Thursday, June 30, 2005
Wednesday, June 22nd , 2005
Good evening….
After we studied the case of the Afghani village, we kept working as small groups, or as a whole class, searching for a solution to that small society, as all the circumstances surrounding it were difficult and complicated…
The question is: How do we develop society, while peace and stability do not exist?
I think it would be an imposable task, and however we tried to find the solution from one side, we would collide with the facts on the ground; like the occupation, the people's hatred of it, their rejection to cooperate with any organization offering assistance, as if they are saying: Do not beautify the portrait of the occupation, so you can say… they did this and that… we do not want them here, we need them to get out first, then we can start developing the society…
I found the same situation in Iraq since the occupation…. At first people believed that the occupation came here to help them, then they found out that the occupation had an agenda of its own, which has nothing to do with the welfare of people, or their stability, as if they are telling the Iraqis: Collaborate with us to eliminate each Iraqi who rejects our presence…then we shall give you water, electricity, jobs, and stability…..
This is the story in Iraq… people lost their confidence in the good intentions of the occupation army, there is no real evidence that they want to bring peace in Iraq, and leave the country, everything indicates that they want to remain here forever.
And the country is being destroyed, day by day…..
We are losing years of our lives, the souls of Iraqi men and women, the revenues of the Iraqi oil, we get nothing, and nothing prophesies a better future…we only lose, lose, and lose….
We hear beautiful, honeyed promises… with nothing real on the ground of reality.
***************************
We asked the teacher: let us take another sample, of another society… living a difficult situation; perhaps we could help them…
A colleague came, from Uganda… and said she will talk about a refugee camp in Uganda…where there is a civil war going on since 19 years, in the northern cities…
Again, we drew on the papers on the ground; the village people, men, women, and children, poor small houses, a school, a medical center, a church, the government army stationed in every camp, and surrounding the camp there is an army of young revolutionary fighters, (ages perhaps 15-20 years). Those carry guns to fight the government army, they come from other tribes…the government wouldn't allow them a political participation; so, they became fighters….
The United Nations sends trucks of food and aid, and then the young fighters attack the village, and steel the loads from the houses, because they are hungry…
The women in the village go to town, buy fruits and vegetables, and then sell them to the camp people, to earn enough money to feed the young…
The men usually beat their wives, take the money, and always get drunk (alcoholics). Women are beaten and raped by all the men, and their husbands cannot protect them from being raped by the government army soldiers, or the armed fighters around camp, as they enter the houses at night, take the girls from their fathers, and wives from husbands, and rape them. Those men cannot defend their women's honor.
The older and young women are infected by (HIV), carried by the soldiers…there is constant death by this disease, and some others, like Malaria and T.B., and others…
Poverty is destroying those people, along with fear, and insecurity, a single dollar can't be found in the camp's houses… sometimes, women would go and work as prostitutes for the soldiers or others outside camp, to bring a dollar or two, in order to buy food for their children…
The army leader is the president's brother. The government and army live in luxury, and the people are starving.
The people of those camps were farmers, but they left their fertile lands and farms, to run from the hell of fighting…
What does life mean for the residents of that camp?
For the men? The women? The children?
I suppose they live in a state of "loss of meaning" for every thing…
I suppose animals live better than them.
We asked the girl from Uganda, and her colleagues: Who finances this government with money? How does the government finance the army?
They said: There are two major financers: the American government, and the British government, and the government of Uganda makes a condition of not being asked how she would spend that money.
I said to the students from Uganda: Why wouldn't the western governments help you to topple that government? Like they waged a war against Iraq, under the pretext of human rights and democracy, and toppled Saddam Hussein?
They answered: Faiza, we have no oil, why would they come to us?
Hummm.
I said to them: We'll give you some oil from Iraq, perhaps then Bush and his government would have pity on you, and wages a war, under the pretext of human rights in Uganda…
We laughed a lot…
The teacher said: If the western governments would assist the African countries to become safe and settled, and helped them to invest their lands, water resources, and local labor, Africa would have become the world's basket, producing vegetables, fruits, and grains.
*******************************************************************
I couldn't sleep at night…. I remained very annoyed by the story of the misery in Uganda, their suffering there, and nobody caring for them, since 19 years.
I forgot the disasters of Iraq, and Afghanistan…
In the morning, I told my African friends: Shame on the world, what is happening to you in Africa… Shame on the western governments…
Shame on Koffy Anan, and the United Nations…
Koffy Anan is an African, he was supposed to help the people in Africa, or resign, if he had any dignity and principals… why would he remain in the office? Just to receive the salary, and the privileges? What has he done for peace on earth? Did he send food trucks to Uganda?
He should have stopped the fighting first, then send food trucks to the people….
***************************
Once again we went back to the question: How do we develop that society and help it, while it is surrounded by soldiers, weapons, and violence, from the inside, and outside?
A near-impossible equation; to develop the society, before establishing justice and peace in it.
This is what the actual reality says…
Justice, then peace….. then comes building, construction, and development.
******************************
Translated by May/Baghdad.
Good evening….
After we studied the case of the Afghani village, we kept working as small groups, or as a whole class, searching for a solution to that small society, as all the circumstances surrounding it were difficult and complicated…
The question is: How do we develop society, while peace and stability do not exist?
I think it would be an imposable task, and however we tried to find the solution from one side, we would collide with the facts on the ground; like the occupation, the people's hatred of it, their rejection to cooperate with any organization offering assistance, as if they are saying: Do not beautify the portrait of the occupation, so you can say… they did this and that… we do not want them here, we need them to get out first, then we can start developing the society…
I found the same situation in Iraq since the occupation…. At first people believed that the occupation came here to help them, then they found out that the occupation had an agenda of its own, which has nothing to do with the welfare of people, or their stability, as if they are telling the Iraqis: Collaborate with us to eliminate each Iraqi who rejects our presence…then we shall give you water, electricity, jobs, and stability…..
This is the story in Iraq… people lost their confidence in the good intentions of the occupation army, there is no real evidence that they want to bring peace in Iraq, and leave the country, everything indicates that they want to remain here forever.
And the country is being destroyed, day by day…..
We are losing years of our lives, the souls of Iraqi men and women, the revenues of the Iraqi oil, we get nothing, and nothing prophesies a better future…we only lose, lose, and lose….
We hear beautiful, honeyed promises… with nothing real on the ground of reality.
***************************
We asked the teacher: let us take another sample, of another society… living a difficult situation; perhaps we could help them…
A colleague came, from Uganda… and said she will talk about a refugee camp in Uganda…where there is a civil war going on since 19 years, in the northern cities…
Again, we drew on the papers on the ground; the village people, men, women, and children, poor small houses, a school, a medical center, a church, the government army stationed in every camp, and surrounding the camp there is an army of young revolutionary fighters, (ages perhaps 15-20 years). Those carry guns to fight the government army, they come from other tribes…the government wouldn't allow them a political participation; so, they became fighters….
The United Nations sends trucks of food and aid, and then the young fighters attack the village, and steel the loads from the houses, because they are hungry…
The women in the village go to town, buy fruits and vegetables, and then sell them to the camp people, to earn enough money to feed the young…
The men usually beat their wives, take the money, and always get drunk (alcoholics). Women are beaten and raped by all the men, and their husbands cannot protect them from being raped by the government army soldiers, or the armed fighters around camp, as they enter the houses at night, take the girls from their fathers, and wives from husbands, and rape them. Those men cannot defend their women's honor.
The older and young women are infected by (HIV), carried by the soldiers…there is constant death by this disease, and some others, like Malaria and T.B., and others…
Poverty is destroying those people, along with fear, and insecurity, a single dollar can't be found in the camp's houses… sometimes, women would go and work as prostitutes for the soldiers or others outside camp, to bring a dollar or two, in order to buy food for their children…
The army leader is the president's brother. The government and army live in luxury, and the people are starving.
The people of those camps were farmers, but they left their fertile lands and farms, to run from the hell of fighting…
What does life mean for the residents of that camp?
For the men? The women? The children?
I suppose they live in a state of "loss of meaning" for every thing…
I suppose animals live better than them.
We asked the girl from Uganda, and her colleagues: Who finances this government with money? How does the government finance the army?
They said: There are two major financers: the American government, and the British government, and the government of Uganda makes a condition of not being asked how she would spend that money.
I said to the students from Uganda: Why wouldn't the western governments help you to topple that government? Like they waged a war against Iraq, under the pretext of human rights and democracy, and toppled Saddam Hussein?
They answered: Faiza, we have no oil, why would they come to us?
Hummm.
I said to them: We'll give you some oil from Iraq, perhaps then Bush and his government would have pity on you, and wages a war, under the pretext of human rights in Uganda…
We laughed a lot…
The teacher said: If the western governments would assist the African countries to become safe and settled, and helped them to invest their lands, water resources, and local labor, Africa would have become the world's basket, producing vegetables, fruits, and grains.
*******************************************************************
I couldn't sleep at night…. I remained very annoyed by the story of the misery in Uganda, their suffering there, and nobody caring for them, since 19 years.
I forgot the disasters of Iraq, and Afghanistan…
In the morning, I told my African friends: Shame on the world, what is happening to you in Africa… Shame on the western governments…
Shame on Koffy Anan, and the United Nations…
Koffy Anan is an African, he was supposed to help the people in Africa, or resign, if he had any dignity and principals… why would he remain in the office? Just to receive the salary, and the privileges? What has he done for peace on earth? Did he send food trucks to Uganda?
He should have stopped the fighting first, then send food trucks to the people….
***************************
Once again we went back to the question: How do we develop that society and help it, while it is surrounded by soldiers, weapons, and violence, from the inside, and outside?
A near-impossible equation; to develop the society, before establishing justice and peace in it.
This is what the actual reality says…
Justice, then peace….. then comes building, construction, and development.
******************************
Translated by May/Baghdad.
# posted by Faiza Al-Araji @ 1:49 pm 
