The revolution has reached Syria and no doubt the regime in Damascus will be as ruthless as their history suggests in quelling unrest and suppressing the people's demands of broader economic and political freedoms.
Unlike the Saudi's who can throw money at their dissenters whilst simultaneously coercing them into acceptance ,the Syrian regime does not have this luxury.
With double digit unemployment, a large rural urban divide and an economy in shambles it is only natural that a disaffected people will rise up.
As there have been no templates with how to deal with the wave of unrest throughout the Middle East the autocratic regime seems confused as it goes back to old tried and tested methods.
Perhaps they should take a page from Sultan Qaboos's example and rapidly reform as that may at least deflect from the Asaads dark history and go some way to apologizing to the stolen generations.
As we put aside our fears we have to remember that we are all responsible for the continuance of these autocratic regimes not just as victims but also co-creators. Our silence has given them strength, our lack of moral courage has allowed them to thrive.
It is time to throw off these shackles and take responsibility for our actions.
There is no panacea , no super fix , the best leaders cannot achieve much on their own without the participation and therefore the collective responsibility of the people.
It is easy to put the blame on our previous rulers for everything, but this will not exonerate us from our duty and obligation to act independently ,freely and reasonably. The path ahead is long but filled with exciting possibilities , let us not lose sight of this as we stride to a better stable Middle East that is not deviled with sectarian or religious violence and accepts there is no place for " hate, ignorance or evil ".
As Jean-Jacques Rousseau said so beautifully " I prefer liberty with danger to peace with slavery".
Unlike the Saudi's who can throw money at their dissenters whilst simultaneously coercing them into acceptance ,the Syrian regime does not have this luxury.
With double digit unemployment, a large rural urban divide and an economy in shambles it is only natural that a disaffected people will rise up.
As there have been no templates with how to deal with the wave of unrest throughout the Middle East the autocratic regime seems confused as it goes back to old tried and tested methods.
Perhaps they should take a page from Sultan Qaboos's example and rapidly reform as that may at least deflect from the Asaads dark history and go some way to apologizing to the stolen generations.
As we put aside our fears we have to remember that we are all responsible for the continuance of these autocratic regimes not just as victims but also co-creators. Our silence has given them strength, our lack of moral courage has allowed them to thrive.
It is time to throw off these shackles and take responsibility for our actions.
There is no panacea , no super fix , the best leaders cannot achieve much on their own without the participation and therefore the collective responsibility of the people.
It is easy to put the blame on our previous rulers for everything, but this will not exonerate us from our duty and obligation to act independently ,freely and reasonably. The path ahead is long but filled with exciting possibilities , let us not lose sight of this as we stride to a better stable Middle East that is not deviled with sectarian or religious violence and accepts there is no place for " hate, ignorance or evil ".
As Jean-Jacques Rousseau said so beautifully " I prefer liberty with danger to peace with slavery".
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment