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AMMAN — More than three years into the Syrian crisis, refugees continue to trickle into Jordan on a daily basis, with an average of 300 border crossings every day, according to Davide Terzi, International Organisation for Migration (IOM) chief of mission to Jordan.

Terzi added that around 100 Syrians are returning spontaneously to their homeland from Jordan every day.

“Jordan is doing a good job. Border guards at the frontlines contribute to collecting and shuttling these people,” he said in an interview with The Jordan Times on Wednesday, adding that emergency cases are admitted from the western front while the eastern front is where the refugees are coming.

“Certainly there is a big problem next door, in Syria, and if we were to put ourselves in their place, from humanitarian grounds, we have to assist, and Jordan, a country that has hosted waves of refugees, is doing an overall good job,” Terzi reiterated.

The IOM official said the European Commission has made a substantial amount of money available to support the border guards, and under a recent agreement signed with the commission, the migration agency will provide 47 heavy-duty means of transport to the border guards to help them “more easily evacuate these people” as soon as they arrive.

Since the beginning of the crisis, over 5,000 wounded persons have been assisted by border guards and international humanitarian partners. They were transferred to Jordanian medical facilities, Terzi noted.

A week ago, a delegation comprising diplomats from 24 Amman-based embassies visited the government’s reception and support operation area near the northeastern border.

At an area called Hadalat, at the northeastern corner of Jordan, bordering Syria and Iraq, they witnessed more than 300 refugees crossing into Jordan, according to an IOM statement.

Terzi said the main objective of such expeditions to border region is for the international community to see at first-hand the efforts carried out by the government and its international relief partners in support of the Syrian people.

“The reports we all read unfortunately do not provide a clear picture of what it really means or takes to assist refugees in a deserted and harsh location such as Jordan’s northeastern sector,” the IOM director said, “nor do they give a tangible understanding of the difficulties and extreme physical and logistics energies employed round-the-clock by the Jordanian Border Guards and their international relief partners to rescue the displaced population that seeks refuge in Jordan.”

Since 2011, through a civilian-military agreement, the IOM has been supporting the border guards in their task of receiving and ferrying people from the northern border to the transit centre in Ribaa Al Sarhan.

From there, they are transported by the IOM to the Zaatari Refugee Camp and the Emirati-Jordanian camp in Mreijeb Al Fhoud, which currently houses around 4,000 refugees.

On the road to Rweished, the diplomats’ convoy, accompanied by General Hussein Al Zyoud, commander of the Jordanian Border Guards, passed by Al Azraq camp.

An empty space for now, the camp was launched to respond to the flood of refugees in early 2013, when the average number of Syrian nationals crossing into Jordan was exceeding 4,000 per day.

At present, with the few hundred refugees trickling daily into the Kingdom, Azraq remains a contingency plan.

According to UNHCR figures, the Zaatari camp in Mafraq Governorate, over 80km northeast of Amman, is currently home to 92,000 people.

“This number has been identified in the most recent food distribution, but we, along with the government of Jordan are working to verify the figure as refugees will be issued new IDs soon, and this will give us more specific figures,” said Kilian Kleinschmidt, UNHCR Zaatari camp manager.

The number of registered refugees who entered Jordan since the beginning of the crisis has reached 600,000, of whom 80 per cent reside among host communities across the Kingdom, according to the IOM.

Many Syrians have spontaneously returned to their country, but it is difficult to verify the exact number, according to several representatives of humanitarian missions, who put the total number of these cases at 104,000 over three years.

In reply to a question on the Geneva conference, where the Syrian regime and the opposition are holding talks over a possible political solution, Terzi said: “We have not seen any breakthrough. The only concession was of the Syrian government in allowing the evacuation of Homs. UN envoy Lakhdar Brahimi and other UN officials are trying their best. Let’s hope we will achieve this political solution.”

“At least have a ceasefire. This is what is hoped,” he added, noting that the IOM was part of the task force that helped in the Homs evacuation. 

AMMAN — Only three Chinese novels were translated into English in 2012, while Arabs translated 30 of their fictional works into what is widely regarded as the world’s “universal language”, a scholar and translator has said.

Delivering a lecture recently at Columbia University Middle East Research Centre, Yasir Suleiman, a prolific writer and a fellow of King’s College London, said more Arabic works were translated into English because of the Arab world’s cultural, historical and geographical closeness to the West, and due to Westerners’ interest in the “Orient”.

In a talk titled “Orientalism and the Translation of Arabic Literature”, Suleiman explained that the choices of Arabic novels translated into English and other European languages are governed by Western indulgence in Orientalism.

“Orientalism has become a prison for translation,” he argued.

“Prejudice against Arabs and Islam is to blame for the very few Arabic literary works translated into European languages,” Suleiman said.

Referring many times to Edward Said’s widely read book “Orientalism” (1978), Suleiman said: “Despite growing international interest in the Middle East and increasing translation of Arabic literary fiction into English, some argue that Arabic literature is still not properly represented as a major literature of the world.

“One reason given is the Orientalist bias of the English-speaking audience, which tends only to be interested in specific subjects, such as women or despotism.”

In an interview with The Jordan Times following the lecture, Suleiman said there is “professionalism” in translation from Arabic into English now with translators becoming more aware of the concept of Orientalism and its cultural connotations.

“The oriental issue is no longer perceived, received and handled as it used to be,” he said.

Again asked about the reasons behind Arabs outnumbering the Chinese in producing translated fiction, Suleiman said that “Arabs are at the gates to Europe and are more culturally and historically linked with the Europeans.”

However, Suleiman attributed the reason also to the rivalry between the Arab and Western worlds.

“We are politically at odds with the West, which is so much interested in knowing about the Arab world through its literature.”

Suleiman is chair of trustees at the International Prize for Arabic Fiction which, he said, aims at encouraging translation of Arabic literature into English and other languages and raising awareness about the Arabic novel.

The research covers the cultural politics of the Middle East with special focus on identity, conflict, diaspora studies and modernisation in so far as these issues relate to language, modern Arabic literature, translation and memory. 

AMMAN — The government is still conducting all the studies needed to implement the nuclear project, which is expected to be operational by 2021, a government official said on Saturday.

Government Spokesperson Mohammad Momani said the government is still working with its Russian partner to finalise all studies related to selecting the site for the nuclear power plant.

“The project is still in the development phase… the Jordan Atomic Energy Commission [JAEC] is working with the Russian side to finalise the detailed ‘Site Characterisation Study’, environmental impact assessment and the financial plan,” Momani said in an interview via e-mail, adding that if the project proves feasible, the government will sign all related project agreements.

Although the site has yet not been agreed upon, according to the government, the tentative choice is in the Qusayr Amra region east of Amman.

When announcing the decision in October last year, JAEC listed the site’s distance from major urban centres and proximity to the Khirbet Samra Wastewater Treatment Plant among its advantages.

The commission selected Russian state-owned firm Rosatom as the preferred vendor to construct twin 1,000-megawatt (MW) reactors by 2021.

Activists and local residents claim that the reactors threaten the underground aquifers in Azraq, some 15 kilometres from the proposed site.

Momani said JAEC — with the help of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) experts — has drafted and reviewed a national policy for the safe management of nuclear waste, and it has been submitted to the board of commissioners for approval.

“This policy serves as a national commitment to address the management of nuclear waste for the planned project… We are committed to applying these policies to protect human health and the environment… without imposing an undue burden upon the next generations,” the spokesperson said, without elaborating on the details of the policies.

JAEC has also conducted a feasibility study of the Russian technology, Momani said, adding that the study showed the project will “reduce” the imported fossil fuel bill, stabilise electricity prices and constitute a competitive energy source.

He added that the project will support the state budget by reducing public debt, increasing government revenues, creating high calibre jobs and supporting the development of local industries.

The proposed nuclear power plant is expected to cover about 20 per cent to 30 per cent of Jordan’s electricity needs during the first years of operation.

The value of the Engineering Procurement Construction (EPC) Contract for constructing the two 1,000MW power plants will be $10 billion, according to Momani.

Jordan will cover 50.1 per cent of the EPC contract, While Rosatom will cover 49.9 per cent as investor and operator of the nuclear plants.

“An additional owner’s cost of $1.1 billion will be borne by Jordan,” Momani noted, adding that this will cover infrastructure outside the nuclear plants fence like the water treatment plant, the water cooling piping system, and roads and highways to the nuclear plants’ construction site.

As for the uranium reserves in central Jordan needed for the project, the spokesperson noted that the government terminated the Jordan French Uranium Mining Company’s rights to explore and mine uranium after the technical audit showed that radiometric measurements adopted by the company to estimate uranium resources had “harshly underestimated high grade uranium resources”.

Currently, “the Jordanian Uranium Mining Company [JUMCO] is carrying out extensive trenching work and chemical analysis of uranium in [JAEC] laboratories to estimate uranium surficial resources, and a new estimate of deeper uranium resources is also under [way],” Momani said.

JUMCO has finished trenching work on one-third of the total zone in the central region and “will announce its findings on estimated uranium resources for the areas it has covered… by the middle of this year”.

AMMAN — HRH Prince Hassan has joined leading development advocates and practitioners calling for justice to be included in the Post-2015 Development Goals, according to a statement issued Saturday.

Signatories including Madeleine Albright, George Soros and Hernando de Soto endorsed the statement to member states of the United Nations, which sets out five measurable goals for access to justice which can strengthen efforts to eradicate extreme poverty.

The document (available on www.opensocietyfoundations.org) seeks to persuade members of the General Assembly that development targets should involve not just access to education, healthcare, clean water and other vital services, but also access to justice.

The statement invites member states to “declare now that justice, the rule of law and legal empowerment are essential principles in the new global development framework”.

Prince Hassan is a member of the Commission on Legal Empowerment of the Poor, according to a statement from his office.

The commission’s 2008 report, “Making the Law Work for Everyone”, highlighted that as many as 4 billion people are “robbed of the chance to better their lives and climb out of poverty, because they are excluded from the rule of law”.

The recent statement continues the commission’s work by calling for people everywhere to be afforded the protection of the law.

“Around the world, billions of people live without the full protection of the law. They are unfairly driven from their land, denied essential services, extorted by officials, excluded from society and intimidated by violence,” the commission said.

“Their lack of legal protection is a source of repression and an affront to human dignity.”

Prince Hassan “will continue to advocate for justice in the Post-2015 Development Goals in local, regional and international engagements over the coming months”, according to the statement.

The UN and its partners are currently leading a survey titled “MY World” to invite people from around the world to vote online (www.myworld2015.org) for their priorities for development after 2015, the deadline for the Millennium Development Goals.

Users can select six priorities out of 16 choices such as better healthcare, access to sanitation and political freedoms. Voters can also suggest a priority.

The results of the survey “will be shared with world leaders in setting the next global development agenda”, according to the MY World website.

So far, around 1.5 million people from 194 countries have voted online, according to the website.

AMMAN — A 50-year-old man who was shot in the chest following a brawl at Azmi Mufti Camp in Irbid last Wednesday died on Saturday of his wounds, an official source said.

The victim and his brother were shot by a pump-action rifle during a brawl with other family members last week, the source said, adding that they were taken to nearby hospitals for treatment.

“The victim’s brother remains in stable condition in hospital,” he told The Jordan Times.

The police arrested four suspects in connection with the incident, the source added.

Pathologist Ali Shotar of the Irbid National Institute of Forensic Medicine performed an autopsy on the victim on Saturday.

“The victim died of wounds to the chest from pump-action rifle bullets,” Shotar’s report concluded.

AMMAN — The Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature (RSCN) has announced the opening of hunting season for quails, which are hugely sought after by hunters.

The season, which usually starts in mid-February, began on Friday and will continue through the end of April, the RSCN said.

“Quail hunting season is one of the most popular among hunters. The birds cross the Kingdom while on migration route between mid-February and until the end of April,” said Abdul Razzaq Hmoud, acting director of the RSCN’s conservation and hunting regulation section.

During the two–month period, the RSCN allows hunters to hunt in areas west of the Hijaz Railway, according to scheduled days, with each hunter allowed a limited number of quails, Hmoud told The Jordan Times in a phone interview.

Hunting to the east of the Hijaz Railway has been off-limits since a Cabinet decision was issued in 1993, because the border area is home to several rare animals and birds, according to the RSCN.

Quails mainly eat seeds and berries but also consume leaves, roots and insects. Their flesh is considered a delicacy, as are their eggs.

In September last year, the RSCN reopened the quail hunting season for the first time until late October after studies indicated that their number is increasing.

Hmoud, who urged hunters to abide by the society’s hunting schedule, said that by the end of last year, the number of hunters licensed by the RSCN was 2,100.

Under RSCN regulations, those who hunt outside the allotted period are fined JD100 and sentenced to one-week in prison, while those who kill endangered species, such as falcons, are fined JD2,000 and handed a four-month prison term.

In addition, violators’ weapons are seized, according to the RSCN.

The location of hunting activities changes with the seasons, with hunters mainly active in the Jordan Valley, mountainous areas and the eastern desert, according to the RSCN.

Jordan is located on the Rift Valley-Red Sea route, which is the world’s second most-used flyway, with 37 types of migratory soaring birds that maintain flight by using rising air currents, travelling on the flyway annually, according to the RSCN.

Migratory birds in the southern hemisphere use the Rift Valley/Red Sea Flyway to return to Europe and the northern hemisphere in the spring. On their journey, more than 1.5 million birds stop over in places like the Jordan Valley to rest and drink water.

At least five of these species are globally endangered, such as white and black storks, buzzards, eagles and vultures.