Just a couple of winters ago I was so thrilled to see the changes sweeping through the historically troubled and suppressed regions of the Middle East. Tunisia had just been unshackled from Ben Ali’s grip after a month-long largely peaceful protests; Egypt had erupted with large demonstrators congregating in Tahrir Square against the Hosni Mubarak’s iron grasp on governance; the scent of revolution had spread far and wide in the desert sub-continent- whether it was Bahrain or Syria or Libya or Yemen, people were out on streets protesting against their dictatorial regimes; they all wanted Tunisia like freedom – nothing less than regime change!
The mood overall was of fearlessness and cheerfulness. They had shattered the glass ceiling of suppression. And there was no stopping them.
Egyptians ensured that they got what they had wanted, even if the struggle had to be sustained somehow in the face of repression. But the sense of freedom was still faraway for public in other Middle Eastern nations. Bahraini Kingdom did not hesitate in brutal stamp-out of the demonstrations. Yemeni people couldn't hold long in front of the cruel control of their national administration. Yes, there were celebrations in Libya for ousting Muammar Qaddafi – actually capturing and killing him with the US help – after a long fight which had acquired a violent hue ultimately. The Syrian struggle is still on.
All along while the Desert Jasmine was witnessing changes in the surrounding landscapes, the hotbed of Middle East revolution Palestine-Israel borders were keeping relative cool, perhaps because of international attention being diverted to emerging revolting states. Both countries demand for control over their “claimed” territories had taken a back seat, sort of. Or maybe they too were busy watching the unprecedented level of changes taking place in their neighboring nations. However, it is not to discount Israel’s uneasiness over the calm in their disputed land as it was evident in their tries to instigate unrest.
And though I too understood that the lull was before a storm, but I was confident that this time the outcome could be different from all earlier attempts towards freedom in Palestine-Israel conflict. Jasmines will bloom in this holy land too, sometime soon! And I was happy :)
For me the meaning of life is in living, and living “where the mind is without fear and the head is held high”. For me the dignity of life is the most crucial dimension of one’s being. And that is the reason why I thank God for making me a citizen of a democratic country (though there are serious doubts emerging about the degree of real freedom in India as well). But the fact that I can write about it openly – hope no authority or party or person takes offence to any of my “personal” thoughts - is testimony to the fact that India is an independent country now!
Thinking of and talking about the Middle East – and all such countries in other parts of the world – always left me perplexed. That why was the region perpetually in revolution mode and why no real freedom had been seen for ordinary people even in today’s modern age? This part of the world which was the crucible of civilizations and cultures should have continued to be role model for rest of the population globally. However, sadly and unfortunately, the significance and relevance of most of the things Middle-Eastern have got lost for a larger world. The oil of course remains the sole strongest magnet.
An honest reflection will tell the Middle Easterners that they themselves are primarily responsible for the deteriorating state of affairs in their land. They should have forged a stronger bond among themselves and could have shaped their own destiny much more beautifully. This, of course, does not imply that the life per se is not livable; in fact it is much better than many parts of the world. But, in all honesty, they deserve much better. Using their historic legacy and learning the structure of governance and state of being could have been inspiration to the rest of the world. United they could have thwarted the attempts of the West – developed nations with insatiable hunger for oil – from venturing into dirty & dangerous oil diplomacy & politics and in the process propping and supporting dictators. More than the ordinary folks, it was the responsibility of various heads of nations to join together in their united pursuit towards geo-political dominance. However, as we know, that could not be a possibility.
Today Israel has provoked Palestine and has re-started almost a war in the Gaza strip. The devastation in the areas is depressing. On the strength of the “Iron Dome” pounding the “enemy’s” places with unrelenting bombing is quite distasteful. Killing hundreds of innocent Palestinians including women and children in name of God-knows-what is reprehensible. As expected, the West is unable to yet again contain the Israeli madness. But what is more unfortunate is the silence in the Middle Eastern states. Countries like Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, Iran and also Iraq besides the smaller ones could have stood up strongly in support of the Palestinians and could have put a brake in Israel’s insanity.
Israel should not forget that the stake on the 'occupied land' is historically with Palestine and only a "live and let live" attitude will result in permanent peace.
Iran-Iraq, Iraq-Kuwait, Iraq-US, Jasmine revolution, continuing Arab Spring, and of course, the mother of all conflicts – the Palestine-Israel war. These are a few of the contemporary times warfare witnessed in the Middle East. Historically this largely desert land has been beset with battles – most of it among themselves. Elsewhere the world has progressed from a medieval mentality to a modern existence – well almost in certain terms – but this part of the world has remained warped in time. In spite of shared history and religion and culture, the divisions within states have remained glaring. And that is the reason why even in today’s times, the Middle East gets abused repeatedly by the West.
One of the fundamental existential flaws of the region has been its tendency to lean towards religious fundamentalism frequently. The progress which could have put the area on the world map as a dominating power has in fact been stalled consistently by the extremist tendencies of a certain dominant section of its conservative populace. Not to forget that even this situation could have been managed if the Middle East would have stood united. Now, standing united does not imply being governed as one nation state; a regional unity is what it lacks tremendously and to its own peril.
And that is the reason why we see the turmoil re-surging repeatedly in the region. If Tunisia, Egypt and Libya are all facing continuing unrest in spite of them now having democratically elected governments, they returning to crises once again don’t seem a remote possibility. Their first few steps towards democracy seem to be shaky at the moment.
The freshly erupted crisis in Egypt is testimony to trouble-ingrained nature of the Middle East politics. President Morsi’s plans to thwart democratic essence of governance and garner dictator-like powers for himself has to be put to an end by a combined diplomatic effort of rest of the Middle Eastern nations. Else, soon the great state of Egypt will slide into an irreversible downfall. Any negative change taking place in Egypt will augur very badly for the other democracy-aspiring countries of the region as it would set a bad precedent.
These newly minted democratic nations needed full support of the stable Middle Eastern states but we rather see these nations gradually treading the path of religious fundamentalism as was seen earlier in Iran. And if there would have been support, then that would have been ‘unprecedented’!
The contemporary world history is observer to the state of Palestine being abandoned by its powerful neighbors leading to decades of devastating consequences for proud Palestinians. I truly believe that if the Arab world had resisted, the illegally formed state of Israel would not have been able to garner legitimacy. And, even if they did not act then against the Israeli occupation, later with their honest approach they could have successfully implemented the peace accords and the two states solution in the disputed holy land. At the cost of sounding naive in matters of international politics and diplomacy, I simply state that with talks all conflicts can be resolved amicably to both parties satisfaction. Of course, in the process, they also needed to reign in the opposing factions.
The way the world has managed the Israeli-Palestine conflict so far, it seems to keep it going is in interest of many developed nation.
The recent UN upgrade of Palestine to a nonmember observer state is a major step. The resolution to the decades old Palestine-Israel conflict seems a possibility in near future now. Israel expectantly will oppose it tooth & nail and it has already started demonstrating its displeasure openly. However, a united rest of the world – minus the US – will be able to force Israel see the realities and relent.
As the world depends almost entirely for its fuel on the Middle East and for humanity’s sake, it is in the shared interest of the entire world to work towards stability and democracy in the region. The freshly bloomed Desert Jasmine should not be left to wilt away in the harsh desert sun. …
