Ammon News - By Areej Abuqudairi/ Jordan Times

AMMAN — Tens of orphans gathered outside the Ministry of Social Development on Sunday to demand an investigation into the case of an orphan who set himself on fire near the premises on Thursday.

The orphans called for an apology from the ministry and a response over the self-immolation victim’s condition, which is reported to be critical.

“Those responsible must be held accountable. When he attempted suicide, the Gendarmes at the door told him to go and burn himself; they also insulted him using bad words,” claimed Ali Taibi, the spokesperson for a group advocating for orphans’ rights

The 35-year-old orphan, identified by the ministry as A.R., set himself on fire in front of the ministry’s headquarters near the Interior Ministry Circle on Thursday afternoon after he was denied entry, Taibi said.

“He was trying to speak to the minister or other officials to enquire about his wife, who has been missing for months. But he was pushed away,” the spokesperson added.

Other activists told The Jordan Times that A.R. was there to “demand help with medication expenses, because he suffers from diabetes and a liver disease and does not have health insurance”.

They accused the ministry staff of “negligence”.

“If officials were busy or unavailable to meet him, they could have sent one social worker to speak to him,” said Ahmad (not his real name), one of the orphans who was protesting on Sunday.

Activists protesting outside the ministry told The Jordan Times that the self-immolation victim’s wife is also an orphan who lived in care centres until they married.

According to a statement issued by the ministry on Thursday, Social Development Minister Reem Abu Hassan was in the northern Governorate of Mafraq on a field visit with Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour when the incident happened.

Issam Shraideh, director of Al Bashir Public Hospital, where the man was admitted, said his condition was “critical”.

“He was admitted to hospital on Thursday suffering from burns affecting 90 per cent of his body. He is currently in the intensive care unit,” Shraideh told The Jordan Times in a telephone interview.

Activists, however, said they received “informal reports” that he was clinically dead, but they were “denied access to visit him”.

“We tried to go and see him at the hospital, but they did not let us in,” said one activist who refused to be named.

The ministry said in the statement that it is “waiting for the results of an investigation into the incident”, adding that the orphan is one of its beneficiaries.

“He has been benefiting from the ministry’s services since childhood. The ministry provided him with shelter as a child, contributed to his wedding expenses and now is paying him monthly cash assistance,” the statement said.