Thursday, April 03, 2008

Is it worth it after all?

Reading about the Saudi blogger who's spending his 4th month in jail, I'm asking this question, "Is it worth it, in our Arab world, for one to go to jail just to be able to say something?"

In other words, do you think that saying something against your government that can make you end up in jail, be tortured or make you disappear , is worth saying, IN THE ARAB WORLD.

Look at the mass graves in Iraq, Syria, and possibly other Arab countries. With all my respect to the dead, do you think they helped make their country a better place?

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

no it doesn't worth it.

ياسمين حميد said...

well, difficult to say
if each steps up and says it all by himself, then he might end up in jail without achieving anything.
But if he succeeds in letting more and more people hear about it and stand up with him, it might gradually change things. The only problem is that many of those people will still end up in jail, or maybe killed. So things might change to the better for their children or maybe even grandchildren, but not for them.
I guess the answer depends on what they are trying to change and to what.

Anonymous said...

I like the idea Yasmeen brought up. those who want to change should know very well that the number counts. Those who have led revolutions in the history knew very well that if they fall (were killed or jailed) there are thousands who are (out of belief) willing to take their place and continue the struggle.

In the arab world, there were never a revolution since Islam (if it can be called a revolution), as far as I know. The only few I have in mind were suopported by the west for their own games. and if any happens today then it is supported by the west.

Conclusion: Arabs are not made for revolutions, but for manasif, msa55ans, coscos, gambari, kabse...
So No it is not worth it, at least NOT NOW.

Sharkooseh said...

dono about that but i do believe that if i believe in something u have have to fight and give all u can for it

7aki Fadi said...

I believe that Arab Expats hold the power here. They are away from the hands of prosecution so they can voice their opinions and let the world hear them with consequences not as bad as people living in the Arab world.

They most probably can't go visit home again depending on what they said if that’s a sacrifice they are willing to make.

It’s sad but it’s true, not one voice or 10 or 1000 can be heard in the Arab world because they will be persecuted. I like what yasmin said but try and get more people to rise and the government will be on your ass in no time.

Poor Fouad, it’s not like what he said was going to cause anything to the government, on the contrary, them detaining him made him and his ideas famous, so it kinda backfired, I have never heard of him before he was detained, so in a way they did his cause some service to be honest. they should leave him alone.

These are my 2 cents.

7aki Fadi said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

No. But they lived [and died] for standing up for their principles. I would not say it was futile.

Hareega said...

Yasmine,
that's usually the case in other countires, where people who died and sacrificed for their cause ended up achieving what they were fighting for decades or centuires later. But this doesn't seem o be the case in Arab countries. All those killed and imprisoned in the 1950s and 1960s did end up achieving their goals.

md,
how come there were no revolutions? Iraq in 1958, Egypt in 1952, Libya in 1969.... did these revolutions help their countries? What about what heppened afterwards, when common people or military people were trying to change these new regimes that promised democracy but failed to deliver it to their people?

Hareega said...

7aki fadi,
we know about Fouad because he's a blogger, but there are thousnads others who see more persecution and are simple "slaughtered" for really no reason whatsoever (just imagine the 30,000 who were killed in Hama in 1982)
I'm not sure about expats for the following reasons:

1- Many of them are having a very decent quality of life in whatever country they're living in, so don't expect too many of them to act to change things.

2- Many of those expats will end up coming with regimes that are much than the existing ones. Look at Ahmed al Jalabi with Iraq, and how many Iraqis in the opposition against Saddam were members of the Iraqi Intelligence that killed and trotured many citizens for expressing their opinion.
Also among Syrians expats, Abdul Halim Khaddam is one of them, Abdul Halim Khaddam!!!

3- Most of these expats will eventually need help from another foring country, a poweful one like the US, and the US is well-known not to be the country bringing democractic changes and deomcratic regimes to other countries, judging by its support to leaders in LAtin America and the Arab world!

Anonymous said...

I think (not sure) that these revolutions were done by armies or a group of 'officers'. and I can not compare it to a revolution that was led by the people of a country.
such revolutions may not succeed in bringing the people what they want and need coz it is forced on them as the system that was before it.
Were there any revolution in the Arab world ever that was done by the people? not helped by an alien force and succeeded? I have nothing in mind, but I hope i am wrong.

7aki Fadi said...

See Hareega power corrupts anyone, I am not talking about expats who are after power, I am talking about expats like you and me . The real people.

But all in all the picture is really abysmal.

What Fouad did maybe didn't change or isn't going to change anything, but it's not completely futile, it might open the door for something good. I just hope so for him and his familys sake.

Anonymous said...

I prefer not to comment even I have a lot to say..

Jundi said...

well he is "shaheed il blogosphere" in a manner of speaking .. so whether or not we think its worth it i think he deserves our respect