Jordan Times
Friday, November 9, 2007
Two Years After the
Amman Attacks
By Mohammad Ghazal
AMMAN - Two years after the Amman attacks, Jordanians are showing more
understanding of stricter security measures, while a sociologist feels that the
sense of anxiety and fear has diminished among the capital’s residents.
Immediately after the bombings that ripped through three hotels in Amman on
November 9, 2005, killing 90 innocent people and injuring many more, stricter
security measures were announced by concerned authorities and metal detectors
were installed in malls, hotels, commercial buildings and banks.
Qais Khalafat, a writer and sociologist, said the measures kept Jordanians in a
state of constant alertness and vigilance.
“Jordanians experienced inner fear and felt threatened. They started to react to
any abnormal movement in public places,” Khalafat said.
“Two years have passed since the terrible attacks, and people have reverted back
to their prior behaviour, feeling more at ease and sensing no fear,” Khalafat
told The Jordan Times.
The number of tourists, conferences, forums and events in the Kingdom is on the
rise, a sure sign that the situation is back to normal in Amman. Jordanians are
now used to the security measures and are not ill-at-ease, said Khalafat.
Amman residents said they found the tightened security measures cumbersome, but
stressed it provided them with a further sense of security and safety.
“The security measures were tightened a lot after the Amman attacks; even when I
go to the cinema I get searched every time with no exceptions. It is a bother,
but this way I feel safer and more secure,” said 24-year-old Mohammad Al Taher,
who works as a human resource management systems consultant.
“Though getting searched bothers me when I go to a hotel, I realise how
important it is, especially since my sister’s wedding was held at the Grand
Hyatt Amman, which is one of the hotels that was bombed in 2005. All the
invitees at the wedding, including myself, went through the metal detectors
before entering the hotel, which I felt was necessary,” he told The Jordan
Times.
Yasser Faris, a 25-year-old employee at the marketing department at Orange, also
expressed his understanding of heightened security procedures.
“People were on edge and apprehensive for quite some time after the bombings,
especially when seeing metal detectors in hotels, malls and even cinemas,” he
told The Jordan Times.
“However, I feel safe now when I see these metal detectors and see people
entering hotels, malls and cinemas being searched. This makes me comfortable. It
is disturbing to be searched every time you go to these places, but I got used
to that and it is just natural to empty my pockets when entering a hotel for
example,” Faris told The Jordan Times.