Wael, a young Sudanese man who works as a day laborer, resorted to the Legal Aid Unit at the Arab Renaissance for Democracy and Development (ARDD), after previously believing that he did not enjoy legal protection and could not file a complaint against three people for causing him physical harm that resulted from beating due to disputes between them.
That belief dissipated for Wael (pseudonym), and for the first time in his life -as he affirmed- he felt the power of law and justice between members of the same society without discrimination, after communicating with the legal unit at ARDD, which provided him with the necessary legal advice for his case and pleaded on his behalf in the East Amman Court.
After long court sessions, these people were convicted of petty harm and were sentenced to financial compensation, and thus the result of the sentence was “one month imprisonment for each person with payment of financial compensation to Wael”, in accordance with Article 333 of the Jordanian Penal Code, which stipulates that: “Anyone who intentionally beats, injures, or harms a person by any effective act of violence and assault resulting in illness or suspension from work for a period of more than twenty days shall be punished by imprisonment from three months to three years.”
While Article 334/1 of the same law stipulates: “If the acts set forth in the preceding article do not result in any illness or suspension from work, or result in illness or disability, but its duration does not exceed twenty days, the offender shall be punished by imprisonment for a period not exceeding one year or a fine not exceeding one hundred dinars, or by both of these penalties.”
This is the story of Wael, who lives in one of the districts of the capital, Amman, which implies two issues: violence and fear of the absence of legal protection, but thanks to legal justice and the force of law, he was done justice and was able to obtain his full rights.
In general, condemning violence is not enough, but we must take clear, purposeful, and compatible measures to eliminate or reduce this disturbing phenomenon, by paying attention to building institutions, data, and legal facts that prevent violence at all levels, in addition to working to instill a culture of forgiveness and tolerance as a main component of the process of socialization through schools, universities, and the media, as an alternative to the culture of violence, extremism, and exclusion.
These stories are part of the activities of the project “Investing in the Future: Improving the Livelihoods and Education of Minority Refugee Groups within Society in Jordan”, launched by ARDD in partnership with Vision Hope International, and with financial support from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, in a step aimed at protecting and assisting Sudanese, Yemeni, and Somali refugees, as well as Jordanians in the most affected host communities, and raising their capacity, confidence, and knowledge by resorting to the competent authorities in case they face legal problems.
