Why do we need a policeman at every corner?
We have been working hard to facilitate a meeting between the representatives of Ashrafiah area and the police. People have been complaining that there is not much seguridad social that area… Ashrafiah is marginalized, even though there is an astounding population density. Marginalized means that there are not many policemen to control the masses. As a result there is a lot of what people referred to as Za3raneh… which means naughtiness!
The meeting brought a lot of thoughts to my mind. On the one hand, representatives of the church, which also could be speaking of behalf of schools there, said that they need a police car to go around the area. Father Shabaan said that this would do the same function as the cane he holds in his hand when attending to his students… he said that even though he never used it, but upon seeing it, students stand upright every single time!
And as if to confirm his words, a very noisy truck was going in the narrow street, in which the building where we were meeting was… one of those trucks that sells and buys used furniture and the voice WAS loud… it took the policeman’s showing himself at the window for the car to turn the noise down and goto another area!
People were listing their grievances one after the other… from drug abuse to alcoholism to lovers sneaking out at night to exchange kisses in dark allies… to guys saying dirty commentaries whenever a girl passes, and the list went on and on…It was at some point bordering the amusing, sometimes the disturbing and sometimes the serious…
The police representative, who happened to be a very charming fellow… started explaining to us what work load the police have, what they go through, and the number of cases they have to deal… and we all were sympathetic, even the most skeptical.
He brought up some very important issue…
Why doesn’t the citizen cooperate with the police? I mean why do people expect that the police has to do everything.. why doesn’t everyone help a little… his questions made me wonder… why do we need imposed censorship in order to do “the right thing“ I mean people drive through allies very quickly, when a child dies, a cup of coffee would solve the problem…
Why should we wait for a police man to be standing at every corner in order to prevent the need for that cup of coffee, when the problem can be solved from the very beginning by not driving fast in the first place? this was one random example.
Ok… now that I wrote this I can stop thinking about the issue here… I happen to be listening to What a wonderful wordl… God knows when was the last time I heard this song… but like a good cup of Earl Grey, Louis Armstrong will never lose his timeless edge.
And I think to myself … What a wonderful World, one of my favorites!
Regarding your blog, maybe we think that the police must DO everything, because they spread their logo (Al-Shurta fe Khedmat al Sha3b)!
anyhow, hope you are doing fine, missing you =)
Hugs
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Some time ago when I thought I am living in Nirvana !!!our matured upbringing homes and our dear parents where the police to guard and prevent , yet to day all values religious and ethicals ,diminished and the need for the state stand up to fulfil what is taken away from us the right to live in peace and harmony ,what is left is for the state to replace what is badly lost Ethics ,Honor and the divine value .So we replace all in a Policeman
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Hey Samah… as always it is great hearing from you. I am sorry that work thing did not work out… but you are always on my mind as an artist and a hard worker
Miss you too.. will give you a call soon, maybe we will get together… i am also still looking for an EVS for you abraod… i have an opportunity in Sweden, but has nothing to do with photography… are you interested? it has to do with other art forms… what do you say?
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Nadim,
Thank you for your comment. it is a very sad outlook on life… i still think that it is a wonderful world
as the song says. i think there is a lot of problems, but there is still so much goodness everywhere… so nope… i won’t lose faith in the human race just yet.
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It is me again . as you are reminiscing over Satchmo’s
I see trees of green, red roses too.
I see them bloom, for me and you.
And I think to myself… what a wonderful world.
Why not try something as lovely, with a more desire willing to live try (Gershwin ) ;
Summertime,And the livin’ is easy
Fish are jumpin’
And the cotton is high
Your daddy’s rich
And your mamma’s good looking’
So hush little baby
Don’t you cry
One of these mornings
You’re going to rise up singing
Then you’ll spread your wings
And you’ll take to the sky
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I hate that song..
za3raneh will always exist, some areas more than others,a solution to reduce it would be by a neighborhood watch program, which does not exist in Amman..and so again,its up to the police to do the watch patrols..
..and I thought all blogger chicks are sophisticated banat 3abdoon..tile3 fee msakhameen…still of course kol il nas khair ou barakeh..
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=)
No worries about the work thing, am enjoying my vacation
and am excited about that UN thing, it’ll start this coming Friday, and the schedule sounds interesting!
I am interested, but I need to know more info about what kind of art is the EVS about! so waiting your call
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Mr. Anonymous,
Your comment is very amusing… it indicates discrimination in all its kinds… first of all referring to women as chicks is very discriminatory…. Maybe you want to be careful about that…. Second, just imagining that people who live in Abdoon are sophisticated and everyone else are not, is slightly… what can I say? Maybe narrow?
Thirdly, your comment also indicates that you think that everyone who lives outside Abdoun is mskham… so tell me people who live in Dabouq for example… this is not Abdoun… are they mskhameen? People who live in Sarou? In Humar? In jabal webdeh? Jabal Amman?… come man… you can do better.
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No..I just tend to mess with ppl’s heads,
lesson learned here:
Never try to mess with Madas’head ,she’d get you all confused and now the joke is on you tough guy!
I’m dazed here..so who’s msakham and who’s not? is it about money,social status,happiness?..and who the hell came up with msakham ou msakhmat words..
Don’t join my club haters just yet,but If you have to,mention me as a reference,you get a free refrigerator magnet with my pic on it.
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mr.anonymous, though it is not my Blog ,but such Blogs are as a public property ,and I do visit many of them to enjoy the delight of a conversing and expressing unpopulated thoughts with other peplole. to day and in this particular case I am taking the stand not to defend madas as I am sure she is capable of doping it herself if she wishes so .But reading your messages/post attracted my attention to really find out what kind of a person are you , good English ,witty in a bad form ,more over why don’t you come out of your secluded self and be open like others standing up and contribute positively .wouldn’t you like that ? try it may work for you and become mr.someone instead of Mr. nobody hiding behind animosity .can you please correct my English .
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Nadim
Sadeeki,your english is fine,you even use words I have to look up to understand.
I could launch a full scale attack on you, for escalating an already explained and I think harmless resolved matter, moreover you personally attacked me and tkhawatet 3ala my nickname, its my nickname!!
but I’ll leave the matter as is.
Madas
I don’t want to be a reason for drama issues on your virtual space..I’ll just go
“pushes the revolving door and walks out into the wind..komet 2ash rolls by..”
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Hi Mariam,
I agree that the police should not have to solve every problem that people have with each other. If people would just have a bit of respect for each other, there would not be such a need for the police.
I am a bit confused about the child dying in an alley and the cup of coffee. If I had a child who was killed by an irresponsible driver, no amount of coffee would make me feel whole again!
I have often wondered why some people are rude or worse to other people. Why do some people act like predators and deliberately seek to harm others? Are they a less evolved form of life? There are lots of animal predators who kill to survive, and who kill each other to defend their hunting grounds or to win access to females for mating. It really seems like some people behave just like animal predators. So, have their brains been disconnected or damaged in some way that they act upon selfish instincts only? Maybe their behavior is a product of how they were raised. If they were starved or severely beaten as children, maybe that is why they grew up only able to harm others, instead of living cooperatively in society. Also, in some cases, I think that violent behavior is a matter of genetics.
Hey, I love “Its a Wonderful World”! When I hear Louis singing that song it makes me feel happy.
I finally saw The Red Violin. I commented about it at my blog. I’ll try to write there more often. Thanks for the encouragement.
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Mr. Anonymous,
no harm done… I find your comments amusing so no worries at all. As for Msakham… i think it is neither money nor class… it is a state of mind.. people who love to be victims, people whoa re addicted to the misry in life.
I won’t join your club haters, but i would neverthe less like to see your picture on a fridge magnet
thanks for not fighting in my space… i have to deal with enough conforntation in the real world…
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Nadim,
Thank you for the rescue. I wish real people are like this…as you know they stopped making men like this
I spent my entire life fighting people who love me because they always tried to protect me, i ended up leading a sheltered life… i always tell them, let me fight my battles, let me learn how to defend myself… so that i become stronger… it took me ages… but i am learning slowly…
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David,
The peoblem is that respect and ethics are not things that come intuitively. They are things that need to be learned… I think it will take people generation to reach a point where they truly give up their selfishness and learn how to be respectful.
In Jordan, there is the tribal law. If someone dies in an accident, then the family of the person who killed, will take a lot of prominant men and go to ask the forgiveness of the victim’s family…. they go there and there would be a cup of coffee between them… this cup is only drunk if the family has forgiven the other family… and story ends there… this way the person will only be persecuted in what is referred to as the right of the people… but it will be a lighter punishement because the family has forgiven them… this cupt of coffee will save the two families a lot of vengence….
Of course you are right, no amount of cofee can make up for the loss of one person.
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madas no credit is due for me .this was not a rescue attempt ,but a dialogue pertaining to the etiquette while using a public domain like a Blog .madas you need to defend your self only if you are in danger ,not in this attempt ,you have been given a credit by mr. anonymous.I still need Mr. nobody hiding behind animosity .can you please correct my English (animosity).
If I am like you in Jordan I would be where I am needed by madas’s project first thing , you called me Sadeeki so please prove it .such will do you lots of good inner feelings ,and I can achieve a credit from you and madas .
There is a lot of good in this life if we only practice it .
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Sorry lady since you’re not a member you get no free fridge magnet, you have to think of a way to earn it..you’ve got my email address,be creative.
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I think I understand now about the coffee. It is a ritual that will allow for forgiveness and prevent further killings in revenge for the first death. Does this ritual also include the exchange of money or other forms of compensation for the death? I imagine that in the past a certain number of domestic animals (like sheep or goats) would be given to the victim’s family to compensate them for the loss of their loved one.
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David,
As a matter of fact i am not sure of the details of the exchange… i believe there is money involved… a preset amount… especially if the deceased had a family to provide for… you are right it is a forgiveness ritual… I am sure it is a very hard ritual… imagine having to go the family of someone who has been killed and look into their parents eyes for example and say sorry… the idea alone breaks my heart…
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Hello
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