The vaunted "Arab street" and the region's media will almost surely go apopolectic with indignant rage over the shooting of an apparently unarmed civilian in Fallujah (more on that later). A single person.
Yet the genocide in Darfur sponsored by Sudan's Arab regime against the country's black population continues unabated, costing tens of thousands of lives so far.
The reaction so far from the "Arab street" and the Arab media?
Deafening silence.
Of course, the next time an Israeli checkpoint verifies the identity papers of someone exiting Gaza, you can expect a huge international incident, outraged editorials and demands for UN sanctions against Israel.
5 comments:
Re the comments on the Arab street. I welcomed the advent of new media in the region in particular Al Jazeera. I thought that at least they would tell it like it is. Wrong. They too are playing/listening to the "street"!
In fairness, journalists are a part of their societies, not apart from them. I STILL think TVs like al-Jazeera are useful because they are also critical of the repressive Arab regimes and offer a different voice from state run media.
Libya, which is just coming out of international isolation has shown a bit of interest in having the Dafur crisis resolved. As for other Arab countries on the African continent, forget them. Their minds are either focused on Europe or the Middle East.
If African Arabs want to have a collective identity, they must be willing to speak out against injustices committed by fellow Arabs. Their silence on Dafur is a shame. But should we be any surprised?
However, I do not think such silence should call for a nonchalant about the Middle East crisis.
Chippla: That Libya (who has its fingers in the causing chaos in countless West African countries) is the voice for sanity in Darfur is testament to the moral bankruptcy in the region.
I don't see the Middle East situation and Darfur as being unrelated. The Arab refusal to say a word about the genocide in Darfur undermines their pretense to moral outrage about the situation in the Israeli Occupied Territories.
(For that matter, about Moroccan occupation of the Western Sahara)
re Western Sahara.
It's interesting to meet radical Moroccans. They go so very quiet when you ask "but what about Western Sahara?"
Recently I asked "but isn't it similar to Palestine?" and received what I can only describe as an agressive response with the comment "no it's not. It's not similar at all!"
Funny even Morocco's wall was built with Israeli assistance....
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