Shavit:
The dysfunction that made Syria so different from Indonesia, and Iraq so different from South Korea, was never recognized, diagnosed or treated.
The
Arab humanitarian disaster is now migrating from the Middle East to central
Europe. Millions of refugees are looking for a home, hundreds of thousands of
desperate people are making their way on foot. Thousands are drowning in the
sea. An infant’s body is washed ashore and awakens the latent conscience of an
obtuse world.
But in
all this horrifying human pandemonium – ramshackle boats, loaded trains,
displaced people’s camps – no one can honestly and seriously say what is
happening here. Why now. What has caused us to witness such a horrifying
massive, painful migration?
The
first reason for the Arab humanitarian disaster is the Arab political failure.
What are the political options that the Arab world has to offer its youngsters?
A reactionary monarchy, a military dictatorship, an Islamic theocracy or
murderous chaos. Some hope may still be flickering in Tunisia, in Beirut things
are somewhat different. But basically the region we live in is depressing and
without hope. There are no human rights, no human dignity, no separation of powers.
When
the globalization of the media demonstrates to the hopeless the gap between the
(Arab) world they live in and the (European) world next door – they get up and
go. Millions are voting with their feet against the colossal failure of the
national Arab project that failed to produce a single state combining
prosperity and freedom.
The
second reason for the Arab humanitarian disaster is the West’s strategic
failure. In the second half of the 20th century the United States and Europe
contributed to stabilizing a post-colonial order in the Middle East. This order
was rotten and corrupt. It was based on a shady deal of supporting dark regimes
in exchange for a regular oil supply. But, in its distorted way, the rotten,
corrupt order worked. It reduced the number of wars in our region and
restricted the extent of human suffering.
But in
the early 21st century the United States and Europe toppled the old Middle
Eastern order with an insane war in Iraq, an idiotic war in Libya and indirect
support for the Muslim Brotherhood. The result wasn’t an alternative order that
stabilizes enlightened regimes and advances democratic values, but utter
disorder. It was civil wars and fanatics’ wars and inter-tribal wars. The
Western powers’ idealistic ambition – naïve, idealistic and cut off from
reality – wreaked havoc in the last 12 years throughout the Middle East.
The
third reason for the Arab humanitarian disaster is political correctness.
Professor Edward Said and his students caused indescribable damage to the
ability to think or speak the truth when it comes to the Arab world. Their
wacky intellectual legacy did not permit talking about the region’s residents
as anything but victims. The grand Arab nation – with its rich history, profound
culture and considerable economic power – was treated like a juvenile who isn’t
responsible for his actions. So all the ills of Arab politics were attributed
to others – imperialists, colonialists, Zionists. So no real criticism of the
Arab world was permitted and no one demanded it mend itself.
The
dysfunction that made Syria so different from Indonesia, and Iraq so different
from South Korea, was never recognized, diagnosed or treated. Thus, following
the fatal junction of the Arab failure, the Western failure and political
correctness, states crumbled, hundreds of thousands of people were murdered and
millions lost their homes.
The time has come to open our eyes. There will be no isolated solution to the tragedy of the displaced people now flooding central Europe. The only answer is to acknowledge that the Middle East is a disaster-stricken area and initiate a comprehensive Marshall plan to deal with its fundamental problems, which are consuming the lives of its residents and refugees.
The time has come to open our eyes. There will be no isolated solution to the tragedy of the displaced people now flooding central Europe. The only answer is to acknowledge that the Middle East is a disaster-stricken area and initiate a comprehensive Marshall plan to deal with its fundamental problems, which are consuming the lives of its residents and refugees.
