“Like it or not, I shall remain…”
I’m not very proud of being an Arab at this point in time. Listless and worthless. Amidst a region who spend the most on military and police equipment, yet are happy enough to exclusively direct those inward at their own people while brothers and sisters – within their ready sight – and who need their support, are being annihilated by a terrorist illegitimate state. Would they come to their help? No. They would rather call that terrorist state a friend. And why not when it’s a ready peg to hang the unfulfilled aspiration of their citizens on? Divert the attention from their lavish exuberance, their mismanagement, and the maintenance of the subjugation of “their” people. Palestinians be damned and hurray to Israel. Their thrones are of primary importance.
What is there, really, to be proud of for being an Arab? Living in the most regressive, inebriated, cantons kept at bay by designed in-fighting while unrepresentative lords continue to delude themselves for being the puppet masters while the obvious truth are they are mere, expendable puppets? Propped up by an unending river of paid-for loyalties of sycophantic morons.
Leave! I support any fellow Arab to leave. Leave to live. Leave to have a life. Leave to find respect and never look back. You won’t be missed. You will actually receive a red carpet put in your path to ease your exit. Good riddance! You’re not wanted. Leave and create a life and revel in the realisation that you’re making an acknowledged and appreciated difference in your new adoptive land and amongst your new and more caring people.
Leave! What are you waiting for? You’re not appreciated where you are and to them, you’re not worth anything. Everything around you is superficial. Whether you are sincere, passionately work for your living and try to make a difference is not the issue. They know that their imported help will suffice. You’re irrelevant. You’re unneeded. For your efforts of making a difference you’re fought with tooth and nail, you’re the enemy, you’re the trouble maker. You’re thrown in prison for the slightest infraction, for life. Fifteen years is the initial thanks you get for caring. Adding another fifteen is a simple pen push away.
Rights? What are those? Carry on in your inebriated dreams my friend. Or wake up… and LEAVE!
And you wonder why hundreds of our brothers and sisters are being currently killed, and hundreds of thousands are destitute and surrounded while the only help they can expect is the help they do not require? It’s so easy to give money from funds one hasn’t worked for. Caring enough to do something concrete about their continued plight is another. Unfortunately that will never be forthcoming.
Leave.
Comments
Farah Chamma is a cute girl but I don’t blame the Arab countries for refusing Palestinians entry. They make trouble where ever they go. As far as America goes, I don’t want anyone coming to my country who wants to set up a nation based on race. It’s a backward notion.
I agree with all of Mahmood’s sentiments except with one caveat: If you must leave, don’t come to America. Being welcoming to Arab Muslims has bought us nothing but trouble. You’ve worn out your welcome here with your shootings, bombings, genital mutilations, honor killings, skyjackings, and mass murder. I invite you to follow Farah to Brazil. South America is so screwed up there’s not much you can do to damage it more. The Amazon would be a fine place to establish your Arab nation.
Author
Thankfully Steve, you don’t have a say in this.
Mahmood,
I got as far as “illegitimate state” before my fuse, metaphorically, poped.
Couldn’t you call for Arab nations to treat their own citizens with the barest form of respect (a call I wholeheartedly support) without claiming I should be expelled from my home in the process? Or do you not plan to exile me? Do you plan to subject me to the same regime you now advocate others leave? Can’t you see the hypocrisy in your world view?
You have your cause and effect reversed. Arab nations teach their citizens to hate Israel so much just so they can divert their attention from those same atrocities, done internally, you are trying to protest here. In fact, your post here is the perfect example to how effective this strategy is.
While I understand your sentiment, and might even agree that, as things stand, immigrating might be the best option for sum, long term, this is a horrible solution.
Do you really think that Steve is alone? Do you really think that Islam should reach the position Judaism was in the 18th, 19th and early 20th century – without self government, at the mercy of the local rulers?
Or do you advocate a cultural take over? Immigrate to Europe and America, become the majority?
How can you criticize Israel for ruling over Arab citizens? Had they not been so, you would have urged them to leave!
No. The answer is not leaving.
Shachar
Mahmood,
I’m sorry for pushing the point past your point of acceptance, but it appears that my exact comment above was stated, almost two years ago, by Abdulateef Al-Mulhim, a former senior officer in the Saudi-Arabia navy:
http://www.arabnews.com/arab-spring-and-israeli-enemy
Shachar
Author
My point of acceptance has not been touched, Shachar, to me love and peace are the goal. I know how much of a staunch supporter of Israel you are, regardless of the atrocities it levies against civilians. Maybe you should read the myriad of articles now coming out from jews all over the world against that indecent government and its constant atrocities against the people of Palestine. Maybe you should read this particular report, amongst many, to see how your fellow jews actually feel:
Hi Mahmood,
I feel my point was misunderstood. I did not mean to open the “Israel is horrible” debate. If you want to delve into it, I’ll gladly hold that debate with you. I must admit I hoped our years of virtual acquaintance have earned me and my opinions more respect than that, but I guess the long absence have managed to turn me from “someone with whose opinions you do not agree” to “the enemy”.
Since I took it upon myself to right certain wrong, I will accept my renewed burden of earning your respect, if you choose to reopen that debate. You can start by explaining what makes you say Israel is an illegitimate state.
My comment, however, was not aimed at the (mis)merit of Israel’s actions. I was referring to your assertion that Bahrain, as well as other Arab nations, need to stop mistreating their people so they can help the Palestinian. That’s like asking a rich man why he worked so hard to earn all this money, only to now spend it.
Arab rulers are indoctrinating their people to blindly hate Israel precisely so they can mistreat their own people with impunity.
Are Palestinians like Farah thrown under the bus in the process? Of course they are! So what? After all, they (the rulers) don’t really care what happens to the Palestinians. All they care is that they can divert your attention while they keep on doing what they’re doing.
And your conflating the mistreatment of Arabs by their nations with the Israeli Palestinian conflict is just proof this strategy is working. If you feel your country should do something other than what it is doing for the Palestinians, demand that it does so. If you feel that your country is mistreating its people, speak up about it (which you do often, good for you!).
Why conflate the two? In what way are they even remotely related? If, hypothetically, Israel is tomorrow run over by Hamas and all Jews killed, would it somehow make it okay for Bahrain police to shoot at protesters?
Shachar
Author
Not sure what prompted you to think that I disrespected your ideas Shachar. That is not my intention.
Yes, I totally agree and that’s the primary point I was making in the post. My thoughts are the Arab rulers of that ilk do not deserve the people they reign over, and it is my contention – now – that in the absence of any real possibility of people getting rid of those rulers due to the impossibility of doing so – all weaponry is in their hands – it is better to choose life. Thus, moving to a country that would respect their human rights and will allow them to integrate into their culture to effectively contribute as humans in all fields of life is a better option.
The question is, is that giving up? Yes it is. I personally am fed up of fighting and swimming against the tide. There is no traction and no support for change. You saw that since 2011, the stranglehold has been absolute. No decent of any kind is tolerated, and almost all activists – and I’m using the term very loosely here – are in jail, killed or silenced in other ways. I’m sure that others have come to the same conclusion as well. The Arab world – and the Muslim world in general – is screwed up. Yes, we alone are to blame for this state.
To effect change for the better must be done through grass root movements but unfortunately those are curtailed by the state apparatus, which are aided and abetted by the West. A US undersecretary is thrown out of Bahrain for “meddling” and not even a slap of the wrist is rewarded. The US is looking after its own interests, the US base and oil and the rest of it. It’s the same with what was once great Britain and others as well. Even with this, there are demonstrations in Bahrain on a near-daily basis. You don’t hear much of those on the news because there are more important things for the news organisations to cover. A panda bear giving birth would move that news off their radar. Still people put their lives on the line and go out and demonstrate. Will they effect change. Maybe. But that will take a long way without the support of the so called “free world” and its duplicitousness.
So you see Shachar, this post is much more than Israel and its conflict. To me, that poem by Farah opened up wounds suffered by all of us Arabs. Of being unappreciated in our own countries, and find ourselves and blossom to contributing human beings in others.
How I wish we can do that in ours.
(one thing, I have no idea why all your comments recently are held for moderation. They shouldn’t be as I don’t censor comments. I’ll try to find out. They should be published immediately you publish them.)
For the most part, I agree with everything you have said. A few small comments, though.
First, about leaving. It is a solution in the micro level. If you leave Bahrain, your personal situation will, of course, be better. Long term (maybe several generations), this solution creates huge problems, to which I referred in my original reply. Also, please bear in mind that this is not a solution that everyone can employ.
Everything you said about the US is, of course, correct. More to the point, however, is that the US is losing it’s ability to affect change. It’s non-intrusion in Syria and Iran, premature intrusion in Egypt and complete lack of credibility to any ultimatum placed, not to mention the disgraceful way they handled the latest round of Israel-Palestinian “negotiations”, leave them with very little diplomatic credit.
If you want to see outside influence, look to the USSR (sorry, Russia. Don’t know what I was thinking). Knowing the type of influence you want to see, however, I’m not sure you want to. I’m afraid you’re on your own.
Regarding moderation: it might be because I’m not logged in.
Shachar
Ps.
One last request on “that” subject. Before forwarding, or even relying on, any article or opinion piece critical of Israel, do a search for the words “Gideon Levy”. If you find it was written by, or is relying on, said person, disregard the piece. The man is a raving lunatic who isn’t shy of distorting, and even plainly making up, facts to support his case. Far more than the usual hyperbolic exaggeration typical when discussing this subject.
If Israel is as bad as you obviously think it is, then surely you should be able to find enough sources to say so that do not rely on this one man’s opinion.