TakingITGlobal - Panorama - When the White...

Published on: Apr 10, 2003

Topic:

Type: Opinions

https://www.tigweb.org/express/panorama/article.html?ContentID=1177

He silently lays his tools ahead of him and anxiously walks towards those waiting to greet him. He holds a flag made from a twig and a torn bed sheet. He notices that the party receiving him does not hold flowers but the very tools he had just abandoned: weapons. They calmly look for hidden tools on him and then softly fasten metal around his wrists. He is taken to a place where he meets others whose fate has been similar: they have been liberated and are now free. This is all presented truthfully on television and in the newspapers.

He is the unnamed Prisoner of War who has to suffer from the decisions of a few men to fight. He may not even know what he was fighting for or what he has been liberated from but his obligation to his country had compelled him to fight. But they detest their leader's repression. Many don't fight. Some believe in their duty, as professional soldiers, to disregard their political beliefs and fight for their country. These fight on. They are branded "ideologically motivated Saddam loyalists" despite their reason to fight being a very different one. They do have all to lose since if they don't fight to expel the invader they would have defied their duty and abandoned their country to the enemy. History has shown that the distrust of the foreigner often presents a stronger case than distrust of a corrupt and repressive leadership. Yet this is all presented truthfully on television and in the newspapers.

I have seen such distrust myself. I live in Saudi Arabia, a country bordering Iraq, and I have seen countless who look upon the "coalition" as a gang of invaders acting in their own self-interests such as getting cheap oil. Shortly after the conflict began, there began to be routine prayers among which the appeal to Allah for the success of the Iraqi resistance is always greeted with the loudest "Ameen". Yet if you ask these people what they think about Saddam Hussein, you get a very passionate condemnation of his actions every time -- probably even more so than you see on your television screens. Their empathy with the Iraqis makes many of these people feel that they are personally affected by his tyranny. Yet they all want the "coalition" to go home and mind their own business. The people on the streets tend to put aside their differences when it comes to a foreign interference or an Arab versus non-Arab affair.

I can understand the repression of the Iraqi people. I can understand their wish to protest and let their voices be known, for whatever reason there may be. Although protests do occur in Saudi Arabia (as I have heard but not seen) many still feel the need to restrain themselves. The situation however, does not even reach near the repression of the Iraqi people. The word on the street on many matters often does carry to the government and appropriate measures have been taken in the past. The government does provide some of its revenue for public projects and it is not always the case that hoarding at the top is to blame for the disappearance of funds. The Saudi royal family may still have extensive palaces but the roads are still maintained well. It may squander money but its legal framework still functions, albeit inefficiently. The government may be inefficient but people on the streets are not dying of starvation. This is not so in Iraq, where the people have been starved of their right to a government that genuinely wishes their betterment.

I can understand the wish of many Iraqis to see Saddam go. I can also understand their anxiety about a war. In fact, I was exceptionally surprised when an Iraqi classmate did not speak for a painstakingly long day in protest to the war when just the day before he had been extremely critical of Saddam and had said,"I think that the Iraqi people have had enough and it is time for Saddam to go." After asking around, I discovered that this opinion was representative of many non-Iraqi Arabs as well as Iraqis. The sentiment I received was that Iraqis might rejoice the day Saddam is removed but they will probably not when they see a new government installed by someone from outside. Martin Luther King Jr. once said:

"Our scientific power has outrun our spiritual power. We have guided missiles and misguided men."

The "coalition" may win by guiding missiles but it may further lose its credibility in both within and outside the Arab world if it misguides men and creates a false government. Iraqis may not openly protest against the new government as they have forgotten how to -- they have not openly protested against one for years. But if the will of Iraqis is to be respected, a government of the Iraqi people, by the Iraqi people, and for the Iraqi people must follow this war.

« return.



by Shayaan Afsar
Published on: Apr 10, 2003
Topic:
Type: Opinions
https://www.tigweb.org/express/panorama/article.html?ContentID=1177


He silently lays his tools ahead of him and anxiously walks towards those waiting to greet him. He holds a flag made from a twig and a torn bed sheet. He notices that the party receiving him does not hold flowers but the very tools he had just abandoned: weapons. They calmly look for hidden tools on him and then softly fasten metal around his wrists. He is taken to a place where he meets others whose fate has been similar: they have been liberated and are now free. This is all presented truthfully on television and in the newspapers. He is the unnamed Prisoner of War who has to suffer from the decisions of a few men to fight. He may not even know what he was fighting for or what he has been liberated from but his obligation to his country had compelled him to fight. But they detest their leader's repression. Many don't fight. Some believe in their duty, as professional soldiers, to disregard their political beliefs and fight for their country. These fight on. They are branded "ideologically motivated Saddam loyalists" despite their reason to fight being a very different one. They do have all to lose since if they don't fight to expel the invader they would have defied their duty and abandoned their country to the enemy. History has shown that the distrust of the foreigner often presents a stronger case than distrust of a corrupt and repressive leadership. Yet this is all presented truthfully on television and in the newspapers. I have seen such distrust myself. I live in Saudi Arabia, a country bordering Iraq, and I have seen countless who look upon the "coalition" as a gang of invaders acting in their own self-interests such as getting cheap oil. Shortly after the conflict began, there began to be routine prayers among which the appeal to Allah for the success of the Iraqi resistance is always greeted with the loudest "Ameen". Yet if you ask these people what they think about Saddam Hussein, you get a very passionate condemnation of his actions every time -- probably even more so than you see on your television screens. Their empathy with the Iraqis makes many of these people feel that they are personally affected by his tyranny. Yet they all want the "coalition" to go home and mind their own business. The people on the streets tend to put aside their differences when it comes to a foreign interference or an Arab versus non-Arab affair. I can understand the repression of the Iraqi people. I can understand their wish to protest and let their voices be known, for whatever reason there may be. Although protests do occur in Saudi Arabia (as I have heard but not seen) many still feel the need to restrain themselves. The situation however, does not even reach near the repression of the Iraqi people. The word on the street on many matters often does carry to the government and appropriate measures have been taken in the past. The government does provide some of its revenue for public projects and it is not always the case that hoarding at the top is to blame for the disappearance of funds. The Saudi royal family may still have extensive palaces but the roads are still maintained well. It may squander money but its legal framework still functions, albeit inefficiently. The government may be inefficient but people on the streets are not dying of starvation. This is not so in Iraq, where the people have been starved of their right to a government that genuinely wishes their betterment. I can understand the wish of many Iraqis to see Saddam go. I can also understand their anxiety about a war. In fact, I was exceptionally surprised when an Iraqi classmate did not speak for a painstakingly long day in protest to the war when just the day before he had been extremely critical of Saddam and had said,"I think that the Iraqi people have had enough and it is time for Saddam to go." After asking around, I discovered that this opinion was representative of many non-Iraqi Arabs as well as Iraqis. The sentiment I received was that Iraqis might rejoice the day Saddam is removed but they will probably not when they see a new government installed by someone from outside. Martin Luther King Jr. once said: "Our scientific power has outrun our spiritual power. We have guided missiles and misguided men." The "coalition" may win by guiding missiles but it may further lose its credibility in both within and outside the Arab world if it misguides men and creates a false government. Iraqis may not openly protest against the new government as they have forgotten how to -- they have not openly protested against one for years. But if the will of Iraqis is to be respected, a government of the Iraqi people, by the Iraqi people, and for the Iraqi people must follow this war. « return.