Off Arab screens millions marched for women

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HE position of Arab women is very much still fragile in many countries in the region. We are witnessing more and more young Arab girls lost in translation between what they are told are the ideas of a foreign culture and that of fundamental rights. Much of the atrocities that are committed towards Arab women occur partly because the victim does not know that she has a basic right for her body to be hers, for her privacy to be respected and for her education to be a necessity not a privilege she receives if it is financially possible after her brother has been educated. The education system is neglecting feminist teachings and has failed to highlight the importance of gender equality and the issues that need to be discussed and rectified with regard to achieving a harmonious culture where both sexes are perceived equal. This is when the media must pick up where schooling left off yet it is evident that the Arab media too is casting a blind eye on the issues pertaining to women’s rights and gender equality in the Arab world.

On a day when a massive number of women and men around the world rallied to bring forth these essential issues that not only affect people but entire countries’ moral and economic conditions most Arab news channels failed to broadcast the event. Now, if it were a small crowd in some part of the world one would give these channels the benefit of the doubt and assume that on this first day of Trump’s presidency eyes would be projected elsewhere. But how can a rally like the Women’s March that saw numbers exceeding projected expectations, backed up by powerful female celebrity names and infecting countries all over the world be ignored? The sheer magnitude of the march that closed roads and delayed transportation in major cities across the globe only reaffirmed the idea that Arab news channels intentionally ignored this movement. This rally for female solidarity that happened only once before in modern history, when the Suffragettes moved for the right to vote, and nothing like it has been seen since, did not register as important for these news stations to highlight. 

Our Arab mothers and sisters are suffering from injustices like domestic violence, sexual harassment, child marriages and honour killings, some are still fighting for their right to drive or travel without male custody therefore our powerful Arab media was not only expected to broadcast this particular one of a kind Women’s march it should have held panels to dissect the issues being brought forth in order for the Arab world to better understand that gender equality is not an idea that one believes in, it is a planned movement that requires an enormous effort on the part of both men and women to reach. This march was not about American women it was about all women, it portrayed an image of solidarity on a massive scale. It was a peaceful march that flowed like a sea of pink and it was glorious. For a woman like myself who at an early age was attuned to the injustices that the patriarchy had enforced on women and had spent many a sleepless night worried about the ways of this unbalanced world, watching the march, I could only wish my young eyes had witnessed something like this unfold, even if only to reassure me that I was not alone in my thoughts, that the actions my young mind deemed unfair were in fact so, and that the world as I knew it could in fact evolve. The more feminist readings one delves through the more you come to see that the movements have spread out and lost touch with one another, soon they had even started to fight amongst each other and it is at those times that one loses hope that a united front will ever be recovered from this wreckage of feminist ideas. The Women’s March had restored my faith as I am sure it has introduced the young generation to the new wave of feminism. A feminist movement that was made up of both sexes and all ages and creeds, one that did away with the arguments and stood arm in arm for a greater cause, a cause which the Arab media did not wish to project.

During the Egyptian revolution, it was quite evident that the women who organized and rallied against corrupt governments played a pivotal role in the future of Egypt, it was an example of the power of the female movement. The Women’s March did what it set out to do and that is to show the sheer magnitude of passion that the female voice can project and most importantly, for our future generations, it has shattered the falsity of the patriarch myth that women do not support other women. The Women’s March showed that women in fact do support their sisters and that men do too. This is an image that should be projected to the entire world so that all those who have had their rights taken away just because they were born of the opposite sex do not remain silent and so that all those who believe they have a right to deny someone their equal existence realise they are gravely mistaken. It is shameful that Arab television channels denied the Arab world from joining in the celebratory essence of this historic march for the Arab world has nothing to fear from the empowered Arab woman, it has everything to gain. 

This article was first published in The Gulf Today newspaper on 25 January, 2017

Arabic version appeared in Al Khaleej newspaper http://bit.ly/2jofQFE 

Obama’s win gave young America hope, Hillary’s loss gave it a voice

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here are moments in history that one remembers not only as fact independent of circumstance but as moments that are whole inclusive of all their surroundings. In these moments one will recall not only the historical fact they had lived through but the exact place they were at when they heard it. I think it is safe to say that for most of the modern world Donald Trump’s scalding victory is one of those moments we will not soon forget. The reactions around the world differed, some laughed sarcastically, others uttered concern but there was one distinct sound heard by all, it was the sound the United States made as it gasped at the blow dealt by its own democracy. America had shot itself in the foot, shell-shocked it was frantically trying to assess the amount of damage its choices had caused. 

The American people woke up to a disquieting realisation, one that hit the young generation harder than it had the rest. Trump’s victory meant that his rhetoric of hate and racism was one that echoed harder and farther than many imagined, it reiterated that America now stands not for freedom or liberty but for segregation and constraint. This was the generation that grew up listening to a rhetoric of hope galvanised by the Obama campaign, this is the generation that had hoped and was now witnessing the embodiment of all they hoped against materialising. The images broadcast the sheer pain and disappointment in their young faces, as they stood in shock, after the election results were announced. It was incredibly moving because one could see through their expressions that it was not Hillary’s victory they sought, it was the triumph over Trump’s ideals they longed for.

This massive blind-side was a result of many factors still being analysed and discussed weeks after Trump took to the stage and in a somewhat subdued demeanour recited the words he had never uttered during his two-year campaign. The world watched a softer Trump, a more gracious and docile Trump who seemed overwhelmed and more surprised than the rest of us at this favourable result. 

The failure of the media to portray the darker side of America has led to the underestimation of the impact Trump’s hate-filled campaign would have. The Trump campaign capitalised on a misunderstood, somewhat forgotten America that the younger generation had no idea existed and, if they did, not in such a vast majority. Identity politics geared towards this materially deprived and culturally isolated America, which has grown substantially under the radar as a result of economic instability and lack of educational funding, gave them a label and certain admirable traits factoring in an ethnic heritage and in turn succeeding in creating a single crushing entity aimed at the prior government. They were fed up with the hyperbole of the Obama administration that promised economic stability and better employment opportunities, and saw Hillary as an extension of the same arm. 

Witnessing the results of the US presidential elections was reminiscent of Egypt’s 2012 elections when an exhausted and angry Egyptian people chose to either abstain or vote against the old regime resulting in the victory of the Muslim Brotherhood representative, Mohamed Mursi. The shock culminated in an immense rally that saw hundreds of thousands of, mostly young, Egyptians rallying for his impeachment. Today we are witnessing a sight, that has not been seen in the United States since citizens rallied to impeach Richard Nixon some forty years ago. People rallying across the country to impeach Trump, their chants reaffirming that Trump is not their president.

Young Americans who saw their country as a symbol of cultural and religious diversity and truly believed it to be the land of the free are now dealing with a different reality. A reality that has chosen hate, misogyny and racism as its core values and that has spoken loud and clear for the rest of the world to hear, albeit considering America’s foreign policies its image to the rest of the world is one that is not far from that. Nevertheless, it has now, with Trump at the helm, become outspoken about it. It seems that after 8 years of the Obama administration preaching unity and inclusion for all a backlash was brewing under the fires of wars thousands of miles away and a highly globalised world moving at hyper-speed, leaving most of America reeling and finding solace in a sense of warped nationalism. 

The long-term effect of Hillary’s loss could be more beneficial to the future of America than one might think. For if Obama’s reign placed hope in the hearts of the young and instilled in them a belief that differences must be embraced then Hillary’s crushing defeat has awakened them to the harsh realities of a hopeful indifference and raised their voices in opposition of all those ideals that would not only darken their future but the future of the entire world.

This article was first published in The Gulf Today newspaper on 22 November, 2016

Arabic version of this article appears in Al Khaleej newspaper http://bit.ly/2fXBixl

Syria — Is there anything left to salvage?

Since 2011 economists have been adding up the accumulating costs of the ongoing war in Syria. Year after year they have been recording the numbers that have come to point directly to the impending demise of the Syrian economy and studying what seems now an imaginable way to recovery. The latest estimate revealed by the World Bank predicts that $180 billion is needed to rebuild a war ravaged Syria. Another study by World Vision and Frontier Economics estimates that the war is costing Syria $4 billion a month in lost growth. The war has seen Syrian schools, hospitals and major infrastructure turned into rubble and with only 43% of the medical facilities functional the estimated life expectancy at birth has dropped to 15 years. World Vision is warning that without an internationally agreed reconstruction strategy ready to be implemented when the war is over, Syria’s fate would be no different than that of Afghanistan and Iraq.

Planning, reconstructing and rebuilding are all words that bring forth a ray of hope in an otherwise grim reality, a reality whose facts show that this hope is far-fetched. After the fall of Gaddafi’s Libya the United Kingdom alone has spent 13 times more on bombing than rebuilding the country. The United States Department of Defense boasts a daily cost of $11.5 million spent on bombing Iraq and in 2009 was spending about $7 billion a month in Afghanistan. Considering that history shows us time and again dark precedents we are almost promised a battered Syria that will not recover for at least another 50 years. The problem with history is that it tends to repeat itself and if mankind fails to learn from it then one after the other every Arab country is destined to perish.

Brick and mortar can be calculated, measured and rebuilt but what of lives lost? What of a nation of nomads that are roaming the world begging to be sheltered? What of the psychological damage that has befallen them as a result of this senseless chaos?

The cost of war is like an immeasurable tremor that knows no borders, its shockwaves reverberating across the world resulting in universal suffering.

Analysts have said the devastation caused by the Syrian war has reached World War II levels. With that in mind and the fact that there are mini wars happening in almost every other Arab country, that was unfortunate enough to be seduced by a false spring, this region is in fact going through the world’s third war. Once the dust settled on the Second World War much of Europe and Asia lay in ruins, there was nothing left to rebuild and the year 1945 was dubbed “Year Zero”. Millions dead and millions more had fled their homes seeing the birth of a new term, the DP, or “displaced person.” In modern day terms it would be what is known to us as the “refugee.” Once again history shows us that while the terminology changes the vicious cycle of war is more or less the same.

The end of the Second World War saw great cities such as Warsaw, Tokyo and Berlin reduced to piles of ash and in our reality the great cities of Baghdad, Tripoli and Aleppo have succumbed to the same fate. The end also brought about the creation of new world superpowers, the once mighty Japan and Germany looked to be beyond recovery which left ample room for the United States and the Soviet Union to flex their political muscles. The war in Syria has resulted in an undeniable power shift in the Arab world as well where we witness the weakening of Iraq, Libya and Syria to have made room for other less geographically dominant countries to take the helm.

Nevertheless, what was once Europe’s dark reality of defeating Adolf Hitler was now well behind it, recovery was possible for them because they bound together forming a grand alliance that had one thing on its agenda, the resuscitation of Europe, all of Europe. If Syria is to rise from the ashes it needs a united Arab world which has one thing on its agenda, not the falling of a dictator for we have seen many of those fall, but the reemergence of a prosperous Arab nation, one that is not reliant on foreign aid but is self-sustained and set on its way to become powerful once again.

Let us assume that this hypothetical situation is not a mirage and that its existence is well within reach, the question remains, what would our history books teach? Will the truths be taught so that our future generations could learn from our past or will it be ignored, skipped over to better times just like post World War II Europe did, where Italy neglected to mention its fascist past and France’s history pages were freed from the pro-Nazi Vichy period?

History is not always pessimistic for if World War II Europe has taught us anything it is that the rebuilding of cities is possible and the mending of a nation’s spirit can be achieved and therefore we remain hopeful that the new Arab powers will strive to sift through the ashes and salvage what they can to bring back what was lost and breathe life into what we thought dead.

This article was first published in The Gulf Today on 24 April, 2016  http://bit.ly/1SEPRXM
Article also appeared in Arabic in Al Khaleej Newspaper http://bit.ly/24cArf7

It’s time for a law against domestic violence in the UAE

From its inception the United Arab Emirates has dedicated all its resources to the betterment of society and the world in need with one mission in mind, to provide people with security, stability and respect for their rights. This is evident from the birth of this great nation and instilled by its founding fathers. The late Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, a laudable humanitarian and advocate of women’s rights, is famously known to have said: “No matter how many buildings, foundations, schools and hospitals we build, or how many bridges we raise, all these are material entities. The real spirit behind the progress is the human spirit.” 

The UAE has come so far in so little time yet never lost sight of what it values the most, its citizens and the diverse people who have chosen to make it their home. This year, the UN Happiness Report ranked the UAE as the twenty-second happiest nation globally and the first among Arab countries. This does not happen by chance, it happens through the hard work and dedication of governments under the guidance of an enlightened leadership, which cares first and foremost about the human spirit.

The UAE has never witnessed a women’s rights movement simply because since its establishment the government has seen women as equals and therefore placed them at the forefront of all endeavours. The urgency for the inclusion of women was there from the very beginning with women’s education becoming one of the founding fathers’ first and most persistent priorities. Today the Emirati woman is as intrinsic in the country’s fabric as her male counterpart participating at every level of both government and private sectors, with many gaining international recognition for their achievements.

In a young nation such as this one it is understandable, even expected, to find outdated laws and issues that are not yet recognised under the country’s penal codes but domestic violence should not be one of them. There is no law governing domestic violence in the UAE, a fact that is neither acceptable nor emblematic of the country’s stance on human rights in general and specifically women’s rights. Ministry officials have shrugged at questions on the non-existence of such a crucial law citing that there is no legal definition of domestic abuse. This technicality cannot be the reason to dismiss the rising figures of domestic violence incidents where women have had no legal rights to leave their abusive relationships on the grounds of being physically harmed. Officials have also debated cultural issues stating outdated ideas of privacy among a family unit. If a woman fears for her life then she should be able to seek refuge, knowing that the law will preserve her rights if she wishes to remove herself from harm’s way regardless of what other members of her family believe. 

Another excuse given by officials, who I must mention for the sake of this issue, are all men, is that while Western countries may consider some forms of abuse as domestic violence an Arab community could see it as family discipline. I could not make this up if I tried, officials have actually said these excuses out loud and continue to use them to hinder the process of passing this fundamental law. 

Violence is violence and can in no way be misconstrued as discipline under any circumstance cultural or otherwise. If we are to fight discrimination and injustice against women we must start from the home for if a woman cannot be safe in her own house then she cannot be expected to feel safe anywhere.

The figures do not lie, domestic violence is on the rise and the lack of a law to protect women is not acceptable under any excuse. The UAE does not need the United Nations telling it that this is an infringement on human rights because the UAE believes it to be so and must now act to end the procrastination of the matter because the passing of this law reinforces what the UAE truly is, an avid advocate of human rights. 

This article was first published in The Gulf Today newspaper on October 18, 2015.

Arabic version of this article appeared in Al Khaleej newspaper http://bit.ly/1LhB5iL

The Cyber Cemetery: A virtual headstone for each one of us

IF you can imagine a world before the Internet you would picture a place where your thoughts belonged to you alone, a world that is governed solely by your physical presence. To be heard in this world you were required to prove you had something worth listening to and only if you were talented enough, well versed enough and committed enough would your thoughts garner an audience. Through this meticulous journey towards making your voice heard you must have weighed and measured every word before it was uttered, every action before it manifested. Through this examination of one’s self you would’ve eventually etched your legacy, one that will remain long after you have gone. 

If this virgin world seems more like fiction than reality, you are probably one of the many who have grown accustomed to the ease with which sharing your every passing thought with the world has become. These thoughts will never know the struggle of being caged and your voice will never feel the strain of continuous shouting. This schizophrenic world requires us to live in two separate spaces, one physical and the other cyber. Many of us fail to make the connection between the two, losing ourselves in this newly formed identity we choose to project. In this world where I sit at my desk writing these words, people die, they pass on, people are mortal. In the cyber world we inhabit they do not. The immortality of one’s social media persona is real, for we leave behind years of comments, images and interactions that can never be taken back.

According to a report recently released by the research firm Internet Monitor, dead users of the social media world will soon outnumber those of the living. It estimates that at the moment there are some 20 million Facebook profiles that belong to people who have passed on. Through social media one becomes immortal, he continues to be. 

These sobering figures are worth reflecting upon if only to reassess our online footprint. Does the social media persona you control reflect how you want to be remembered? 

The spontaneity with which we tend to share our musings with the world makes our online person more prone to spreading hasty generalisations and at times even hateful comments. The false security the glaring screen provides allows us to let our ugliness through. And the fact that this haste, hate and ugliness will remain floating through cyber space long after you are able to defend it is reason enough to make us take a step back from our keyboards and smartphones. 

After meeting many of my social media friends in the world of the tangible I can safely say that for some, their online personas do not do justice to their real life selves. I have come to realise that the most critical of the social media accounts are the least verbal in real life and I can assure you that most social media trolls have no physical troll land to dwell.

As this cyber cemetery grows bloated with people’s endless thoughts, existing in a virtual limbo, we must do ourselves justice and try as best we can to be true to who we are. We must find a balance between our real selves and our cyber ones for, like it or not, it is the legacy we will leave behind. Make it one that you wish to be remembered by, one you would be proud of for it will be the shrine your loved ones will visit when their longing for you becomes at its heaviest. 

Your words will continue to live, make them count. 

This article was first published in The Gulf Today Newspaper, March 10, 2015  http://bit.ly/18x2SMN

Arabic version of this article was published in Al Khaleej Newspaper http://bit.ly/18x30fn

The World Cup: A weapon of mass distraction

Most of us might know Albert Camus as the French-Algerian novelist and philosopher whose arguments on existentialism transcended his time. We know him for his ability to force readers into facing the harshest questions and looking morality dead in the eye. One would find it somewhat strange to classify Camus as a sportsman as well, but that he was. Camus was a goalkeeper for his university team in Algeria who was inspired by football and the sense of responsibility it bestows on each player. Standing solitary between the goalposts Camus reflected on his absurd position of being at no fault if his team scores but fully to blame if the opposition did and is quoted to have said, “All that I know most surely about morality and obligations I owe to football.”

I can relate to Camus’s appreciation for football for I too am an avid fan of the sport who revels in the poetry and artistic intellect of the game. I find the camaraderie that football brings to people from all walks of life inspiring. But every four years, when the biggest celebration of football takes place in the form of the World Cup, the true lover of the sport is no longer necessary and the football connoisseur feels outnumbered. Because for one month every four years, regardless of your passion for the sport or even your knowledge of the game’s rules, you find yourself entranced by the events unfolding as nations compete for one title. 

It is quite frightening to be able to create an event that transcends cultural and religious barriers, speaks to all ages, and overcomes gender differences. An event, which has the ability to keep the whole world captivated, one that is designed to be a psychological weapon of mass distraction. 

As the hypnotised masses have their heads turned towards television screens and their voices raised to cheer on their favourite teams, they would like to believe that there is no world outside the borders of the cup-hosting city, yet the world still moves.

The first World Cup was held in 1930 and has been played every four years ever since. As far as the history books have recorded there has been a great political movement shaking the world while these World Cups were being held. For the sake of this argument I wish to go back thirty years or so and bring to your attention the events that have unfolded in the Middle East during these cups. 

In 1982 the World Cup was being held in Spain and in that same month the Lebanon War began. As the fires raged in Lebanon the world screamed and hollered, not at the sight of the Israeli forces invading Southern Lebanon or at the sheer injustice and agony, they cheered for Kuwait’s team appearing in the World Cup for the first time and hollered as the Algerian team was knocked out from the first round. In 1982 Lebanon was at war and Italy won the World Cup.

In 1990 the World Cup was being held in Italy and I recall this one vividly for the United Arab Emirates team was making its first appearance in the World Cup. That year Iraq invaded Kuwait and the seeds of war were planted in the Gulf, changing the way we view our region forever. West Germany won the cup and the Arab world lost the war.

In 2002 and on the first day of the World Cup being held in South Korea and Japan Israeli troops entered the West Bank through Nablus as the Arab world cheered for the Tunisian and Saudi Arabian teams and the rest of the world fixated on the excitement they have been waiting for for four years. Brazil took that cup.

In 2006 Germany hosted the World Cup and Israel launched Operation Summer Rains as it hailed attacks on the Gaza killings and injuring innocent Palestinians in its wake, Italy won.

In 2010, South Africa hosted the World Cup, meanwhile the United States was backing Iranian protests against then Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad where hundreds of protesters fell victim to military violence. Iran was being represented in the World Cup as their team wore green wristbands in solidarity with the opposition movement, the world complained about the annoying sounds of the vuvuzelas. Spain won that title.

And here we are today, 2014 and Brazil is hosting this World Cup. We find ourselves once again being held captive by the exhilarating atmosphere and the great football being played. We got caught up cheering our only Arab representative in the World Cup, Algeria, meanwhile Iraq is being swallowed up by the worst case of extremism we have seen yet and succumbing to vicious sectarianism that is ripping it to shreds. 
Israel is on the offensive once again threatening to bomb Gaza, the reasons are many, proof is optional and the result is one.

Who will take this World Cup is yet to be seen but the one thing we know for sure, if history has anything to teach us, is that some huge political plan is being hatched to be deployed four years from now as we settle in to watch the next World Cup hosted by Russia.


This article was published in The Gulf Today newspaper on 6 July, 2014 http://bit.ly/1qYAHew
Arabic version published in Al Khaleej newspaper http://bit.ly/1mvgpKd

A beacon of hope amidst the hopeless

On a plane headed back to the United Arab Emirates I found myself staring at the airplane’s route map, and as the tiny plane icon inched its way across I couldn’t help but sigh at the state in which all the Arab nations we flew over are in. All the bloodshed, suffering and mindless wars, all that sectarianism, extremism and hate we were flying over.  If I closed my eyes I could almost hear the sobbing of the Iraqi mother and the sighs of the Syrian refugee, I could swear I heard the cries of help from all the helpless souls of my nation. 

Yet as my plane hurtled through their dark skies, parting the clouds above their heads and leaving behind nothing but a trail of smoke, I realised that I am the one who is truly helpless. For I cannot wipe the tears of that Iraqi mother nor can I console the Syrian refugee. I cannot bring back this woman’s child or make a promise that this man will return home once again. I can only write of their sorrow and remind you all that their grieving souls need our voices to speak for them. 

Touching down on this great land, which stands as a beacon of peace amid the chaos, I pray may God bless the UAE and all the people who have chosen to make it their home and protect the Arab world.Palestine, Iraq, Syria, Libya, Lebanon and Yemen... our Arab nation is haemorrhaging before our eyes. We continue to watch as great plans of divide and conquer are being realised and remain helpless as people of this great nation are being dismissed as collateral damage. Civilisations have been demolished and culture is being desecrated faster than I can write these words. The horror of it all is paralysing and yet we should not be still. We must act, we must shout and bring aid to those of us who suffer, for the pain of our fellow Arabs is bound to hurt us. We are one for better or worse and that should always be where we stand. 

As my plane approached its final destination and I glimpsed the flickering lights of my home I heard the words of its founder echo. The late Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan was the man who believed in unity and built his country as an example that such unity can be harmonious as well as powerful. The United Arab Emirates today stands monument to his words, “We believe in National, Gulf, Arab and Islamic unity. There is no doubt that our faith in the power of unity shall not waiver.” 

Landing in the UAE fills me with hope, for this country along with its current leadership continues to heed Sheikh Zayed’s words, coming to aid all those in need. 

In 2013, the UAE has jumped 18 points to become the world’s largest donor of official humanitarian assistance, actively supporting its Arab neighbours and the rest of the world. Proving that it is not the geographical size of a nation but its intentions that dictate its place in history. While some nations in the region continue to meddle in other countries’ affairs spreading hatred and inciting holy wars, the people of the UAE and its leadership carry a message of peace and respect for all faiths at a time when such ideas seem far-fetched. The general outlook of the UAE is to fight this hatred with productivity and put out the fires of destruction with a flood of hard work and resilience. 

The UAE’s footprint has been a positive and productive one, holding on to the dream of true Arab unity that rises above corrupt political agendas and financial gains, Arab unity that stems from mutual respect for one another and the realisation that no amount of weapons or fleeting alliances can bring absolute power like the one which unity provides.

This article was published in The Gulf Today newspaper on 29th June, 2014 http://bit.ly/1oeO8G9

Appeared in Arabic in Al Khaleej newspaper here  http://bit.ly/TH5G2W 

2010 One last time

As 2010 draws to a close some of us have already drafted our resolutions for the coming year, others like myself, cannot help but take one last glance over our shoulders for it is only by doing so that we are truly able to move forward. When we look back we see that in 2010 Mother Nature demanded our attention with earthquakes that shook us to the core, floods that drowned our homes and volcanic ash that halted our very movement. We proved our ignorance with an oil spill, which after months of stubbornness desecrated everything in its path. She in turn swallowed 33 miners and kept them hostage.

Throughout this ongoing battle we witnessed some of us pull together and others tear apart. We saw environmental activists rush to rescue the oil covered wild life. We watched as thousands gave aid to earthquake ravaged and submerged countries. We experienced the feeling of pride in the human mind when scientists and engineers came together inventing a contraption, which pulled men unscathed from the dark bowels of the earth.

2010 proved to us that one’s convictions are worth fighting for even if it means being imprisoned half your life, the moment Aung San Suu Kyi took her first breaths of freedom.

This past year also introduced us to the United States’ new enemy who, for a change, dons no turban and has no beard. Julian Assange founder of the latest weapon of mass destruction Wikileaks, has for the first time in modern history given the people a chance to eaves drop on the goings-on of the selected few who govern our world. And although most of what we learned was not entirely new, with Wikileaks this information suddenly had the power to officially hold governments accountable.

Segregation seemed to be the word of the year for both Korea and Sudan with Norths and Souths refusing to live in harmony with one another.

Meanwhile, on our side of the globe the United Arab Emirates unveiled its Burj Khalifa, the tallest building on the planet, and Qatar became the first Arab country chosen to host the FIFA World Cup. Yet we also continued to watch as injustices and crimes were committed on our land and in our waters when the Israeli military raided ships carrying aid to Palestinians in Gaza, killing unarmed volunteers and shocking the entire world with its blatantly disparaging excuses. We watched dumbfounded as they raided Al Aqsa mosque and refused to halt their illegal settlement building. We felt Islamophobia shivers all the way from New York City down our spines and had to endure a lowly person rally to burn the Quran.

We heard President Barack Obama announce the end of combat operations in Iraq and while it still remains a battered country we wondered what difference did the US interference actually make in the life of the average Iraqi citizen. We witnessed democracy dying in Kuwait as journalists were imprisoned and members of parliament dragged from their homes and beaten up by their own government.

Indeed we should be drafting our new year’s resolutions but not after we have looked back at the images and heard the sounds of 2010 resonate in our minds, if for nothing else but to sculpt our dreams and hone our aspirations for a better tomorrow.

Here’s hoping that 2010 was a lesson in life we will not soon forget.

This article was published in The Gulf Today and Al Khaleej newspapers on Dec. 30th, 2010.

AL KHALEEJ, AN UNDYING PROMISE

Every scholar, every writer and every reader has said all that is to be said about the institution that is Dar Al Khaleej publishing house. They spoke of its unbiased journalistic commitment, they marvelled at its unwavering, unapologetic position on Arab unity free from all political agendas. They praised its exclusive coverage of the news and its endless army of forward-thinking, visionary contributors. And acknowledged that throughout these 40 years and with all the struggles in the Arab region, Al Khaleej’s name remained at the forefront and on the frontlines of the media wars. Fighting in the name of all Arab rights regardless of country, politics or religion. In the face of all opposition it never stuttered, never lost its voice.

But that is what they had to say. What I have to say about Al Khaleej is less concerned with history and politics and more concerned with the personal element of Al Khaleej.

 Allow me to speak about the Al Khaleej family and not the institution. Throughout my life, and for as long as I can remember, I have lived among the voices of Al Khaleej, schooled by their ethics and liberalism and driven by their passion.

During these 40 years, sailing the treacherous waters of both local and international political turmoil, Al Khaleej the institution lost its captain, and Al Khaleej the family, its father. Taryam Omran Taryam passed away on the 16^th of May, 2002. It was indeed the biggest and hardest blow to the heart and mind, to the soul of Al Khaleej. It was an almost impossible struggle for his brother and best friend to carry on sailing through his inconceivable grief. Yet he did, if only to keep Taryam Omran alive through the perseverance of his work and the perpetuation of his legacy.

And so on Al Khaleej’s 40^th birthday, our hearts and minds cannot help but be consumed with the man, our captain, my uncle, for without his vision we would not be here today. We miss you everyday. May your soul rest in peace and your voice continue to echo through your Al Khaleej.

Al Khaleej is all that has been mentioned, but Al Khaleej to me is much more than that. It is my uncle, it is my father, it is a legacy that fills me with pride. It is a story of brotherhood and an undying promise. 

This piece was published on the 10th of May, 2010 in The Gulf Today in celebration of Dar Al Khaleej publishing house's 40th anniversary.