My letter to CSM RE In Jordan slashed UN food aid, limited job opportunities- how can refugees survive...

Support for Palestinian Statehood Getty photo UK House of Commons London October 2014 ( September 2011 Mahmoud Abbas saluted in West Bank after Palestine statehood speech at UN: Celebratory mood in Ramallah as thousands of Palestinians gather to hear their president's demand for state recognition)

RE  In Jordan, slashed UN food aid has even 'well off' Syrians feeling the pinch: With Jordan limiting job opportunities and the UN reducing food aid, even middle-class refugees from war-torn Syria are asking how, and where, they can survive.
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle-East/2014/1016/In-Jordan-slashed-UN-food-aid-has-even-well-off-Syrians-feeling-the-pinch

Dear Editor,

Jordan has had to deal with a huge diaspora of Palestinian refugees since 1948, and now there are also many Iraqi and Syrian men, women and children being pushed into forced exile and poverty. 

Seems to me lifting marginalized people out of poverty starts with ending conflict and war- specifically not caving in to, or being manipulated by the bigoted militants and criminals who are wrecking havoc all over in the Middle East, exasperating refugee crises and despair everywhere.   Bigotry, militancy, and religious tyranny are rapidly ruining lives, making bad situations substantially worse by fostering more extremism and terror, rather than nurturing peace with compassion and the rule of fair and just laws.

As Hussein Ibish (of the American Task Force on Palestine) wisely points out in his article concerning Arabs & civilization: Hisham, Hope and Despair..."The crucial point is that the one thing that is certain is that the choices that we make individually and collectively will have a direct and profound impact on the short, medium and long-term outcomes. And, therefore, our choices must be carefully considered, deliberate and purposive, while apathy and inaction are not options."

One war with numerous negative ramifications that can and should be ended as soon as possible is the Israel-Palestine conflict. A fully secular two state solution to end the conflict by creating a fully sovereign and free Palestine living in and with peace and security alongside Israel is the best way forward: International law and full respect for universal human rights must be empowered at every turn, for every one's sake. 

Limiting rights, respect and citizenship to a preferred religion is wrong. Palestinian refugees need to be able to return to Israel, and they also need the option of relocating to Palestine or elsewhere.  Jordan will be better able to deal with refugees and shaping a regional peace when Israel respects universal human rights and U.N. Resolution 194 resolving that Palestinian “refugees wishing to return to their homes and live at peace with their neighbours should be permitted to do so at the earliest practicable date...”

Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab

NOTES
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