Jordanians Said Using SMS Messages, E-Mail to Complain About Rising Prices

Text of report by London-based independent Quds Press web news agency

["Jordanians Protest Raising Prices Through Mobile Messages To Avoid Further Costs" - Quds Press headline]

Jordanians have been recently exchanging SMS messages on their mobile phones to express their displeasure and hardship as a result of the raise of fuel prices and the consequent rise in the standards of living. They have also been sending e-mail messages to vent their feelings and protest. While hundreds of thousands of Jordanians have exchanged these messages, the opposition parties have failed to assemble a few dozen people to stage sit-ins to protest the rising prices.

Most probably, Jordanians have been going through a stage of “horror” for more than a month due to the rise in standards of living as a result of raising fuel prices and the impact of the decline in the US economy on the local currency, which is pegged to the dollar. They found that expressing their displeasure over what is happening through SMS messages is less costly, from the security and social aspects, than participating in sit-ins and marches to express protests.

In their text messages, Jordanians refer to oil and gas as precious commodities, saying that getting these is an unattainable dream. They also tell jokes about the decisions related to raising prices, while speaking about the future in a way that reflects the great frustration they are experiencing.

One of the text messages says the following: “discoveries…the stone age: discovery of fire; iron age, discovery of iron; modern age, discovery of oil; the golden [dhahabi, also the name of the current prime minister] age (a reference to the government of Nadir al-Dhahabi), oil is on fire and we are again Ala al-Hadidah [on iron]. Ala al-Hadidah is a slang Jordanian expression meaning very poor.

Another message quotes from a tradition by the Prophet, God’s peace and blessings be upon him, in which he asks people not to overspend, to speak about the rise of fuel prices. The message says “do not overspend in the use of three items: gas, kerosene, and electricity. Narrated by a Muslim who is feeling very cold,” in a reference to the cold that is hitting Jordanian homes because of their inability to get fuel for their heaters.

Some social experts say that this step to express protest came instead of Jordanians responding to protest marches and sit-ins called by some opposition parties and professional associations. Husayn al-Khuza’i, an expert on social affairs, attributed this to the fact that the Jordanian citizen is suffering from a state of “authority-phobia,” arguing that Jordanians are still wary of the consequences of protests, which could affect their life and work and could cause them to be pursued, thus increasing the burden on them. Therefore, they are shunning such types of protests and moving to a less risky protest, which could have an echo; namely, exchanging mobile messages, which do not make the citizen legally accountable, as he thinks.

Jordanian authorities do not pursue people who take part in marches, especially if they are licensed. However, the authorities have recently arrested two activists, saying that they were distributing leaflets about the rising prices and that these leaflets were not licensed by the Press and Publications Department.

The Jordanian Government, led by Engineer Nadir al-Dhahabi, lifted subsidy on oil by-products last February and linked them to international prices, which led to the rise in the prices of more than 100 commodities that are directly or indirectly linked to these by-products.

The poor of all categories account for around 80 per cent of the population of Jordan, according to official reports issued by the Department of Statistics. These categories have been greatly affected by the freeing of prices. A report issued by the Central Bank of Jordan said that the prices of basic commodities in the country have risen by 70 per cent on average since the decision to lift subsidy on oil by-products in early February.

A report issued by the World Bank said that Jordan has seen a rise in inflation over the past two months, reaching 9 per cent. The World Bank expects the inflation rate to reach over 20 per cent by the end of this year if the current economic policies continue.

Originally published by Quds Press news agency, London, in Arabic 15 Mar 08.

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