Waiting for the Barbarians

What are we waiting for, assembled in the forum?
The barbarians are due here today.

Why isn’t anything happening in the senate?
Why do the senators sit there without legislating?
Because the barbarians are coming today.
What laws can the senators make now?Once the barbarians are here, they’ll do the legislating.
Why did our emperor get up so early,
and why is he sitting at the city’s main gate
on his throne, in state, wearing the crown?
Because the barbarians are coming today
and the emperor is waiting to receive their leader.
He has even prepared a scroll to give him,
replete with titles, with imposing names.

Why have our two consuls and praetors come out today
wearing their embroidered, their scarlet togas?
Why have they put on bracelets with so many amethysts,
and rings sparkling with magnificent emeralds?
Why are they carrying elegant canes
beautifully worked in silver and gold?

Because the barbarians are coming today and things like that dazzle the barbarians.

Why don’t our distinguished orators come forward as usual to make their speeches, say what they have to say?

Because the barbarians are coming today and they’re bored by rhetoric and public speaking.
Why this sudden restlessness, this confusion?
(How serious people’s faces have become.)Why are the streets and squares emptying so rapidly, everyone going home so lost in thought?
Because night has fallen and the barbarians have not come.
And some who have just returned from the border say there are no barbarians any longer.

And now, what’s going to happen to us without barbarians?

They were, those people, a kind of solution.

Distorted Images

Why have Al-Jazeera, Al-Arabiya and most western media neglected to report on the uprisings in Bahrain? Is it true that in Syria, Alawites are fighting against Sunni Muslims? And who were the real victims of the Houla massacre? I take a look at some of the most striking flaws in reporting on the Arab Spring, two years after the uprisings began

There has been much criticism of western mainstream media coverage of the Syrian conflict. For the most part, reports have been very simplistic. The commonly touted messages of the main players have largely been reflected with clear-cut, Hollywood style 'good' and 'bad' guys. The basic storyline being: "The dictatorial Syrian government is torturing and killing unarmed protestors and civilians, including women and children and the West and the Arab League are making attempts to protect these civilians."

While it is undeniably true that innocent civilians are paying the ultimate price in their quest for freedom, and many are being killed by government forces, inevitably this is not the whole picture.

Numerous commentators have written about the lack of objective reporting on the horrifying events taking place in Syria. Known as the 'Angry Arab' columnist, As'ad Abu Khalil has written a number of criticisms of western media coverage, whilst Emirati commentator Sultan al-Qassemi recently published a particularly scathing piece for Foreign Policy magazine on Al-Jazeera and Al-Arabiya's biased coverage of events.

Common flaws

However, it would be naïve to believe that Syria has been singled out in this respect. Media coverage of the Arab Spring and its aftermath, as a whole, has been very poor. A few common flaws stand out.



Despite a clear code of ethics, prominently displayed on the Al-Jazeera website, the channel has patently abandoned the basic standards of journalism, failing to run even the most basic of fact checks. Both the Arabic and English channels have overwhelmingly relied on reports from anonymous callers and unverified video footage.

These, in turn, have been run on high profile channels across the world, including the BBC, which also claims a strong ethical mandate. Syria has not been unique in this respect. In fact the trend of relying on activist videos and anonymous calls was first used by CNN's iReport when covering Iran's 2009 'Green' Revolution.

In an interview with Qantara.de, Dr Thomas Pierret, a lecturer at the University of Edinburgh, points to the fact that "the most violent aspects of the (Egyptian) revolution were not reported … in particular, the torching of police stations and killing of many policemen in Alexandria on January 29."

Pierret also points to an exaggeration of the numbers that turned out for protests in Egypt. "Figures for the numbers of demonstrators on Tahrir Square were absurdly exaggerated, you simply can't put a million people in Tahrir Square, probably not even half of that – it's a small place. At times the camera that was filming the square from the top of one of the surrounding buildings was closing up on the crowd so as to conceal the fact that the square was half-empty."

Tribal and sectarian differences overstated

Another issue that has been overstated are the tribal and sectarian differences present in many Arab countries. This has been the case in Syria where the conflict has often been simplified into a clash between the 'Alawite dominated government and Shabiha militias' and the predominantly Sunni protesters. Brooke Anderson, a journalist based in Beirut, told qantara.de that the problem lies in overemphasising references to Alawite, Christian or Sunni neighbourhoods.

"I understand that it's sometimes necessary to bring up people's religious and ethnic backgrounds, to give context to a story – but not all the time! Such coverage makes it look like brave or fundamentalist Sunnis are fighting against the Alawite bogeymen, and meanwhile Christians are apathetic – which is unfair to all of them." The fact of the matter is that many Alawites are anti-Assad just as many Sunnis are pro.



Again, this issue is not unique to Syria's conflict but has been repeated in media coverage which has emphasised tribalism in Libya and sectarianism in Iraq. In his 'Comment is Free' article in the Guardian, Hayder al-Khoei maintains that the role of sectarianism has been overemphasised in the Iraqi conflict and that "political competition, rather than sectarianism, dominates Iraqi politics". It is not Shiites and Sunnis targeting one another but violent Jihadis targeting both.

The importance of follow-up coverage

Brooke Anderson goes on to identify an additional flaw in international media coverage of the Arab Spring. She says that little effort has been made in the follow-up to major stories, including the 'success' stories in Yemen, Tunisia and Libya. Follow-up coverage is important in order to be able to check whether newly appointed leaders have kept their promises and if the country is underway in rebuilding itself.

The lack of analytical countervailing within reports or discussion programs has been a systemic problem in the coverage of the Arab Spring and its aftermath, without exception. There has been a marked absence of pro-regime speakers across all the media outlets.

And whilst many activists and observers have welcomed this as a response to biased state-run TV channels –which even blacklisted certain members of the opposition from being mentioned in their broadcasts – this is not acceptable from professional media outlets.

The Houla massacre

Many news outlets have been guilty of reporting on events before the information is clear. This was most famously true of the Houla massacre, which was quickly reported as another regime offensive against innocent civilians. It later turned out that the situation was not quite as clear and that many news outlets, including the BBC, had relied on sources that were not checked beforehand and later turned out to have been manipulated.

BBC World News Editor, Jon Williams, issued an apology for the report, concluding that: "A healthy scepticism is one of the essential qualities of any journalist – never more so than in reporting conflict. The stakes are high – all may not always be as it seems."



Several media outlets have ignored other very important regional developments in favour of back-to-back coverage of the "cause du jour". Again, this is not a new phenomenon; Moroccan writer Hassan Masiky published a scornful critique on Morroccoboard.com of Al-Jazeera's bias, referring to the manner in which Al-Jazeera ignored and sidelined important stories, such as that of Mustapha Salama Ould Sidi Mouloud who was arrested on September 21, 2010 by Algerian authorities and that of Polisario figures who spoke out in favour of the Moroccan Autonomy Plan for the Western Sahara.

Masiky concluded: "The Moroccan public, which initially endorsed Al-Jazeera, is dismayed with its obvious anti-Moroccan biases. It will take more than shouting matches and anti-Israeli rhetoric to convince some viewers of Al-Jazeera's objectivity and balance."
More recently, certain political affiliations have been made obvious by the absence of coverage of events in countries such as Bahrain. In a recent article in the British daily 'The Independent', Fatima Kanji decried the absence of media interest. "The uprisings in Bahrain have seen little media coverage and a continuation of western political allegiances with the current regime, despite widespread acknowledgement of the use of torture against detainees, violence against demonstrators and inequitable arrests and trials."
This has certainly been the case with Al-Jazeera and Al-Arabiya, channels that have all but ignored the brutal crackdowns on Bahraini protesters in favour of maintaining favourable relations between their respective countries and not encouraging protests in their own capitals. Al-Jazeera reporter Ali Hashem resigned in March 2012 over coverage of Bahrain and Syria, along with iconic presenter Ghassan bin Jeddo who stated that Al-Jazeera had "ended a dream of professionalism and objectivity".

Like the quest for freedom and democracy, objectivity in the media is a one way street. It is not negotiable. You are either for it or, against it.

© Qantara.de 2012

الخرافة

حين كنا .. في الكتاتيب صغارا

حقنونا .. بسخيف القول ليلا ونهارا

: درسونا

"ركب المرأة عورة"

"ضحكة المرأة عورة"

"صوتها - من خلف ثقب الباب - عورة"

.. صوروا الجنس لنا

.. غولا .. بأنياب كبيرة

.. يخنق الأطفال

.. يقتات العذارى

خوفونا .. من عذاب الله إن نحن عشقنا

.. هددونا .. بالسكاكين إذا نحن حلمنا

.. فنشأنا.. كنباتات الصحاري

. نلعق الملح ، ونستا ف الغبارا

يوم كان العلم في أيامنا

.. فلقة تمسك رجلينا وشيخا.. وحصيرا

.. شوهونا

شوهوا الإحساس فينا والشعورا

.. فصلوا أجسادنا عنا

.. عصورا .. وعصورا

.. صوروا الحب لنا .. بابا خطيرا

لو فتحناه.. سقطنا ميتين

فنشأنا ساذجين

وبقينا ساذجين

نحسب المرأة .. شاه أو بعيرا

.. ونرى العالم جنسا وسريرا

--- نزار قباني

What Is Muhammad Morsi's End Game?

Since his election in June, Muhammad Morsi's presidential term has been under great scrutiny from both international observers and Egyptian citizens. For many, Morsi's performance is key to planning their next move - whether it be local businesses, currently struggling, due to the economic disaster that followed the revolution, Egyptian expats thinking about returning to Egypt or, international players considering investment in the country.

Mohammed Morsi came to the presidency with just a 51% majority, just under 50% of the population, for various reasons, voted against the Muslim Brotherhood representative, afraid that his election would take Egypt back to the dark ages. Many believed that Morsi's personality and general demeanour was simply not cosmopolitan enough and would only serve to alienate the country from the rest of the world.

Interestingly, Morsi has surprised observers with his controversial foreign policy. Egypt now seems set on restoring Cairo to the status of political and intellectual capital of the Middle East. The new president has wasted no time in letting the world know that Egypt is back and no longer content to be America's lap dog.

American President, Barack Obama, was among the first statesmen to congratulate Mohammed Morsi on his electoral victory in June, breaking protocol to phone him directly. This, in itself, is significant, indicating anxiety in Washington to continue its 'special relationship' with Egypt.

Obama, then, wrote a letter to Morsi , sending the Deputy Secretary of State, William Burns, to Cairo in order to deliver it in person. Burns was followed to Cairo by Secretary of State, Hilary Clinton, again for an audience with Morsi. This was followed by a visit to Cairo by Defence Secretary Leon Panetta. All this was within just one month of Morsi's victory.

In response to America's attempts to ingratiate itself with the new administration in Cairo, Morsi promptly dispatched Washington's chief allies, the Egyptian military who had managed the transitional period, back to their barracks and dismissed Defence Minister Field Marshall Hussein Tantawi and Army Chief-of-Staff Sami Annan. He also cancelled the military-declared constitutional amendments that gave top generals extensive powers. Washington was forced swallow this bitter pill and hope that Morsi would prove as useful an ally as the military and the Mubarak regime had been.

This was followed by a most unexpected turn of events; Morsi's attendance of the Non-Aligned Movement Summit in Tehran. Egypt severed relations with Iran back in 1979 and, while this may not yet signal the return of full diplomatic relations, it is certainly an earth-shattering diplomatic coup.

Coupled with his visit to China, this turn of events is particularly significant in light of the American attitude towards the Russia - China - Iran alliance over regional developments in the Middle East. Morsi also announced his intention to find a successful solution to the ongoing violence in Syria and has taken steps to forming a regional quartet - Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Iran - to work towards a negotiated settlement.

Unfortunately, Morsi has not been so successful on the domestic front, with rising criticism of his having made too many promises to be delivered in the unrealistic time frame of just 100 days. Even those, not directly antagonistic towards the president have been disappointed, saying that: "The people knew that Morsi's job would be difficult but the president was wrong to makes promises that he could not deliver". But, then again, what government is not guilty of making empty promises?

Moreover, the challenge that Mohammed Morsi has taken on is not an easy one. The Egyptian economy is a disaster, a vast proportion of the population live in poverty, almost 50% are illiterate, Egypt is suffering a $36 billion annual deficit and the once fertile country now imports half of its food.

Earlier in the year, Egypt applied for an IMF loan of $4.8 billion, which has so far, not been forthcoming and depends on some very unattractive structural reforms, which would include further devaluation of the Egyptian currency and a significant reduction in subsidies, which are essential to supporting (and placating) the impoverished population.

The president's efforts to garner financial support from Qatar and China have been humiliating - Qatar pledging just $2 billion and China $200 million- laughable when one considers that this is being put towards sustaining a country with such massive debts and a population of 83 million.

However, this has not been the sole purpose of the President's diplomatic mission- Qatar has pledged $18 billion in investments- Some $8 billion of which will go to establishing new electricity and LNG power plants. The remaining $10bn will go towards establishing a new tourist resort on the north coast as well as other real estate projects across Egypt.

Meanwhile, Morsi has been successful in attracting significant direct investments from China. China has roughly $500 million in existing investments in Egypt and has just signed on to build a power station, a water desalination plant and a high-speed train line between Cairo and Egypt's second city, Alexandria.

In light of the shambolic domestic situation, Morsi's foreign policies seem even bolder- especially considering that America is an important ally, which has been supporting Egypt since 1979 with an average annual income of $2 billion.

It seems clear that Mohammed Morsi realises that Egypt's reliance on handouts is not really working in the long term. The key to Egyptian development lies in encouraging trade, industry and investment- should this prove a success then Egypt will stand a chance of standing on its own feet and this is the only route to enable Egypt to regain its standing in the international arena.

Should Morsi pull this off, the Middle East will witness a resurgence of the historical giant of the Arab World. This may be the catalyst that could serve to encourage other countries in the region to regain their confidence in a better future - the social and economic disasters of the Middle East may well be on the way to a workable solution.

Appeared in the Huffington Post

اليوم انا حزينة

ليتني أملك القدرة على النسيان

وأنسى من الماضي ماكــان

فما أصعب أن تظل أسير الذكرى

مقيداً بقيود العجز , هارم القوى

مرهقة أنا

متعبة أنا

حزينة أنا ..

Mama Tutu

As children and as adults we take our parents for granted...we cultivate our neuroses, blame our quirks and hang-ups on them. Yet on their passing we realise how much they meant. We once felt that they were immortal and in their immortality we defined ourselves. 

It is a rude awakening when they pass....as though we were flying through the air on a swing and suddenly the ropes are severed and we descend into free-fall. For the first time in our lives we are truly alone without that one person who loved us unconditionally....despite our differences, cruelties, misunderstandings, arguments and bitterness.
Today I heard my father cry for the first time....

Ithaca

As you set out for Ithaka

hope the voyage is a long one,

full of adventure, full of discovery.

Laistrygonians and Cyclops,

angry Poseidon—

don’t be afraid of them:

you’ll never find things like that on your way

as long as you keep your thoughts raised high,

as long as a rare excitementstirs your spirit and your body.

Laistrygonians and Cyclops,wild Poseidon—

you won’t encounter them

unless you bring them along inside your soul,

unless your soul sets them up in front of you.

Hope the voyage is a long one.

May there be many a summer morning when,

with what pleasure, what joy,

you come into harbors seen for the first time;

may you stop at Phoenician trading stations

to buy fine things,mother of pearl and coral,

amber and ebony,sensual perfume of every kind—

as many sensual perfumes as you can;

and may you visit many Egyptian cities

to gather stores of knowledge from their scholars.

Keep Ithaka always in your mind.

Arriving there is what you are destined for.

But do not hurry the journey at all.

Better if it lasts for years,

so you are old by the time you reach the island,

wealthy with all you have gained on the way,

not expecting Ithaka to make you rich.

Ithaka gave you the marvelous journey.

Without her you would not have set out.

She has nothing left to give you now.

And if you find her poor, Ithaka won’t have fooled you.

Wise as you will have become, so full of experience,

you will have understood by then what these Ithakas mean.