ambassador to Jordan Sergei Pasco and his accompanying delegation to discuss means of enhancing cooperation in the judicial and legal fields, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Abu Jarad stressed the Kingdom’s support to all efforts exerted to achieve security and stability in the region following decades of conflicts, underlining the importance of enhancing cooperation to address common challenges.

He noted that Jordan and Ukraine share multilateral agreements such as the UN convention against terrorism and the convention against transnational organised crime. For his part, Pasco stressed his country’s keenness to boost legal and judicial coordination with Jordan.

AMMAN — Minister of State for Media Affairs Mohammad Momani on Sunday stressed the importance of cooperation with media outlets and providing them with the information they need to reach the public opinion in a transparent and clear manner.

During a meeting on Sunday, Momani briefed media spokespersons of public institutions on the latest national policies and plans, stressing that spokespersons should take the initiative and provide media outlets with information on the services extended to citizens, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

On the draft of the Income Tax Law, the minister stressed the need to clarify its related facts and block the promotion of false reports. He also encouraged media outlets to address topics related to Ramadan such as the values of the holy month, as well as issues related to monitoring prices and combating monopolisation. The minister also listened to spokespersons’ suggestions and recommendations to enhance the work in media departments.  

AMMAN — The Jordan Chamber of Commerce will hold a dialogue meeting next Tuesday to discuss the amended draft law on the income tax for 2018, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported on Sunday.

Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce Nael Kabariti said that this meeting came from the chamber’s keenness to enhance participation and coordination with private sector representatives in order to achieve national economic interests and to open doors for dialogue and consultation in law amendments that concern the private sector in Jordan.

Kabariti stressed that any amendments to the draft Income Tax Law should be part of an economic reform plan without adversely affecting the economic activity in the Kingdom, which is already suffering from difficult conditions due to the political events taking place in the region.

Jordan Furniture Exporters and Manufacturers Association demanded in a press statement on Sunday to wait before proceeding with the new draft tax law adoption because of its negative impact on the national economy and the investment environment.

AMMAN — Participants in an international conference held in Amman stressed the necessity of demanding the International Criminal Court to make 2018 the year of investigation into the Israeli crimes of occupation in the occupied Palestinian territories, especially the crimes of settlement and aggression against the Gaza Strip, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported on Sunday.

At the conference titled “Prolonged Israeli occupation and the reality of human rights in the Palestinian Territories since 1967”, the participants called for consideration of cases brought by Palestinian human rights organisations on war crimes committed by the Israeli occupation forces against civilians and their properties after the first investigation.

They also called on the UN to fulfil its responsibility to enable the Palestinians to achieve their right for self-determination, as the international body is firstly responsible for the Palestinian issue since the adoption of Partition Resolution no. 181 by the General Assembly and its recognition of the state of Israel.