Economic pressures to blame, but other reasons not ruled out

by Rula Samain JORDAN TIMES

AMMAN — While Christian emigration from the Middle East is mostly attributed to political pressures, concerned organisations and individuals in Jordan blame the economic situation for prompting many Christian families and youth to settle abroad, especially in Western countries.

Almost all stakeholders agree that emigration of Christians from Jordan is a real phenomenon, so much so that a society has been established to address the problem.

None of these stakeholders, however, has figures on the extent of this emigration, while those who are studying the trend are keeping their findings away from the media’s reach.

General Secretary of Church Leaders in Jordan Father Hanna Kildani said that Jordanian Christian emigration is “stable”, and is mostly attributed to economic factors.

However, he acknowledged that the past few years have seen changes, such as the rise of religious extremism in the region, that have scared off some families, who decided to leave for what they see as safer places to live.

Some Christians emigrate for other reasons, Kildani said, although they remain isolated cases.

“There have been individual cases in which emigration was because of the challenges arising from mixed marriages,” he told The Jordan Times in a recent interview.

Majda Ayoub, 42, originally from Husson in Irbid Governorate, emigrated to the US with her family as a child but after marriage, she decided to come back with her husband and two children, settle in Jordan and start a private business.

But three years later, Majda’s family returned to the US for good.

“The fear of the unknown future of Jordan and the intense instability in the region gave us second thoughts,” she told The Jordan Times via Facebook.

After relocating to Canada six months ago, Fadi Sharaiha, a 40-year-old father of two, said his decision to emigrate was motivated by a combination of several reasons, including political fears and a sense of insecurity among some Christians about their future as a minority.

“Basically, I needed the exposure to broaden my career horizons as well as to give my children a better education and thus a better future,” he told The Jordan Times.

“Political instability in the Middle East, especially in neighbouring countries, made plan ‘B’ [emigration] inevitable,” he said.

Churches concerned

Father Kildani said that the Catholic Church encourages Christians to live abroad only for the purpose of education, and on the condition that they return and benefit their home country.

“The church does not support emigration from the Kingdom, but at the same time cannot stop it,” Father Kildani told The Jordan Times.

Tayseer Ammari, spokesperson of the Group to Halt Emigration of the Mideast’s Arab Christians, saw the problem as part of a wider conspiracy.

The steady emigration of Christians from the Middle East, he said, is the fruit of a “scheme that targets coexistence and toleration”, in reference to Israeli plans to empty Jerusalem in particular of its Christian residents.

He said Israeli leaders would be happy to see the entire Middle East with no Christians left “to convince the world that the conflict in the region is between them and Islam”.

However, “while Christian emigration from Iraq and Palestine is compulsory, in Jordan it is voluntary and is due to economic and social reasons”, he explained.

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NOTE BY THE EDITOR: This article does not touch on the Iraqi Christian migration TO Jordan. The influx of Iraqi Christians should more than compensate for the emigration of Jordanian Christians from Jordan.
Of course some of the Iraqi Christians will consider Jordan also as a ‘stop over’ on the way to a more permanent emigration.

Jordanian Christians seek settlement in rich Western countries mainly for economic opportunity, unlike their Arab peers who face security threats and political pressures (File photo)