Those whose only reaction in life is cynicism and negativism can scoff all they want at blogs and the power of electronic media.

But one thing is certain: blogging and other forms of electronic, people powered media can change something. The change will not happen over night. But when you have people who are emboldened to speak make their voices heard, things start to happen.

Over the past few days, Jordanian bloggers banded together to get a story of unbelievable negligence at the Prince Hamza Hospital to the light. First online. Then to newspapers and radio. Then to the government.

The original post, which started the whole thing got over 200 comments!

Finally today the news came out that the Minister of Health visited the man who was the victim of this negligence and in the name of HM King Abdullah II assured him that his case will be followed up.

The elements of this small, but important success were:

  • The presence of a technology (web + blogs) that allowed an ordinary citizen to publish something
  • A COMMUNITY of interconnected bloggers, something that has been developing in Jordan over the past few years.
  • A bridge from online media to traditional media in the form of Jordanian blogger/newspaper Journalist Batir Wardam
  • The presence of other forms of media, such as radio (where the story was also covered).

What is important now is follow up. The community that formed around this story should make sure the story stays covered and that a satisfactory degree of accountability and justice is practiced.

Small wins like these are important. They lead to self confidence, which in turn leads to bigger steps.

Let’s see if bloggers can play a good role in the upcoming parliamentary elections.

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Comments

6 responses to “Jordan and the power of blogs: Nailing a negligent hospital today.. What’s next tomorrow?”

  1. kinzi Avatar
    kinzi

    And then, see some of them run for parliamentary elections. :)

  2. Ahmad Al-Sholi Avatar
    Ahmad Al-Sholi

    This is great for blogging community in terms of use and impact.
    A lesson to be learned: negativity produces negativity. All people demanding change in the quality of their lives and environments need to know that they should be part of it.
    For Media levels, blogs are really picking up with freedom to express opinions and shedding light on certain areas.

  3. Mohanned Avatar
    Mohanned

    Ahmad, you forgot to mention local online news websites(Rumonline.net was the first one, and them ammonnews.net). It is not about leaving comments, I think it was about the bombardment with e-mails, when you have 300 pepole sending you an e-mail about the same topic you must look into it..Blogging helped us organize this effort.

    And for all those whose main concern is negativity:EAT YOUR HEARTS OUT

  4. Isam Avatar
    Isam

    I have wrote a smiliar article yesterday … you might check it out as well …

    http://mindsonbytes.blogspot.com/2007/09/jordan-byte-jordan-media-and-bloggers.html

    Ramadan Kareem

  5. Khalidah Avatar
    Khalidah

    I agree with you Ahmed .. we must celebrate this small win in anticipation for bigger ones in the near future inshallah

    I am proud to being a part of this positive change and this only motivates me for more

    🙂

  6. ArabianMonkey Avatar
    ArabianMonkey

    What’s next?

    How about a closer look at the Jordanian ATV mind boggling situation?! Whichever way I look at it, it’s just ludicrous and confusing, but most of all just plain scandalous:

    – Hope. – A new industry player. – A juvenile-paperwork-pissing-match. – Managment or the lack of or mere confusion. – Financial and investor murky waters, a lost numbers game. – Business as usual of a media start up. – A board and investors that came and went before they did. – A state of the art technological and technical set up. – 300+ on payroll. – Layoffs, and lengthy paid leaves, over and over. – A weird silence. – Frustration. – A roar of quiet fear. – Hundreds of hours of produced programming, and many more hundreds on the front door and in the planning – just sitting there. – An AVC who seems to be an obstacle rather than an industry welcomer. – A Higher Council of Media with amnesia. – A JRTV in a rut, fluttering any which way – Alleged positioning as a ‘private’ broadcaster, while… – …rumors are heard of financial take over by the Jordanian Government – Vision and proof of performance displayed on ikbis.com/atv. – What sounds like a genuine word from the MD: http://www.7iber.com/blog/2007/09/08/jordans-atv-the-untelevised-revolution/ – An anesthetized marketplace. – An apathetic potential target audience (generally speaking). – A business opportunity, missed. – A double standard take on a pledge towards more progressive and free media. – A psychological and industry set back.. so many yards, so and years. – A shrug of the shoulder by those in the know. – An insult to the intellect of humankind.
    and on and on and on…

    I don’t think I know a word or sequence of words to describe this situation. Confusing! Curious! Strange! Scandalous! Emabarrassing! Wrong! Worrisome! Pathetic! Disappointing! Scarey! Sad!

    We really should address this from the depths of our souls and senses, truly. It’s not something we can sweep under the carpet. This is going to scar us for a long while. We owe it to ourselves to raise the bar of dialog and debate! If we can’t be part of fixing what’s broken, we can for sure emerge more learned! But numb should not be an option! Not this time.