Jordan isn't a war zone like Afghanistan and I haven't seen many military personnel or even men with guns. At one big mall here that has underground parking I saw trunks of cars being searched for bombs. But other than that there is little sign of the unrest from two of Jordan's borders.
One border is with Syria where fighting has gone on for over two years against the Assad regime. Refugees from Syria are now living in Jordan and are causing a huge drain on Jordanian resources, particularly water. Zaatari camp is home to 160,000 refugees and is now Jordan's fifth largest city.
Jordan also has a border with Israel and the so-called occupied territory of the West Bank or Palestine.
Refugees from Palestine have come to Jordan since 1948 when approximately 100,000 left their homes. The children and grandchildren of those original refugees (and of the ones who have come since that time) are all considered Palestinian refugees by the United Nations. They also were given Jordanian citizenship.
There are now an estimated 2 million Palestinian refugees living in Jordan - about 30% of Jordan's total population.
We met a lot of Palestinians here in Amman. Even though they might not have been born in Palestine, their parents or grandparents were and they still consider that their homeland, even though at this point they cannot return.
It is not surprising that many Jordanians are not fond of Israel or Israelis - or Jews, since many here do not differentiate being a Jew from being an Israeli.
Several Jordanians told us that Israelis are not welcome here. One said her parents would not allow her to teach a class with a Jewish student.
That's what made the incident on the bus last week so upsetting. A young man in a yarmulke, the traditional Jewish cap for men, got on the bus with two of his friends. They sat across the aisle from each other and carried on a laughing conversation. I think they were speaking Arabic, but the cap gave at least one of them away as being Jewish.
I saw people glaring and others looking down at their laps. It was an uncomfortable situation.
I told one Palestinian and she found it unbelievable that such a thing would occur.
I hope the young man wasn't an American who just didn't realize how offensive it was for him to flaunt his Jewish-ness. But I bet he was.
In any case, I felt really bad for the passengers on the bus that day.
One border is with Syria where fighting has gone on for over two years against the Assad regime. Refugees from Syria are now living in Jordan and are causing a huge drain on Jordanian resources, particularly water. Zaatari camp is home to 160,000 refugees and is now Jordan's fifth largest city.
Jordan also has a border with Israel and the so-called occupied territory of the West Bank or Palestine.
Refugees from Palestine have come to Jordan since 1948 when approximately 100,000 left their homes. The children and grandchildren of those original refugees (and of the ones who have come since that time) are all considered Palestinian refugees by the United Nations. They also were given Jordanian citizenship.
There are now an estimated 2 million Palestinian refugees living in Jordan - about 30% of Jordan's total population.
We met a lot of Palestinians here in Amman. Even though they might not have been born in Palestine, their parents or grandparents were and they still consider that their homeland, even though at this point they cannot return.
It is not surprising that many Jordanians are not fond of Israel or Israelis - or Jews, since many here do not differentiate being a Jew from being an Israeli.
Several Jordanians told us that Israelis are not welcome here. One said her parents would not allow her to teach a class with a Jewish student.
That's what made the incident on the bus last week so upsetting. A young man in a yarmulke, the traditional Jewish cap for men, got on the bus with two of his friends. They sat across the aisle from each other and carried on a laughing conversation. I think they were speaking Arabic, but the cap gave at least one of them away as being Jewish.
I saw people glaring and others looking down at their laps. It was an uncomfortable situation.
I told one Palestinian and she found it unbelievable that such a thing would occur.
I hope the young man wasn't an American who just didn't realize how offensive it was for him to flaunt his Jewish-ness. But I bet he was.
In any case, I felt really bad for the passengers on the bus that day.
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