I promised I would write about my favorite session of the CSR Forum; Neighborhood Talk, probably because a lot of the points discussed and shared during that soulful, open, and informal discussion tapped on certain chords in me that had been in tension for a while, waiting for that vibration trigger, if you know what I mean.
A while back, I read this column by Yasser Abu Hilaleh, where he was talking about Amman. Ask anyone who lives in Amman, and who hasn’t lived anywhere else, where he or she is from… what are the chances they would answer, Amman? People trace themselves back to the remotest city or village, in Jordan or outside, rather than claim Amman. I’m not saying people should deny their origins, and where their parents are from… but it seems intriguing that out of two million people living in Amman, very few people claim it. When I was very young, I used to say that I am from Amman, then eventually, I started taking pride in saying that I am from Madaba… until, recently, I realized, that as much as I love Madaba, Amman is my home, and it is to Amman that I truly belong…
Abu Hilaleh eloquently describes Ammani’s relationship with Amman as a secret marriage that remains hidden in fear of the first wife. He describes Amman as a vibrant alive city made up of a rich blend, a city people might have sought out unwillingly at first, but eventually would not replace. “Alive cities are open cities,” he states. He writes that Amman might not be as dynamic as Cairo or as glamorous as Dubai, but that it has uniqueness that neither Cairo nor Dubai has… very subtle uniqueness. “This city of immigrants is not a hijacked city without color or smell.” The challenge, as he puts it, is to understand the character of Amman and its spirit. If you can read Arabic then I think you should just go read what he wrote… I would second every word he said.
This brings me to what I wanted to share about the CSR forum; the Neighborhood Talk session started with Fadi Haddad’s video, “in heaven as on earth”… an intimate work of art exploring the little details that characterize Amman as a place; starting with the ground… the streets, the pavement tiles, then going up the myriad of stairways connecting Amman’s old hilltops with its center, moving into the sky, shooting the pigeons that fly in circles above the skyline of the city, then zooming a little bit lower, between the sky and ground, to film colorful kites that make their pleasant appearance in the spring. The richness of visual details gave such a feeling of warmth… little things that you relate to very strongly, that you hadn’t thought of before.
After the video, Dr Sari Nasser started the session, in a very nice casual setting of couches, with people sitting in groups and sharing their thoughts and experiences. His starting point was the story of a woman, who spends so much time cleaning her house, and then throws away the dirty water outside her door step. He initiated a discussion about people’s sense of a belonging to something beyond the boundaries of their homes… belonging to their street, their neighborhood, their city.
Taghrid Fakhoury, who is in charge of the municipality’s project “Amman, a children-friendly city”, talked about her experiences when she was checking out the municipality’s parks and asking why people keep destroying and breaking the facilities there… most of the answers she got revolved around the lines “the Municipality has a lot of money… let them fix it!!”
Someone said that people have a lot of pent-up frustration and anger, which they seem to take out on public property. People don’t seem to feel a sense of ownership towards public property.
This project that Taghrid was talking about is very interesting; where they are involving young people and making them feel responsible for their neighborhoods. They had organized elections in 77 schools, to elect student representatives to work with the municipal council. Students are focusing on areas like public libraries, and spaces for children…
The forum shed more light on some of the new initiatives that Mayor Omar Maani is working on with the GAM team, to tackle a lot of the challenges and issues in Amman. He was very much involved in the sessions and different discussions, and one could sense his openness, and his passion towards what he is doing.
I could keep scribbling incoherent thoughts brought forth by that dialogue and subsequent reflections, but I guess what I want to wrap up with is how refreshing it is to meet more and more people passionate about their city, and determined to do what is in their capabilities to make it a better place. Me loves Amman!
it just brings a smile on your face to see all these people, young and old, men and women, couples, families… you name it… coming in before 8:00 am on Friday for some fun exercise. What’s also cool about it is that, unlike most gyms where people are of similar social and economic backgrounds, you see a lot of diversity. 
