Jordan

"The psyche of the Jordanian people, I think it's gotten to a boiling point. It hurt us when it comes to the educational system, our healthcare. Sooner or later, I think the dam is going to burst and I think this week is going to be very important for Jordanians to see, is there going to be help - not only for Syrian refugees but for their own future as well. They realize that if they don't help Jordan, it's going to be more difficult for them to deal with the refugee crisis. The international community, we've always stood shoulder to shoulder by your side. We're now asking for your help, you can't say no this time."

"Jordan is perversely lucky, and so is its king. Today, the monarchy is not only surviving—Jordan’s looking like just about the only Arab safe haven in the middle of the Middle Eastern storm."

"There is a limit to how much the country can take; you don’t want us to collapse. “You don’t want our economic plans, our economic reform to be disrupted . . . You don’t want Jordan to be destabilised."

"The politicians come from a museum. Jordan has taken for granted the people’s fear of the regional situation to keep business as usual."

"The problem is IS has offered a vision to our young, disenfranchised people. Jordan will not survive unless our leaders offer the same"

"Maymune Shishani, [a] descendant of Chechens who were resettled in what is now Jordan in the early years of the 20th century, tells the story of her community in a new novel, The Tears of the Wolf. The book was written in Arabic but a Russian translation is planned (kavkazr.com/a/sleza-volka-kak-chechentsev-izgnali-v-iordaniyu/30045629.html)."

"Jordan itself is a beautiful country. It is wild, with limitless deserts where the Bedouin roam, but the mountains of the north are clothed in green forests, and where the Jordan River flows it is fertile and warm in winter. Jordan has a strange, haunting beauty and a sense of timelessness. Dotted with the ruins of empires once great, it is the last resort of yesterday in the world of tomorrow. I love every inch of it."

"No country can guarantee that it will hold off terrorism forever. But by maintaining a high level of professionalism among its security forces, responding to protests in a relatively peaceful manner, and establishing constructive relations with Islamists, Jordan has limited the ISIS threat. And in a region that seems to be falling apart, that is an accomplishment worth acknowledging."

"Jordan has a very high population of nonnationals and over half the new jobs created annually are reportedly filled by foreign workers"

"In a region wracked by instability, the relative calm in Jordan -- as well as the seemingly enduring U.S. security commitment -- provides undeniable appeal for investors. Given the regional turmoil, Jordan's 2015 growth rate of 3.1 percent, up from 2.8 percent in 2014, is no doubt impressive. Yet the kingdom nevertheless faces several persistent economic challenges."

"Jordan continues to provide asylum for a large number of Syrians, Iraqis and other refugees, despite the substantial strain on national systems and infrastructure. This pressure has become even more acute over the past two years, as the global financial crisis has had an impact on Jordan's economic situation and infrastructure for water, electricity, waste management, education and health care."