The Bombings in Amman

Three separate suicide bombings have attacked three hotels in Amman, Jordan. The death tolls just seem to keep climbing as I scan the news feeds, and looks like it will be at least 50 dead and more injured. While the three hotels attacked were popular with tourists and diplomats, most of the dead will surely be Jordanians.

I don’t quite know what to say, except to echo my friend Roba: “May God protect Jordan and it’s people, and may terrorists rot in hell.”

Roba and other of my Jordanian friends – Isam, Natasha, and Haitham – are running a “virtual news room”, updating a post on Global Voices that’s tracking the events and the reactions to them.

Jordan has a very special place in my heart. I’ve been to Amman half a dozen times in the past few years, and have come away with the sense that Jordan is the logical bridge nation between the US and the Arab world. Amman has increasingly become host to meetings, conferences and gatherings where people from throughout the region, and the US and Europe can come together. The hospitality, tolerance and openness of the Jordanian people, as well as the beauty of the city, make it a logical choice to bring people together. Tragically, I suspect it’s that openness, that willingness to connect to other nations and other cultures, that’s made Jordan a target today. But I know these terrible events won’t disuade Jordan from being as open and welcoming to the world as it always has been to me.

My heart is with all my friends in Jordan today, and with the families of the people who lost their lives. May God protect Jordan and her people.