Amna Al Obaidi (she/her/hers) previously served as a Digital Content Creator for Weave News. She is passionate about sustainable gender development in conflict-affected zones, mental health, and women’s sexual and reproductive rights advocacy.
“Amman has experienced successive waves of Palestinian, Iraq, and Syrian refugees for many decades as it is seen as the most economically, socially, and politically stable capital in the region. Therefore, many of the refugees — displaced by decades of “western” (especially American) interjection into the region — tend to resettle in Amman…People of various Arab regions were removed from their homes and a once familiar life, and forced to relocate and re-establish their lives and stories elsewhere so often, and yet have not forgotten the foundation of their strife.”
“Jordanians are angry that the country’s economic dependence on the United States would be further compounded by this new dependence on Israel for water. Given that the Jordanian regime’s survival is closely intertwined with the West, any disagreement with either the United States or Israel could be detrimental to the country’s stability. The water-energy deal would exacerbate this relationship, and locals were quick to reject it.”