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By Jeremy Reynalds
Special to ASSIST News Service
AMMAN, JORDAN (ANS) -- Members of the Jordan Evangelical Committee for Relief and
Development (JECRAD) are gearing up for emergency relief efforts in light of the Middle
East crisis.
Isam Ghattas, director of the Amman, Jordan-based Manara Ministries is one of the
Christian leaders working alongside JECRAD to prepare for what is expected to be a refugee
catastrophe in Jordan when, and if, war is declared against Iraq by the United States and
its allies.
Working in conjunction with the United Nations and the Jordanian government, JECRAD is
preparing to deal with possible scenarios that may develop in light of the impending
conflict with Iraq. These include helping Iraqi refugees in camps at the Iraq-Jordan
border as well as other Iraqi refugees in Amman and other areas.
JECRAD is also making plans to assist in post-conflict rehabilitation and reconstruction
work in Iraq when allowed.
The situation in Jordan is already critical, with many people struggling to make it
through from one day to the next. That's because since the West Bank Intifada, Jordan has
experienced an unemployment rate of about 30 percent and a price increase of about 75
percent on everything, including staple food items.
To further compound an already difficult situation, Jordan obtains about 96 percent of its
energy from Iraq while nonetheless being economically dependent on the United States. In a
December 2002 interview, Ghattas told me that when you combine the increasing turmoil of
the region with these ongoing financial pressures, that area residents feel, quite
understandably, unable to focus on anything other than immediate needs.
As a member ministry of JECRAD, Ghattas' Manara Ministries, for example, has already been
involved in a number of projects helping meet the spiritual and physical needs of needy
Jordanians, the growing refugee population that includes many exiled Iraqis and many needy
Palestinian believers as well.
According to a statement from JECRAD, it is a body made up of representatives from
evangelical churches and parachurch organizations within Jordan, with the vision to
provide a coordinated response to the relief and development needs within the region.
JECRAD members include the Assemblies of God, Campus Crusade for Christ, Manara Ministries
and the Amman International Church.
JECRAD was started in 1990 during the last Gulf War as the result of a felt need for a
combined relief effort. Since that time projects have included providing food for 5000
refugees on a daily basis for ten months, meeting shelter needs of hundreds of individuals
within the churches in Amman, and initiating more than 148 small businesses.
A statement from JECRAD pointed out, "These efforts of the local churches through
(JECRAD) were greatly supported by churches from outside Jordan either financially or
through experienced believers who came to Jordan to help during the crisis and therefore
made the continuation of this ministry and later the micro-enterprise program
possible."
JECRAD officials are asking that American churches partner with the organization so that
the immediate critical needs of the region may be adequately met with Christian charity.
"And we are also open to advice and input that you may have based upon your
experience in relief and development B and would welcome your prayers at this time for
wisdom in decision making."
Those wanting to help or requiring additional information about JECRAD can contact Ghattas
(who is the organization's public relations officer) at P O Box 6855, Amman 11118, Jordan
or e-mail him at mbm@nets.com.jo.
Readers in the United States wanting to specifically designate their gifts for Ghattas'
Manara Ministries may do so by sending gifts to Manara Ministries through Christian Aid,
PO Box 9037, Charlottesville, VA 22906 or by e-mail at info@christianaid.org.
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