This is what I was mentioning before about the Jordanian court not holding iftar banquets for diplomats etc.
Thank you to barbara for providing the article.
The link no longer works so I hope the mods wont mind my posting it in its entirety.
Jordan to feed, house the needy during Ramadan
AMMAN (AFP) - Thousands of impoverished Jordanian families reeling from recent price hikes are expected to receive precious royal assistance, including roofs over their heads, during the holy fasting Muslim month of Ramadan.
The royal court has announced a series of measures to alleviate the financial burden faced by many Jordanians since an unpopular decision last month to raise oil prices for the second time in months.
Breaking with tradition, this year the court will not organise its daily lavish iftar meals to break the dawn-to-dusk fast which it usually holds for officials, diplomats, the media, tribal leaders and other figures.
Instead the money spent on these huge events will be handed out to feed the poor.
So-called "welfare convoys" will criss-cross the country to distribute enough food supplies to sustain a family for a period of six months starting with Ramadan, the palace said in a statement.
The assistance will cover 21,000 families across Jordan, which began marking Ramadan on Tuesday.
An additional 61,000 families, considered to live under the threshold of poverty, will also receive food aid or a one-time 50-dinar (70 dollars) cash payment from the national aid fund, officials said.
The government and the court also plan to hold iftar meals for the poor in nationwide as well as launch plans to house the needy, officials said.
"During the month of Ramadan 600 housing units will be given by the king to needy families in the northern and southern governorates," a
court official told AFP.
"This is part of a bigger scheme to give land to all low-income families, not just the poor," the official said.
King Abdullah II ordered houses to be given to the poor specifically
during Ramadan in a show of solidarity due to the tough economic conditions, the official added.
According to official figures, 14 percent of Jordan's 5.4 million inhabitants are poor, but unofficial estimates puts their number at 31 percent.
In September the government increased fuel prices by five to 22 percent, for the second time since July when prices went up by 10 to 33 percent, to shore up a budget deficit exacerbated by rising world oil prices.
The price increases have covered everything from petrol to diesel, kerosene and domestic gas cylinders and are part of a government plan to press ahead with lifting oil subsidies completely over the next two years.
Giving alms to the poor is one of the five precepts of Islam and it takes on a special meaning during Ramadan, a month of selflessness and spirituality.
"10,000 families need urgent assistance," Minister of Social Development Abdullah Oweidat said recently adding that his ministry will organise the aid drive in cooperation with the private sector and charity organisations.
Meanwhile Jordanians have complained that greedy merchants have raised the prices of many staple goods ahead of Ramadan.
"Shopkeepers know that people spend and buy more food during Ramadan, so they went ahead and increased their prices, knowing that no matter what, people will buy," said Samir Ali.
"I wish the government would crack down on the shops," said Ali, a family man employed in a private company.
A supermarket clerk said business was brisk and that despite the latest price increases people were buying a usual for the iftar meals.
"There are habits that you just can't break," she said.
During Ramadan, the ninth month of the Muslim calendar, Muslims abstain from eating, drinking, smoking and having sex during the daylight hours, before evening meals and visits to friends and family.
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