Soldiering on after 40 years

One day in the spring of 1989, the new prime minister, Sharif Zaid Bin Shaker, asked to see me in his office.

I was working then at the Ministry of Planning, and had been writing a column on the side in The Jordan Times, “Talking Straight”, since 1982.

I had also been banned from writing for that past year by the Rifai government because of my views.

Bin Shaker said he liked my writings and wanted me to be his press adviser. It was to be the launch of a long, enriching and challenging career in public service that I am very proud of.

I owe my outlook on life primarily to two institutions: the American University of Beirut, where I first learned the beauty and strength of diversity, and The Jordan Times, where I later learned the power of conviction and the courage to speak truth to power.

The Jordan Times was supposed to be a paper catering to the foreign community in Jordan when it was first established in 1975.

It quickly became a magnet for young Jordanians liberal in their thinking and eager to develop their country and open up a political space largely restrictive then.

Under the able leadership of Rami Khouri and George Hawatmeh, a cadre of professional journalists developed, covering sensitive issues the Jordanian Arabic newspapers did not dare touch, but doing so with high journalistic standards.

People like Lamis Andoni, Samira Kawar, Rana Sabbagh, Salameh Nemat, Saad Hattar, Randa Habib, Rania Atalla, Ayman Safadi, Najwa Najjar, Olga Mikhael, Ghadeer Taher, Sana Abdallah, Nermeen Murad and many, many others owe their careers at least in part to The Jordan Times and that rather romantic period of the 1980s.

While most of the old cast has left, it is amazing that some kept soldiering on.

I do not see Samir Barhoum or Ica Wahbeh much these days, but just knowing they persevered all these years gives me comfort that the paper is still in good hands.

The Jordan Times is not immune, though, to the difficult times the entire paper industry is going through.

Those of us who care about keeping its spirit and vitality alive have an obligation to help the paper in every way possible during these times.

I have been fortunate to write a piece honouring The Jordan Times on its 10th, 20th and 30th anniversaries.

Ten years ago, I wrote the piece in honour of Abdullah Hasanat, who was my page editor, my friend and a guiding light.

Abdullah was a humble person from Wadi Musa, who had big dreams for his country and even a bigger heart. He succumbed to a rare disease more than 13 years ago, but his memory lives inside me every day.

I miss his clear mind, wise counsel and warm friendship.

The Jordan Times has had more than its fair share of people who have left this world way too early. Who does not miss Anand, the motor that kept the paper running on a daily basis, or Ara Voskian, with his cynicism and anarchist tendencies?

Last May though, we all lost one of the most genuine people I have known, a person of the purest hearts and the highest ethical standards; a true Jordanian and a real humanist.

Jenny Hamarneh succumbed to cancer after a long and admirable fight that forced her to leave a very successful stewardship as editor-in-chief of The Jordan Times.

I had known Jenny and her dear husband and my comrade-in-arms Mustafa Hamarneh for the last 30 years.

During her treatment in Washington, where I and my wife Lynne lived the last few years until last year, we formed a bond with Jenny that has and continues to touch my heart.

She had an elegance of style, a modesty of character and a wealth of humanity.

To Jenny, I dedicate this article. To The Jordan Times, I raise my hat.

With the help of all who care for professional journalism in Jordan, I hope we will continue to celebrate its 50th, 60th anniversaries and beyond.

The writer, former deputy prime minister and foreign minister, is vice president for studies, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.