These past three weeks have seen unprecedented unrest in the Middle East, and for the first time I am beginning to think that people there are beginning to understand what has held them back for so long. This is history at its best in the making. The Arabs too, deserve a fair deal, and it’s beginning to dawn on them what must be done to achieve just that.
So far, the ‘chiefs’ (they are not Presidents or Prime Ministers any more than I am an alien from Vulcan) running the Arab countries have managed to paint the boogie man for their people, a target to direct their misguided animosity against, the non-plus-ultra enemy if there ever was one - Israel, naturally. Of course this tactic often belied the fact that the chiefs were stealing from the tribe, millions and billions worth of dollars.
I have been fortunate enough to have lived in two of these nations, Morocco and Jordan. I have accepted the warm hospitality of each of these countries and also gained a rare insight into what might be plaguing them.
The fact is, the Middle East is tired of faceless (and usually wealthy) leaders ruling over them with an iron fist while serving the elite and their own pocketbooks. They have long ago grown weary of watching these kings and presidents enrich themselves while the nation’s youth remains disenfranchised and without a voice. These kids, a large part of them very well educated, spit on the tradition that dictates they need to live at home with their parents while being un- or underemployed. They sneer at the thought of their chiefs using patriotism and religion as a convenient cover for plundering their countries while refusing them, the sons and daughters of the nation, a fair shake. They detest the very fact that they must leave their homes to have a chance at work and to be able to afford a family.
Well no more.
The message Tunisia (and then Egypt in a more poignant fashion) have sent to the world is loud and clear: give us our country back. Give us our share of it. Give us a chance to determine our future, free of the shackles of phony traditions and phony enemies. This is not to say that some whackjob (see Iran) might not rise up and threaten to ring in Armageddon against Israel sooner than various scriptures have planned, but the good thing is clearly that these countries are beginning to see who their real, immediate enemies are, and they are usually the ones right in their midst, in their nation’s capital, working at nothing but maintaining the status quo.
And this is only the beginning. The rest of the Middle East better hold on to their hats, because they will be in for a wild ride. No more business as usual. They have now been unmasked for the fakes they are.
The Moroccans and Jordanians that I know living abroad couldn’t be more happier, I am sure. It appears as if their time has finally arrived. Good for them.
So far, the ‘chiefs’ (they are not Presidents or Prime Ministers any more than I am an alien from Vulcan) running the Arab countries have managed to paint the boogie man for their people, a target to direct their misguided animosity against, the non-plus-ultra enemy if there ever was one - Israel, naturally. Of course this tactic often belied the fact that the chiefs were stealing from the tribe, millions and billions worth of dollars.
I have been fortunate enough to have lived in two of these nations, Morocco and Jordan. I have accepted the warm hospitality of each of these countries and also gained a rare insight into what might be plaguing them.
The fact is, the Middle East is tired of faceless (and usually wealthy) leaders ruling over them with an iron fist while serving the elite and their own pocketbooks. They have long ago grown weary of watching these kings and presidents enrich themselves while the nation’s youth remains disenfranchised and without a voice. These kids, a large part of them very well educated, spit on the tradition that dictates they need to live at home with their parents while being un- or underemployed. They sneer at the thought of their chiefs using patriotism and religion as a convenient cover for plundering their countries while refusing them, the sons and daughters of the nation, a fair shake. They detest the very fact that they must leave their homes to have a chance at work and to be able to afford a family.
Well no more.
The message Tunisia (and then Egypt in a more poignant fashion) have sent to the world is loud and clear: give us our country back. Give us our share of it. Give us a chance to determine our future, free of the shackles of phony traditions and phony enemies. This is not to say that some whackjob (see Iran) might not rise up and threaten to ring in Armageddon against Israel sooner than various scriptures have planned, but the good thing is clearly that these countries are beginning to see who their real, immediate enemies are, and they are usually the ones right in their midst, in their nation’s capital, working at nothing but maintaining the status quo.
And this is only the beginning. The rest of the Middle East better hold on to their hats, because they will be in for a wild ride. No more business as usual. They have now been unmasked for the fakes they are.
The Moroccans and Jordanians that I know living abroad couldn’t be more happier, I am sure. It appears as if their time has finally arrived. Good for them.
0 comments