I never cease to be amazed by the sheer sophistication of the conspiracy theories that float through the taxi cabs, radio call in shows and the blogoshpere in the Kingdom. The ability of a random Jordanian to connect a series of completely unrelated news events, link it to some deeply seeded fears, prejudices and wrap them with the mantras of geo-political orthodoxy for rapid consumption is truly an art form. The delicate touch of established points of collective paranoia is the magic needed to make these rumors tear through the Kingdom faster than swine flu on a pre-school field trip. Some of my personal favorites include the Israeli produced chewing gum that used special DNA extracts to decimate the sperm of Arab men, or more recently how the Israeli produced H1N1 virus is also specially crafted to target the sperm of Arab men. (Notice the theme? Blending the mounting insecurity of Arab men about their virility with conflated assumption of Israeli scientific omnipotence and genocidal prowess into the perfect conspiracy) Or the use of the 1994 Peace Treaty to transfer Israeli toilet flushings into the King Abdullah canal. Really, remarkable transformation of a few disparate facts into full blown pulp fiction.
The kidney story caught me somewhat off guard given the striking absence of Israeli malfeasance in the tale. In this case, Jordanian criminals are using phony taxis to scoop up unsuspecting students and workers from various curbs across the capital, drugging them and then harvesting their organs for sale. Prescriptions for avoiding capture include being wary of taxi drivers looking too well groomed or well dressed men offering rides in private cars. Yes, you might want to escape the down pour – but is your liver worth it?
My first thought was to trace the genesis of this particular conspiracy theory back to the three Rabbis in New Jersey or the Swedish story about Israelis stealing organs from Palestinians killed by the IDF before returning their bodies for burial. I mean, what’s a good conspiracy theory without somehow implicating the Israelis?
Then I came across the news that Jordan was pressing Egypt for the extradition of Jordanian citizens who had gone to Egypt to sell their kidneys. It seems that there is a disturbing trend of cash strapped Jordanians smuggling themselves to Egypt in order to sell a kidney on the black market there. Jordan has taken the step to arrest them upon return in an effort to slam the brakes on this ghoulish phenomenon.
Has the economic crisis cut so deep that Jordanians now have a new specter to fear? Let’s see what the next conspiracy theory has to say!
