For how long can Jordan be a saviour?

The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan has been recently facing quite a few challenges that could be described as being unprecedented in the Kingdom's short history. These challenges have been caused by both internal and external factors. There are a lot of complicated issues currently taking place in the region and Jordan finds itself involved in such issues for the first time. After decades, this Kingdom resisted efforts aimed at converting it into an alternative homeland for the Palestinians or into a destination where other regional powers can export their own calamities to. The Jordanian Monarch, King Abdullah II, is leading his country against storms. Firstly, there is an upsurge coming from Syria — a true people's revolution has taken place against a regime that is refusing to acknowledge that it has to step down today, rather than tomorrow. The longer this perpetuates, the longer the crisis will go on and the longer it will take the country to achieve a new regime which will guarantee appropriate living conditions for the Syrians. As each day passes, the number of the Syrian refugees in Jordan rises. Those refugees require the same services needed by the national residents, especially water supply, which Jordan is already struggling to grant for its own citizens due to the lack of water resources in the country. The number of Syrian refugees in Jordan is increasing intensely and is expected to reach 200,000 soon. Jordan is supposed to guarantee these refugees appropriate residence, sufficient food, health care and education — in short, the country will need severe financial aid in order to host the recurring refugees; this then generates another set of challenges for the country. Although the large number of Syrian refuges is putting a strain on the shoulders of Jordan, they still have not attempted to draw this pressure onto the Gulf States. But for how long can Jordan continue to carry out this role efficiently and effectively without the correct sufficient support? The main problem in Jordan is the struggling economy. King Abdullah II himself is aware of this fact and knows that addressing the challenges of the economy is the key for success in the political reform, including the legislative election planned to be held before the end of this year. That is why the King has moved quickly to suspend the hikes decided by the Jordanian government in fuel prices. However, the current conditions in Jordan pushed the King to give priority to deny those who aim to shake the country's stability any chance to achieve their goals through exploiting people's dissatisfaction of government decisions. Jordan's political leadership is showing strong insistence to prevent the Syrian crisis' repercussions from hindering the political reforms in Jordan. These reforms are aimed at establishing a political life based on a fair and open competition between the Jordanian political parties — this has been the real ambition of King Abdullah II and that is why he insists in holding the legislative election on its pre-decided date, despite the efforts exerted by the Muslim Brotherhood to postpone it. Holding this election upon a fair law that is not designed according to the Muslim Brotherhood's requirements has been a debated issue recently in Jordan, so the main goal of the Jordanian government at the moment is to guarantee the maximum turnout possible in this election to make sure that residents will decide their country's future in full honesty and full freedom. A public campaign has been launched amongst the country's electorate to register their names in the voter’s lists. If this campaign is to succeed in convincing a sufficient number of voters to register, then we can say that all the efforts exerted by the Brotherhood and the foreign powers supporting them to foil the election will have failed. A sufficient registry in the voters list will mean that the Jordanians are aware of the critical conditions their country is going through, and are also aware of the Brotherhood's attempts to impose their control on the people. Thus, it is required more than any time in the past that the silent majority in Jordan raise their voice to say that they are proud of their country and the achievements made in it despite the lack in natural resources. Needless to say that the conditions surrounding Jordan can be anything but easy; particularly the political changes witnessed in many countries, such as uprisings and the deteriorating situation in Syria. But who could imagine that Jordan will get over all the interior political pressure exerted in it during the last two years after the breaking out of the so-called "Arab Spring"? It is still too early to say that Jordan has succeeded in getting over its problems, but what draws attention is that more citizens are starting to recognise their individual responsibility in addressing these problems and the first step in holding this responsibility is to register in the voters list. Taking this step will show that the majority in Jordan are willing to take part in the battle for better future, instead of believing in the meaningless slogans that led the poor countries, which have next to zero natural resources, to worse conditions. --- The views expressed by the author do not necessarily represent or reflect the editorial policy of Arabstoday.