Is there something going on I don't know about?

So, during the Eid holiday, El 3atal and I went out to Hammamat Ma'in as I posted earlier. But, we observed something a bit unusual for us. Three times in two days we were pulled over at the checkpoints to show IDs. Nothing amazing in that... except the profile of folks being pulled over. Usually we've observed the Dead Sea check points to pull over two types for further screening, the shebab in ones or twos in the car or random folks of every description ala every-third-or-fourth-car. During the Eid, however, every single car pulled over had families with kids. Literally. The shebab were waved on through and the families were stopped. And the guys showed unusal interest in the Beans in the back. One even wanted their ID! El 3atal explained (admittedly not too patiently) that Jordan doesn't issue national ID cards to 5 year olds. The fellow commented that they look foreign so obviously we would have their passports with us.

The particular interest in the Beans and their foreign look made me wonder if something has happened that the rumor mill hasn't caught wind of yet (unlikely, I know, but...). Maybe it's just as El 3atal says and the poor fellows working the checkpoints were bored... I admit I do feel sorry for them, but found the interest in wee ones unusual.

Happy Profiling (teehee)!