Zureikat prefers sharing over donation
As the bus stops, boys rush to receive their faithful friend, Rabee Zureikat, and his guests, who came to visit Ghor Al-Mazraa after 110-kilometer southward journey from Jordan’s capital, Amman.
The visitors are first-timers here but 30-year old Zureikat enjoys the respect of a local elder. Christian by belief, Zureikat can be taken for a local who see this Karak-resident as a sincere friend.
All this respect stems from a novel idea of connecting urban rich and rural poor through exchange instead of donation.
“With growing class difference and lessening respect for traditions, I chose not only to develop social relations between two classes of society but also take people to their roots,” Zureikat explains the concept behind his work.
For his project ‘Zikra’ meaning memory, he has been shuttling urbanized elite to rural and semi-developed areas of Jordan. Zureikat’s weekly entourage comprises 24 Amman residents. Sometimes, foreigners also come along to see life in Jordan’s countryside to see for themselves traditions and customs, that no tourist guide can explain them enough.
"I named the activity ‘Zikra’ as memory being the only thing that stays with humans" Zureikat says.
While working in Toyota car company, he started to distribute clothes and provide in-kind assistance to predominantly Muslim population of Ghor Al-Mazraa in 2007, but it “proved embarrassing rather than comforting,” he recalls during an interview. He thought that donations harm dignity of the recipient.
He adds confidently: “We can respect the poor's dignity this way . . . no preference over one another . . . the poor can offer so much that the rich have lost or never had, like crafts and traditions."
His is not a one-sided affair as Zureikat and his guests are treated with Mansaf Urden, a traditional, sumptuous Jordanian food made with yogurt and meat. The locals in Ghor Al-Mazraa, one of the poorest areas in the country, cannot afford such feast for themselves except for special occasions or revered guests.
Most families work in the fields or graze cattle. The local faces persecution at the hands of other groups or foreign nationals. Zureikat explains, “The elite or foreigners buy the land of cash-starved indigenous families at low price.”
While the visitors learn about their responsibility towards people, the local residents win back self-confidence.
“We spent our time in learning the indigenous skills such baking certain types of bread and cooking their authentic food, or in drawing patterns of henna and home-made eyeliner,” says Amal Abdullah, one of the volunteers after a recent trip.
Interestingly, the families benefit from the so-called loan rotor, collected from fees (35$ per head) paid by the visitors for a day trip in Ghor Al-Mazraa. The loan is then returned in smaller installments.
Katrina Najar, an architect who resides in posh Amman neighborhood, says, “I am amazed to see those green fields stretching across the plains of Ghor Al-Mazraa.” She desires to come again for vacations.
"It is a new find as I did not know about this beautiful area in Jordan, where hospitable people grow fresh fruits and vegetables.”
Katrina learned during this visit many skills that residents of Amman are oblivious to, like baking traditional bread.
"I feel rejoiced when I see both the people learning and understanding each other" Zureikat says proudly.
Unlike the past, houses in Ghor Al-Mazraa are painted red, green, yellow and blue, something unusual for the region. "Our guests pained our home with different colors. When the color turns red from brown for example, it reflects changes within us as well. We love our homes more now," says Saeed Al-Maghsbah, a resident of the picturesque valley.
Zureikat is keen to promote the artistic and cultural dimensions of life. His team organized a song contest in 2010 in a bid to explore talent in this conservative town.
Suja Al-Maghsbah, (18), who won the ‘Voice of the Ghor’ contest, has been invited to sing on many television channels. She believes: "Zikra broke social barriers and cleared concepts of the people.” Now she perform in national events with her family's approval.
Several training workshops for the people of the region have helped people learn filmmaking, painting, ceramics and photography.
Saeed Al-Maghsbah, Suja's father, performed in a play ‘fish on surface of the sea,’ which explains the suffering and loss of Ghor Al-Mazraa resident at the hand of land mafia.
Zureikat did not have a smooth sailing. Talking about his share of difficulties, he recalls: “I had to work without volunteers so I changed my style and adopted ‘exchange instead of donation’ that became really popular amongst the youth.” Zikra has some 30 employees with no death of volunteers.
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