Many know the story of the Tunisian man who burned himself in December 2010 in protest of the 23-year reign of Tunisian President Ben Ali. This act of protest sent the president and his family into exile and sparked revolutions and protests across the Arab world in what is now known as the Arab Spring. Last week, a similar fiery suicide was committed by a Jordanian man in Madaba (the town where my school is) who'd recently lost his government position and ability to support his family. This act sparked riots in Madaba which included the burning of a huge poster of the King in one of the main circles. A couple nights later, myself and some other teachers were driving through Madaba to dinner when we came to this circle and drove into a smaller protest, this time in support of the King. There was not any trouble: we simply had to drive past the people, firetrucks and cops to a detour. A new huge poster of the King had been put up in place of the other. I've also heard that two more burning suicides have been committed in the nearby capital, Amman.
The new poster of the King in horse square.
A picture of the old poster. I took this during my first week in Madaba.
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