Jordan: 'We are tired of living like the dead'

In the Jordanian town of Dhiban, tension boils beneath the temporarily calm surface.

Over the past couple of months, clashes have erupted between police and protesters, with military tanks rolling along the town's winding roads. Young men set up a tent where they demonstrated for weeks while negotiating with officials and tribal leaders in the hope of securing jobs. The protest camp was stormed last month, with Jordanian forces firing tear gas to disperse demonstrators; 28 men were reportedly arrested. 

While the tent is now gone, frustration is still boiling among the young men of Dhiban.

"We are tired of living like the dead after working so hard to study and learn," protest spokesman Sabri Mashaaleh told Al Jazeera. The 29-year-old holds a bachelor's degree in counselling from the University of Jordan, but five years after graduating, he has still not secured a full-time job.

Arab Spring protests erupted in Dhiban back in 2011, and to this day the town remains a barometer of Jordanians' frustrations over the worsening economic climate in the country and rising youth unemployment. According to a 2014 study by the International Labour Organization, the unemployment rate in Jordan had surpassed 30 percent.

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