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29 Apr 2015
<div>By Dr. Basim Twiessi<br />
Published in Alghad Newspaper<br />
25 April 2015<br />
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With the passing of Jennifer Hamarneh, former chief editor of the Jordan Times, members of Jordan’s media lost one of the key defenders of press independence and one of the main builders of media professionalism who championed increasing the role of the media in building a democratic Jordanian society. The last page of Hamarneh’s life has a lesson for all of us: it includes the true meaning of belonging and a deep understanding of citizenship; something acknowledged by all those who knew her. Simply put, it means that genuine and honest citizenship is measured by the level of love for country and people and by how generous and devoted you are to them both, and not by origins and ethnicity and slogans and songs.<br />
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My first encounter with Mrs. Hamarneh, though brief and by chance, was at the office of the late Abdullah Hasanat who was at the time chief editor of the Jordan Times. She had believed in Abdullah’s abilities – that southern Bedouin who swiftly rose to the top of the country’s first English language daily and swiftly passed away due to a mysterious and harsh illness, as was the case with Jennifer.<br />
She believed in that generation of Jordanians and supported and pushed them towards contributing to the development of their country, and for democracy, inclusion and justice. And most of all, she believed in and supported her partner Mustafa Hamarneh in his national democratic project. In addition, she contributed a great deal to upholding the professionalism and independence of the Jordan Times which distinguished the daily at the time; an achievement that had been acknowledged by research papers that addressed the performance of Jordan’s press during the past three decades. Her long green shadow has impacted a whole generation of Jordanian journalists who considered her a true educator.<br />
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During her service as member of the board of directors of the Jordan Media Institute, I was able to see firsthand another aspect of this deep sense of belonging, for despite her illness during the last few years, she was always extremely keen to support this non-profit organization and dedicated much of her time to it. And I remember during the last meeting, less than two months ago, she did the least talking, but her words are imprinted in my memory; when she emphasized the need for the institute to quickly shift attention towards the public and introduce media literacy into schools and universities. She noted that the new generation of youth needed to view the media with a critical eye in order not to fall prey to extremism and closed mindedness.<br />
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The best lesson to learn from the late Hamarneh’s experience is the need to craft a new definition of belonging that is solely measured by work, accomplishment and moral clarity; a concept based on humanizing the country. In other words, a new political and professional culture that media outlets need more than others. <br />
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These thoughts guided me back to the very brief but expressive words by the late Abdullah Hasanat that were published in a book on political and media reform in Jordan, in which he says, “universities, newspapers and political parties in Jordan failed to create an educated and free class that is able to defend Jordan’s society and state during tough times”, and one that is fair to the state when governments and corrupt elite encroach upon it. This weakness stems from the prevailing fragile and unstable political culture which did not make any real achievements in public life. Hence, we have a culture that shivers before reform efforts and spreads fear of any change.<br />
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The last thing we can say to the late Hamarneh and to her kind soul as it embarks on the eternal journey and embraces the ancient land of Moab and Edom: Thank you. <br />
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