AMMAN — Many around Jordan have tightened their
belts due to prices rising, causing them to limit spending on necessities and
basic supplies. With the winter cold, the increase in the price of fuel
specifically has caused many to try and circumvent spending on heat, especially
kerosene, to avoid staying without heat, Al-Ghad News reported.
اضافة اعلان
One example is Ahmad Issa's mother; she merely turns on the
kerosene heater in the morning for an hour before her children go to school to
protect them from the cold. She said she realizes the difficulty the family has
to go through to ration out basic needs to ensure heat is available, but she
said that all situations lead to this.
Household emergency She added: "We can no longer
fully fill the gallon of
the kerosene after the price hike, so turning on the heat has become a great
burden". The difficult economic conditions of the Issa family, which
consists of seven, forced her to declare a state of emergency inside the house
during winter to try to reduce using the heater as much as possible.
Securing kerosene, she added, has become overwhelming. She
instead makes up for it by wearing more clothes inside the house, and on some
nights, she makes her children wear coats and wraps them up in heavy coverings
to stay warm.
This is not unique to the Issa family, she said. Many families are worried about the coming harsh cold and unstoppable winter, which coats and covers are no match against.
In 2022 kerosene and diesel prices continued to rise until
November to 860 fils per liter, nearly a 40 percent increase from last year's
prices, where the price per liter at that time was 615 fils.
The poverty rate amongst Jordanians was 15.7 percent
in 2017–2018, however, the World Bank forecasts a short-term increase, about 11
percentage points, in the national poverty, making it closer to about 27
percent.
Rickety heaters and plastic bottlesMany across the Kingdom depend on kerosene as their primary
heating method.
People can be seen at various gas stations across the
Kingdom carrying their rickety kerosene heaters and plastic soft drink bottles
to fill them up with however much money they can spare, which is usually not
enough.
Ahmad's mother recalled a time when she waited next to a gas
station for cars to leave for her to fill her heater with JD3 worth of kerosene
as it was all she could afford. She also recalled feeling ashamed throughout
the experience.
She added that her anxiety about the cold winter had grown
exponentially, and alternatives for heat were just as costly.
Firewood, she
said, is no longer available, especially since the price of a tonne has
exceeded JD100.
Community initiatives and innovative solutions Social activist Linda Abu Al-Ragheb said community
initiatives to support low-income families in winter vary between coats,
blankets, winter clothing, heaters, and different fuel types. This year, she
said, is very different as assistance is exclusively for kerosene and heaters.
According to Abu Al-Ragheb, most low-income families have
reached out to the initiative to secure the
kerosene, while some have requested
fireplaces.
Economic sociology expert Husam Ayesh stated that there is a
major problem with the winter economy, pointing out the need for the government
to consider people's basic needs. Focus, he said, needs to be particularly on
poor and low-income households and their requirements to be able to live with
the cold.
One such consideration is to take into account people's needs and plan accordingly, he said.
When it comes to kerosene — which is a matter of strategic
planning for poor and low-income families and even middle-class families — the
lack of it as a means of heating can cause a health issue, said Ayesh. The
alternatives to kerosene, he said, are rubber or wood, pointing out that some
may resort to chopping forest trees for fire or even resorting to burning old
clothes.
"Many people suffer from respiratory illnesses
due to using these heating methods. Some have even lost their lives due tothe
lack of heating resources," he said.
The successive price increases are a problem that must be
solved, said Ayesh. Many families find it difficult to buy and secure a safe
heating method, so the government must find alternatives and solutions, he
added.
It is time, according to Ayesh, to allow these people to
have heating power through thorough planning. Mechanisms to supply people with
heating are the responsibility of the country, the government, and civil
society institutions, he said
Lasting solutions that help people stay warm in the winter season, he added, must be continuous and permanent.
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