Picture Perfect

        In an insightful op-ed, political analyst Fahd Al Khitan criticised the newly approved instructions developed by the Greater Amman Municipality regarding the professions that can be run from one’s own home. These professions range from intellectual activities, services, and food production. His criticism to these instructions is valid, but fails to address a number of key issues that are of equal – if no exceeding – importance.  

His argument that the conversion of buildings into small shops will create disturbances, tarnish the public appearance of residential areas, and contribute to further chaos and disquiet in already poorly planned neighbourhoods is pertinent to the problem at hand. Mr Khitan’s shift to the associated economic problems that will arise as a result to probable tax evasion, misuse of buildings’ infrastructure, and business- generated dregs is also understood, and so is his concluding paragraph and main argument that the decision will eventually lead to Amman’s loss of identity and transformation into a city with a random layout.

It will be assumed that the writer also meant to explicitly mention health and safety issues, and the possibility of transforming homes into sweatshop that employ already enslaved foreign employees. For the sake of the argument, let us assume that these vital issues were addressed as some of the major concerns.

However, the op-ed failed to address one important questions: why were these instructions emitted in the first place?

Failing to tackle this question as a first step is similar to criticising the decision of impoverished African villagers to collect unsanitary water to quench the thirst of children. Had potable water been available at ease, people would no jeopardise the health and wellbeing of their own families by searching for water from a puddle.

The unemployment rate in Jordan stands at 18.2% percent in the first quarter of 2017. There are around 1.3 million Syrian refugees in Jordan, representing almost 20 per cent of the country's population, and 14.2% of the population lives below the poverty line. Coupling this problem with growing unrest in the region and the ease of radicalisation amidst desperation, one can only expect the metamorphosis of socio economic problems into the catastrophes that mire the region.  

Policy making is not an easy task. It is neither clean cut. It has many shades of grey that are equally scandalous to a novel that carries a similar title. Some problems are more relevant and perilous than others. Opening the door for entrepreneurs try to start up their businesses with the least costs involved will stimulate innovations, entrepreneurship, solidarity, and hope. It will provide youngsters with the opportunity to think of how to build on their ideas rather than how to apply for immigration visas. It will give housewives a chance to convert their skills acquired through a lifetime into bread-winning activities that would contribute to sustaining families and empowering women. It would bring neighbours together to help out in waving carpets than in heating coal for argileh. It might create more trash, it might generate more noise, it might lure the unethical into missing the opening, but it will certainly motivate change.

If ensuring self-sufficiency and entrepreneurship would require in their initial stages a disturbance to the picture perfect of the city, then I hope a  new loud, boisterous and alive Amman resurrects from its long, and serene nap.