jordan pulse -

By Atef Abuhajar

Who would believe that the woodpecker, the cartoon hero of our childhood, would leave the TV screen and migrate to Jordan? Not only that — he now drums his head on telephone poles instead of trees. The bird seems to have understood the country quickly: few trees, too many bills, and knocking on poles is cheaper than knocking on a bank’s door.

In the past, we waited for the American woodpecker cartoon — red-headed, loud laughter, chasing rivals and wrecking the place. We thought it was pure fantasy.

But suddenly, without warning, the bird appeared in Salt, Batna, Jubeiha and other areas — not a cartoon, but a real woodpecker. He looks neat but worn out, feathers ruffled, eyes carrying the fear of a bank notice.

Finding few trees, he turned to telecom poles, pecking as if searching for free Wi-Fi. One pecks, one citizen watches: “Careful, the tax collector might catch both of us.”

Salt residents had their own jokes. One said: “The woodpecker became like the Jordanian citizen, banging his head everywhere looking for a living.” Another: “Looks like he took a housing loan and is pecking to escape the instalments.” A third wondered: “How does he not get a concussion?”

Our guest is not the American cartoon star but the Syrian woodpecker. His head is red, but his laugh was lost at the border.

Still, between every peck we discover even birds share our worries. We knock on ministry and bank doors, he knocks on wooden poles. The only difference: he has wings to fly from the taxman, we don’t.

Welcome, woodpecker — a strange bird with a familiar story: working hard with little return. He can change trees when bored. We keep pecking the same pole, with splitting headaches, while he feels nothing.

As they say: “Better the pecking of women than the pecking of woodpeckers. God ease our troubles.”