In Jordan’s most impoverished Palestinian refugee camp, there is often little to celebrate for thousands of displaced residents.
Over the last two days, however, some of the inhabitants of the Gaza Camp north of Amman have been delving into their meagre cash holdings to distribute sweets to passers-by.
They are celebrating one of the most lethal attacks against Israel in the history of the conflict, which by some counts, may have killed between 400 and 600 people, mostly civilians. Israel, in turn, is bombarding the densely populated Gaza territory, where at least 300 have died in 48 hours.
“Everyone I know cannot believe it. We are flying from joy,” says Ibtisam, a manager of a charity at the camp, one of ten for Palestinian refugees in Jordan.
The surprise attack by the Iranian-supported Hamas militant group on Saturday also resulted in the capture of an unknown number of Israeli soldiers and non-combatants who have been taken hostage.
The news has been followed closely in Jordan. A large percentage of the kingdom’s 10 million population are descendants of Palestinians who fled the 1948 and 1967 conflicts with Israel.
Among them are the 50,000 inhabitants of the Gaza camp, who trace their origin to the strip.
The authorities in Jordan, which is dependent on US aid and has a peace treaty with Israel, have been vocal in their criticism of Israeli pressure on the Palestinians, which mounted in the last two years, with more focus on the West Bank.
But Jordanian officials have had to balance their rhetoric with what they perceive as the need to maintain ties with Israel, and pursuit of diplomatic means to obtain Palestinians rights, away from militant violence outrightly supported by Iran and its Middle East proxies.
Relatives in Gaza
Most people in the camp have relatives in Gaza, but they appeared little concerned about their fate, although thousands of civilians were killed in past Israeli retaliatory strikes against smaller operations by Hamas and other militant groups.
“You might find some Palestinian intellectuals saying that the attack will not change anything and will only bring more misery to Gaza,” says Ibtisam.
“This time it's different. Fear has been instilled in the Israelis, many will be thinking about leaving,” she says.
Like most people at the camp, Ibtisam has dozens of relatives in Gaza, itself populated mostly by refugees from elsewhere in Palestine.
Most of the Palestinians in Jordan have Jordanian citizenship and unimpeded right to work, except for refugees from Gaza, who fled to Jordan in the late 1960s, and their descendants.
Iman, who works illegally as a secretary in the nearby city of Jersah, is in contact with her cousins in Gaza on WhatsApp.
She says that they are not afraid.
“We are not afraid about them either. They have incredible faith,” she says. “Hamas took so many hostages this time, so Israel will have to be careful in its response”.
Jordan maintains channels with Hamas and has a 40-bed field hospital in Gaza, although the authorities expelled the group's leadership from the kingdom in the 1990s.
Ahmad, who is in his 20s and works intermittently as a driver, has several uncles and aunts in Gaza.
“After being surrounded for almost 20 years without electricity or water or jobs, they have nothing to lose,” he says.
“What happened yesterday is bound to serve the cause.”
Company%20profile
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Fly Etihad or Emirates from the UAE to Moscow from 2,763 return per person return including taxes.
Where to stay
Trips on the Golden Eagle Trans-Siberian cost from US$16,995 (Dh62,414) per person, based on two sharing.
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre, 4-cylinder turbo
Transmission: CVT
Power: 170bhp
Torque: 220Nm
Price: Dh98,900
The past Palme d'Or winners
2018 Shoplifters, Hirokazu Kore-eda
2017 The Square, Ruben Ostlund
2016 I, Daniel Blake, Ken Loach
2015 Dheepan, Jacques Audiard
2014 Winter Sleep (Kış Uykusu), Nuri Bilge Ceylan
2013 Blue is the Warmest Colour (La Vie d'Adèle: Chapitres 1 et 2), Abdellatif Kechiche, Adele Exarchopoulos and Lea Seydoux
2012 Amour, Michael Haneke
2011 The Tree of Life, Terrence Malick
2010 Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (Lung Bunmi Raluek Chat), Apichatpong Weerasethakul
2009 The White Ribbon (Eine deutsche Kindergeschichte), Michael Haneke
2008 The Class (Entre les murs), Laurent Cantet
Emergency phone numbers in the UAE
Estijaba – 8001717 – number to call to request coronavirus testing
Ministry of Health and Prevention – 80011111
Dubai Health Authority – 800342 – The number to book a free video or voice consultation with a doctor or connect to a local health centre
Emirates airline – 600555555
Etihad Airways – 600555666
Ambulance – 998
Knowledge and Human Development Authority – 8005432 ext. 4 for Covid-19 queries
Desert Warrior
Starring: Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley
Director: Rupert Wyatt
Rating: 3/5
Company Profile
Company name: NutriCal
Started: 2019
Founder: Soniya Ashar
Based: Dubai
Industry: Food Technology
Initial investment: Self-funded undisclosed amount
Future plan: Looking to raise fresh capital and expand in Saudi Arabia
Total Clients: Over 50
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Results
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So what is Spicy Chickenjoy?
Just as McDonald’s has the Big Mac, Jollibee has Spicy Chickenjoy – a piece of fried chicken that’s crispy and spicy on the outside and comes with a side of spaghetti, all covered in tomato sauce and topped with sausage slices and ground beef. It sounds like a recipe that a child would come up with, but perhaps that’s the point – a flavourbomb combination of cheap comfort foods. Chickenjoy is Jollibee’s best-selling product in every country in which it has a presence.
