Fleeing Iraqis arrive in Jordan only to find their old oppressors there

[NNN0LHI]

http://www.time.com/time/europe/magazine/article/0,13005,901041025-725069,00.html

Fleeing Iraqis arrive in Jordan only to find that their old oppressors are thriving in Amman

Victims of oppression seldom have a chance to face their tormentors. But Ahmad Jamal gets the opportunity nearly every day. He can usually spot them by their cars — late-model Toyota Avalons, Peugeots, Mercedes and BMWs issued to Baathist leaders, with Iraqi license plates. These former officials from the Iraqi Ministry of Defense, the mukhabarat (Iraqi secret police) and other parts of the Iraqi state apparatus cruise Amman's streets, roam its malls and enjoy its restaurants. "Two years ago, they brought us misery," Jamal says. "Now they're living it up in exile in Amman and we have to face them."

Some of these same people harassed him and made it difficult for him to find work in Iraq. He'd love to give them a piece of his mind, but Jamal says nothing, fearing the loss of his six-month visitor's visa. Instead, he just stares and tenses up.

Jamal is one of tens of thousands of poor and middle-class Iraqis who have arrived in Jordan in recent months to escape the chaos in their native country. He flew into Amman in June, after local insurgents killed his father and ordered him to leave his home or face death. So he packed up his 1-year-old quadruplets, wife and mother-in-law, and flew to Amman seeking safety. He was in for a shock.

Familiar faces from the former regime are everywhere, because a first wave of privileged Iraqis landed here last year, cash in hand. Entry was easy and the city was ready for their business, whether at the new Mecca Mall, now dubbed the Iraqi ghetto, or at luxury stores in flashy neighborhoods like Abdoun and Sweifieh. Their investments in the ritzy Deir Ghbar area are setting record prices for real estate. Last year, Iraqis became the No. 1 buyers of luxury homes in the capital; the value of home purchases rose by 20% shortly after the war.

[Lerkfish]

1. can't decide whether this is news we should know, or news

someone thinks we should know.

man, I just don't know anymore about ANYTHING I read, no matter the source.

Its like being a kid and hearing about razor blades in apples on halloween, so I either hacked them to bits or tossed them to avoid even the possibility of being wounded.

Sorry, this is just a side comment about news stories in general, not necessarily this one.

But I know there are thousands of stories that SHOULD be covered, like wounded returning Iraq war veterans, or white phosphorous attacks at fallujah, that I keep scratching my head and what they allow through and ask myself WHY this story and NOT the other story?