Baqa'a camp: first impressions

It is the second day that I visit Baqa'a together with Abu Zaid, my driver. He picked me up from the airport and facilitates me during my first steps in Baqa'a by introducing me to people he is related to. According to him, Baqa'a is one big family. He has 90 cousins of which the majority lives in Baqa'a. Abu Zaid was born in the camp, in one of the tents, but lives now on private land out of Baqa'a.

As I am writing this now, I spent my first night in my new home near the University of Jordan. It was a good and comfortable night, despite of that I woke up around 4AM by the very loud sound of a mosque. It is necessary to get used to this, as there is no place in Amman to escape from the sound of mosques in the early morning.

Baqa'a consists of 5 parts: Karameh, the oldest area, Jerusalem, Hebron, Nablus and the so-called "new camp". The five areas of Baqa'a are named to places in Palestine. According to Abu Zaid, there is no physical difference between the areas, but inhabitants of Baqa'a mention the areas to tell where they live in the camp. At my first day, we made an orientating ride around the edges of Baqa'a, from where we entered the camp to the central market and Baqa'a's busstation. Many shops were located around this busstation, including a phone shop owned by one of the cousins of Abu Zaid. We went to this shop to buy me a Jordanian sim-card. All people in the shop stopped talking and looked up when they heard me speaking English with Abu Zaid, after which they smiled friendly and warmly greeted us.

Up to now, I can say nothing else than that I am deeply touched by the hospitality of the people of Baqa'a. Although most of the people inspect me first, sometimes with an angry countenance, their faces defreeze after Abu Zaid tells them about the reason of my presence, whereafter I am warmly welcomed with a seat, Arabic coffee, Turkish coffee, sweet tea and comprehensive chats. My presence attracts people and staring faces, but when I smile to those faces, these faces give me a smile in return.   

I spoke to four inhabitants of Baqa'a today. The first one is a 57-year old owner of a supermarket who arrived in Baqa'a in 1973 due to his family's economic situation. Land in Baqa'a was free, and without money, this was a good option to live. While we were talking, more and more bystanders joined the gathering in front of the shop. We talked about the development of the camp, as he experienced this development from the establishment of Baqa'a. He belonged to a family of 8 persons who all lived in one tent. He remembers the moment that tents were replaced by sheds, and later by concrete at the beginning of the 1980s. It is remarkable that every plot is still 96 square metres, the size endorsed by UNRWA (The UN Relief and Works agency for Palestinian refugees) that is still recognizable when walking along the streets of the camp.

The second meeting was in a "furniture" shop, situated at the main road of Baqa'a. This road was established 3-4 years ago at the expense of one row of houses. The people from these houses were compensated with brandly new housing at the northern edge of Baqa'a. The project, costing around 30 Million dinar, according to a passer-by, is generally perceived as an imrpovement for the camp's access and safety, because fire trucks are now better able to reach Baqa'a in case of fire. However, the former residents were forced to leave their house. How they are doing, and what this "enforcement" entailed, will be investigated later...

The shop owner and his brother previously owned a shop in the municipal areas of Amman, but moved their business to Baqa'a, mainly because they do not have to pay tax for having a business here. Another advantage is that they are able to exhibit their goods on the streets, their furniture, consisting of wooden cabinets, cradles, toys for children, blenders and couches, of which one was carried on the street to drink coffee. It was a very comfy couch, and it was great to drink Arabic coffee at this place from where I had a perfect view on the busy main street of Baqa'a. Vans offload their goods, playing children pass by, women wearing ultra-traditional or traditional clothes are walking past; there is no moment to get bored by everything that is happening there.

The last person I have met is the shop owner of a "seed" shop. His father, now 90 years old was sitting next to the shop on a chair. The shop started originally as a supermarket, but as this business model did not work anymore when the current owner had to take over the shop from his father, he modified the shop into a "seed" shop, selling seeds of course, but also water, dades and nuts. Again, I got Arabic coffee and a few dates to consume. The owner told a bit about the development of the camp, but also took me to his home to show me around. Straight behind the door was his mother resting on a bed, but be continued to the courtyard where I got the chance to have a look at his water- and cooling system, while his sun waved at me from a window at the first floor. I did not have to return home with empty hands, as I got a bag of dates from him to enjoy. I can only say one thing: this is hospitality in its purest form.