Orwell saw the black in Blackberry

When George Orwell was writing his political sci-fi novel Nineteen Eighty-Four he had no idea how close his imaginative classic would come to eerily predict our future. It took a few years past the year 1984 but in 2010 our world is resembling Orwell’s futuristic one and realising his grim outlook.

The industrial age gave us the means to pave the technological road, which led us to the age of information. Information or the excessive access and manipulation of it have eventually landed us in the era we live in today, the time we could quite easily dub, the age of paranoia.

Civilisations tend to embrace technological advancements in the hope that with them comes progress and enlightenment. But sooner than the world realised, technology spread like wildfire and before we knew it every man and child had the entire world at their disposal. Overnight, the power of information was available to all, even the once harmless person was now equipped for destruction.

Civilisations also cannot thrive without maintaining order and controlling chaos. Yet this virtual world they helped create and nurture has now turned into a living, breathing monster they cannot seem to control. Information technology has become their Frankenstein.

Once the monster broke loose governments strove to maintain control over the potential chaos it could cause. With the countries’ security at risk governments quickly started to monitor the instigator of all fears, the borderless world they helped create, the Worldwide Web. Emails, chat rooms and blogs became breeding grounds for anarchy and a major concern to government security.

Social networking websites had to revise their privacy policies because when it came to the Internet no stone would remain unturned, no page unmonitored. The social-networking site Twitter has donated the entire world’s status updates (tweets) to the United States’ Library of Congress claiming they took this step for the “preservation and research” of tweets.  Why would the Library of Congress want to preserve and research random peoples’ updates? Regardless of the reasons, whatever you decide to use your 140 characters for, rest assured they will be archived and never be erased. Once you send that tweet you can never take it back.

Countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom took the monitoring to the streets, and to their publics’ outrage, have introduced the use of closed-circuit television cameras (CCTV) as a tool for crime prevention. The UK has not divulged the total number of CCTVs being used or whether or not this method has directly lowered crime rates, although according to several independent studies CCTVs have reduced crime in the UK by only four per cent. Their effectiveness is very low considering their massive cost on the taxpayers and on their civil liberties.

It is supposed to feel comforting having an eye watching you on every street corner yet there is something quite unsettling about it. Looking back at Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four his Big Brother Surveillance prophecy has indeed been manifested through today’s CCTV.  

After the Web monitoring and the street watching comes the latest fight against terror in the form of cell-phone tapping. The new terrorist on the governments’ block is the Canadian company Research In Motion (RIM). RIM has made it on this list because of their smart-phone device, the Blackberry. The company’s effort to differentiate its product by offering their customers complete privacy, a safe-zone if you will, through the use of this device is its crime.

Yes the big picture is clear and we are reminded of it everyday. Yes, terror is among us. Yes, national security is of utmost importance and governments have the right and obligation to maintain peace within their territory. But while we are staring at and being consumed by the bigger picture have we managed to neglect the smaller one within it?

The conflicting rights are bewildering and can place a person at a thorny crossroad. On the one hand we have to think of our safety as a nation and on the other we have to be concerned for our right in pursuing a private life. National security is sacred and should be fought for but are we willing to sacrifice personal privacy as our not so glorified casualty of this fight against terror?

Should we wilfully accept that every word we type on Twitter be documented by the United States’ security service? Every letter we type in haste or anger be a weapon used against us?

Should it be normal to walk down a street and not feel like you’re being watched but be certain of it?

Should law-abiding citizens be scrutinised and punished in the name of national security?

It is quite a dilemma that once absorbed, forces a person to re-sketch the parameters of his private space and rethink his every step, for you never know who is out there watching, listening and ‘documenting’. 

Most of what Orwell prophesized in Nineteen Eighty-Four has come true in some form or another. In Orwell’s fictitious world “You had to live – did live, from habit that became instinct – in the assumption that every sound you made was overheard and, except in darkness, every moment scrutinized”.

Here’s hoping his Thought Police aren’t next.

This article was published in The Gulf Today newspaper on August 30th, 2010.

BLOOD ON THE DECKS OF PEACE

"While our Arab league deliberates, the ships bringing aid have become the ones in need of it."

After months of planning and preparation the Gaza Freedom Flotilla consisting of six ships boarded by 700 brave volunteers set sail last Sunday night carrying aid to the 1.5 million besieged people in Gaza. Bravely attempting to sail through and peacefully penetrate the Israeli blockade was their mission. 

700 civilians who could no longer sit aside and wait, who could no longer go about their daily lives carrying the weight of their suffering brothers and sisters on their backs. Aware of the risks involved and the unpredictably hostile nature of the Israeli military they left the comfort of their homes and said goodbye to their families convinced that this movement is of absolute importance to the Palestinian people. What they were not aware of while boarding the decks and sailing into the darkness is that their journey will be of absolute importance for the whole world.

It has marked a day in history, a day when Israel lost control of its media cover up. A day that moved many of the younger generation to tears at hearing the news of how this brave journey ended. Nineteen have been shot dead by the Israeli navy who opened fire on the peaceful visitors long before exiting international waters. With communication from the boats severed we had nothing to go by until after the deaths.

The International media’s semantic magic show decided to instantaneously make the word “aid” disappear from their headlines. And as per usual the rest of the world got to hear Israel’s side of the story, which always goes something like this “so and so attacked us” and “it wasn’t us it was them” etc. You know how it goes, you have been hearing it for years. It’s ironic how it is only in Israel that attackers are always the ones dying.

We are stunned by the news but what shook us to the core is the slowness in the Arab governments’ response. The Turkish government moved immediately after the news was heard and so did the Iranian one. Meanwhile, it took our proud Arab nations half a day to appear with their condemnations followed by their announcement that the Arab league will meet no later than tomorrow?! What can be more urgent than a merciless attack on innocent aid workers?

While our Arab league deliberates, the ships bringing aid have become the ones in need of it. And on the Gaza shores the news fell the hardest for the flicker of hope sailing towards them had been once again snubbed by Israel and once again the walls of the siege seemed to rise higher and stand stronger.

We are here to tell Gaza and the people of Palestine that this movement has set the precedent for many more to come. The people have not forgotten you and are ready to fill your seas with their blood delivering the help you need. Today the world’s view has changed in many ways. Israel can stop a flotilla but it cannot stop our longing for freedom. To the families of the people lost on board the Freedom Flotilla I give my sincerest condolences and ask you to keep your heads up for you now carry an emblem of pride on your chests and in your hearts forever.

As for the Arab governments, you could learn a thing or two from these brave martyrs who sailed into the darkness only to see the light.

This article was published in The Gulf Today newspaper on June 1st, 2010.

CARRIED AWAY TO ABU DHABI

In a period when the western critics and bashers have been having a ball at our expense, should we be relieved or concerned that our capital is making an appearance in cinemas all over the world this May 27th?

The trailer to the much-anticipated sequel of Sex and the City has dropped and the girls’ next adventure unfolds in no other place but our capital Abu Dhabi. The trailer shows Carrie and the gang whisked away from New York City for an all-expenses paid week in Abu Dhabi. It shows the girls riding camels, lazing on the poolside of extravagance and hitting the nightclubs that are apparently full of belly dancers. Your typical Edward Said notion of Orientalism, only dressed in designer from head to toe. 

The movie was initially set to be filmed in Dubai yet the authorities refused to give filming clearance. The grapevine has it that clearance was to be granted if the movie’s name was changed to Love and the City but that offer was obviously not accepted. The movie was finally shot in Morocco, but the destination in the film remained our capital Abu Dhabi. 

The media is finding it ironic that Sex and The City 2, just like its prequel, might not even be screened in the Emirates. But the refusal of filming in the country and the absence of the movie in our theatres are both attempts from the UAE to control and maintain brand Emirates. In a period when the western critics and bashers have been having a ball at our expense, should we be relieved or concerned that our capital is making an appearance in cinemas all over the world this May 27th?

The local reactions are mixed. Some people are welcoming what they view as a pleasant and fun image of the country that has been suppressed with all the negative media about the financial situation and the latest tragedy of Hamas commander Mahmoud al-Mabhouh’s assassination. 

Others are concerned with the hidden message that the movie might be sending. After all, the trailer invites the world to “discover how much fun forbidden can be.” The portrayal of Abu Dhabi as a playground for the rich, where everything and anything goes, is far detached from reality. Yes, our capital is a decadent city that boasts many luxuries and splendour but it is also where all our culture and traditions are embedded. It is Zayed’s city, where extravagance and subtle conservatism are the essence of its beauty and pride.

Many Arab and African countries have been featured in Western movies in the past. The most famous of which Lawrence of Arabia, starring Peter O’Toole and Omar Sharif, was shot in Jordan and Morocco. And the latest depiction of the war in Iraq, conceptualised by Kathryn Bigelow, in her Oscar winning movie The Hurt Locker was also shot in Jordan. 

If there are any concerns or objections, they do not exist out of mere refusal of filming a movie or using the country’s name, they do not come from ignorance but spur from the logic and political realisation that such associations should be monitored and selected according to what the country deems to be an appropriate representation. 

The United Arab Emirates is known around the world for its patronage of the arts, embracing the art world in all its forms. Abu Dhabi is creating an unprecedented step towards realising the dream of bringing the arts even closer to its people by building goliath art museums such as the Louvre and the Guggenheim. Both the Abu Dhabi and Dubai international film festivals continue to thrive with worldwide works being selected and viewed every year. Culture is alive and well in the UAE.

In certain interviews that touch upon the subject we find the cast of the movie explaining that whatever may have been said about the culture is all in good humour and that it is simply an attempt to remain true to the characters. Yet the concern is neither about the characters nor the movie. Many of us in this region are quite familiar with what Samantha’s character would do and Miranda’s would say regardless of the setting, for the TV show, the movies are based on, aired in its entirety on certain Arab TV networks. The concern comes from the distorted and highly exaggerated impression the movie will give about the country.

Quite how far the movie has gone with its representation of Abu Dhabi will only be known on May 27th. Until then, we are left with an image of Charlotte’s little girl asking, “is it like Jasmine and Aladdin”? and Carrie sheepishly answering: “Yes sweetie, but with cocktails.”

This article was published in The Gulf Today newspaper on 23rd of May, 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.

UAE’S SITUATION WITH BRANDED EDUCATION

Education has always been an essential building block in the construction of the United Arab Emirates. The UAE’s founding father, His Highness the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, made educating his people his main priority and even encouraged all women to empower themselves by seeking education. Thanks to his enduring efforts, today the nations’ literacy rate is in the 97^th percentile with women’s literacy rate exceeding that of the men’s.

With the rapid growth of the UAE’s economy the country has become one big melting pot in which many cultures and nationalities mix and brew. Private schools were founded to accommodate all nationalities residing in the UAE. Every type of school imaginable has been established and before we knew it the UAE has become infested with thousands of such institutions.

Education began its hypnotised stride towards the glittery world of business where profits rule with an iron fist. Schools became establishments with nothing but revenues in mind and where quality of education is no longer a requirement. The current education system in the UAE seems to be taking cue from the Starbucks model for success, mass franchising and churning out degrees/lattes by the dozen. It is quantity not quality that matters the most.

With the increase in schools and yearly graduates a demand for more universities and higher education became imminent. And so we were off once again spending billions of Dirhams and conducting laborious negotiations in efforts to convince this university or that to agree on opening a branch in the Emirates. All the while adhering to the universities’ culture and vision even if it contradicted ours. We are so keen on opening international universities within our boundaries even if it means we should bend our rules and skew our views.

These universities are of course well known and revered in the world of education hence the hefty price tags. And although money is never a deciding factor when it comes to UAE endeavours I am afraid that one cannot measure the price of such agreements by ones and zeroes. When we forgo negotiations on certain defining elements such as the type of subjects being taught at these universities and whether or not they go against the inherent character of this country then the issue becomes bigger yet.

When we allow for university students to live in mixed dormitories then we are attempting to ignore one of the most important aspects of our culture and taking a step unprecedented in the Arab world. For no other Arab country has adhered to such a stipulation no matter where the university they were seeking came from. With all due respect to these major universities but how do the sleeping arrangements of your students hinder your vision as an educational institution? I cannot see how that would act as an obstacle to the learning experience or the university’s social setting. Many students do not reside in dormitories while attending universities and come out with the same experience and receive your degrees just the same, don’t they?

If a university, no matter how famous and respectable, cannot and will not adhere or at least be sensitive to the country’s governing religion and culture then we can certainly do without it. It is not just a matter of slapping a famous name on the doors and distributing attractive brochures to fill seats with students from every part of the world. It is a matter of teaching and educating on more than just the subjects chosen by the university, but to also teach and educate students coming from far and wide about the United Arab Emirates’ heritage and values.

The idea of building an education system based on brand names is a flawed one. Besides, a university branch is almost always a second-rate version of the original, why settle for that?

The image I have of the UAE’s future education system does not comprise thousands of international schools and hundreds of franchised universities. It is a more specific and long term one. The idea is to simply pump these same billions first into the betterment and enrichment of our public schools, and second, to build a national university, just one to fully call our own.

In the past this idea would have been just a dream because human resources and expertise were not available, and therefore, they were solicited from abroad. But today and with our outstanding 97 per cent literacy rate this dream can surely manifest into a reality.

This is not to say that we do not have some brilliant universities that have paved the way in the right direction. In 1978, Sheikh Zayed Al Nahyan established the first national university, UAE University in Al-Ain. This university was to be his biggest step towards realising his dream of bringing education to his nation and providing it with the skills necessary to one day become self-sufficient. A project such as His Highness Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammad Al Qassimi’s Sharjah University City is one that shines like a beacon in both the Gulf and Arab education system as a whole. The American University of Dubai and Zayed University have also found their places among the UAE’s prominent universities.

Because of such dedicated work the realisation of this dream is possible. This single UAE-built university can be a privatised one, led by prominent local experts in the field. Professors handpicked from both the Arab world and abroad for their excellence and commitment. The courses tailored to be a reflection of both the modernity of the United Arab Emirates and its cherished traditions and taught in both the Arabic and English language. The university’s name is one that bears no affiliate, one that is solely ours.

In the Arab world some universities stand out when you think of such examples. Egypt’s Cairo University, established in 1908, is one that has people from around the globe enjoying its rich education system, not because it bears the name of some famous university bought for billions of dollars, but because more than a hundred years later its own name has become worth just as much.

Let us build education institutions not for today or tomorrow but for hundreds of years to come, not for image or show but for substance and generations to come. So that some day foreign countries will pay to franchise the UAE’s name and adhere to its stipulations in pursuit of our knowledge and great achievements.  

This article was published in The Gulf Today newspaper on 24th April, 2010

EMIRATI THE LOCAL EXPAT

On some days more than others we are subjected to incidents, reactions or even words that rub us the wrong way. The reasons are many but the ultimate feeling is one. A feeling of shock and utter disturbance that tends to whack you upside the head and knock you off balance. No matter who you are I am sure that you have been whacked once or twice in your lifetime. People reacting to you differently, hesitantly, judgmentally. Reacting because you are on foreign turf, because you are a minority, because you do not belong to the familiar.

The United Arab Emirates is a country that is proud of its multicultural residents, and UAE nationals are known for their ever-welcoming and embracing attitude towards this continuous stream of newcomers. Ironically, the same cannot be said about the attitudes of some of the UAE expatriates.

As a UAE national I speak from personal experience when I say that I have been subjected to endless stares and been the topic of many hushed conversations after stepping into a number of different outlets in the country. And while in other parts of the world expatriates go to great lengths to fit in among the locals, it works quite the other way round in the Emirates. Granted, we Emiratis are a minority in our own land, for numbers rarely tell a lie, but that is by no means a reason for us to be treated as such.

This outnumbering has left many areas and outlets untrodden by the native Emirati and to many of their dwellers such a sighting is a rarity, hence the rubbernecking. When this native discovers a shiny new place and curiously wonders in he is treated as a rare species, at times an unwelcomed one. Once he is noticed, the patrons will size him up and immediately feel restless, his national dress offending them and disturbing their peace. The native immediately feels the prying eyes follow him and senses the gapers’ shoulders tense up in defence. Once he is settled and it becomes obvious that his presence is not the end of their world as they know it, things start to go back to normal, the incident is over, or is it?

For the Emirati it doesn’t quite die out. The agitation lingers through the day. It raises a barrage of questions and brings about an onslaught of reasoning in an effort to make sense of this meaningless subjugation.

Unfortunately, this issue is not constrained to looks and whispers, it has reached as far as affecting establishment rules. Some restaurants in certain Emirates can actually ban Emiratis, wearing their national dress, from entering the vicinity. Now allow me to say that such a matter is just unspeakable. Can you imagine if in Scotland a Scottish man is not allowed into a place for wearing a kilt, a Japanese woman sent packing for wearing a kimono in Japan, or Indians not allowed entrance into a restaurant in India proudly wearing their saris or kurtas? It is just unthinkable, not to mention humiliating.

Laws must be issued prohibiting establishments from enforcing rules like these on the grounds that they are purely discriminatory to both the nationals and the country’s rich tradition. For how can you fight for your rights not to be discriminated against in other parts of the world when you allow for it at home?

Nobody wants to feel like a stranger in his own home, an alien in his world. Shamefully, it is an ever-increasing phenomenon in the UAE experienced by many nationals in every aspect of their lives, be it the workplace, a random eatery or even public parks.

It is truly a sad feeling that I’m left with whenever I am faced with these head-turning, neck-breaking incidents. Once the anger of being discriminated against has subsided it is sadness that I feel. Sadness because we welcome and embrace, we speak in every mother tongue except ours and make every dweller feel at home, yet with every piercing look the price becomes painfully obvious. 

We the natives are the aliens dressed in black and white. 

This article was published in The Gulf Today on 28 March, 2010

NO LONGER THE FARTHEST MOSQUE

The Israeli occupation police have seized al-Aqsa mosque, assaulted Palestinian civilians and barricaded the mosque area in a first step towards their so-called “national heritage restoration project.”  This project is a $107 million plan to restore areas they claim prove Israelis’ connection to the land. Some 150 sites are listed. Among them many Islamic and Christian sites are named on this ‘heritage list’, devised and set into action by Israel’s Prime Minster Benjamin Netanyahu.

Many of the listed sites lie in the West Bank, which was handed over to the Palestinian Authority in 1994 under the Gaza-Jericho agreement. On the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ own website the agreement states that “the Israeli Civil Administration in Gaza and the Jericho area has been dissolved and its powers and responsibilities transferred to the Palestinian Authority in the following civilian spheres” which lists among other things planning and zoning, archeology and religious affairs.

But in true Israeli fashion and with deceptive disregard to political agreements or promises, they took it upon themselves to restore these sites that are not in their territory. Zionists are masters of gradualism, they took Palestinian land slowly, brick by brick. Israel has built more than 100 Jewish settlements in the West Bank, where more than 500,000 Jews reside. The World Court has ruled that these settlements are illegal under international law yet they remain untouched. Because when it comes down to it, Israel does what it wants while the rest of the world merely condemns and watches.

Palestinian Authorities have expressed outrage at this clear violation and warned that Israel’s actions will hinder the peace process and ignite another religious war. Peace is not on the Zionists’ agenda. Judaisation of the state of Israel is. Therefore, the logical form of action is to seize, desecrate and stamp the Jewish mark on both Islamic and Christian sites in order to serve that purpose.

Since 1946 hundreds of mosques have been seized as the world stood silent, some were demolished and many were turned into restaurants and nightclubs. The Ibrahimi mosque was invaded with the same “restoration” excuse, a quite ridiculous one, because the Palestinians have been adequately maintaining it for more than a hundred years. Their request was simply to add a candle holder in the Ibrahimi mosque, once accessed it was seized. Now prayer times are regulated by Israel and “promises” to allow Muslims shared access to the Ibrahimi mosque have been given.

Today it is the same old excuse but on a much wider and more invasive scale. Israel wants to take hold of al-Aqsa mosque. Israel’s audacity is fuelled by the Arab and now Islamic nations’ silence. It is al-Aqsa mosque, one of the three holiest Islamic sites in the world. The direction every Muslim prayed towards before the Ka’aba was built. It is where Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) made his night journey. How far does Israel have to go for the Arab governments and Islamic nations to speak up and take action?

This is a clear sign from Israel that it wants nothing to do with the peace process and a slap in the face for the Obama administration that is trying to foster it. Governments should not constraint themselves to the issuing of condemnation notices to the press. All Arab governments should sever political and business relations with Israel immediately. Meanwhile, sadly in the same week as al-Aqsa invasion Egyptian courts allowed the sale of gas to Israel.

The person will riot, take to the streets, shout and scream but it is the government that should speak in our voice and echo what our hearts and minds are hollering. How long can we stay quiet, silenced by our fear of political rejection? We are fed up with the words condemn and denounce. If we take a stand, if we grow a spine we will not be prosecuted because what we are asking for is not irrational, it is a right.

We are asking for our history and our rights to be preserved and protected. For our political agreements to be honoured and respected, not disregarded and invaded. The United Nations condemned Israel’s restoration project but after the Goldstone Report we have come to realise the truth that left a bad taste in our mouths. The truth that even the United Nations cannot make a difference when Israel is on trial.

If our governments do not act, and act with serious vigour, then al-Aqsa mosque will slowly but surely crumble and fall. No matter how many stones are flung at the bulldozers, in thirty months’ time and as planned by Israel al-Aqsa will be owned by them. It will become a tourist attraction to bring in revenues for the Israeli government and will eventually hold Jewish names and recently etched markings of the Jewish so-called historical connection.

It is an outrage and a crying shame that while we go about our daily lives we leave it up to the people of Palestine to protect the mosque with a wall of their own bodies. Relentlessly trying to put a stop to the Israeli occupation army, which spares no means to combat a stone flung by a child towards their tanks.

Our governments are more powerful than they seem to think. End the era of Arab government passivity and impotence and use your power to stop this crime against history, human rights and religion.

This article was published in The Gulf Today on 7th of March, 2010.