Even
though Outlook is still following up on pressing student issues, one cannot
but notice the urgency of commenting on the on-going events in our so-called
Middle Eastern region.
We
know that the Arab countries are classified as underdeveloped Third World
countries.The regimes in most of
these countries are divided into either conservative/ monarchical, or revolutionary/tyrannical.Lebanon
is an exception as it presents a unique model of anarchy controlled by
unstable tribo-political alliances.The
ruling class can be identified as the first element in the composition
of an Arab country.
The
second element in the composition of a typical Arab state is the opposition.Oppositions
spring mostly out of fundamentalist religious movements and are most of
the time oppositions by proxy (exiled from their homeland and attacking
the ruling regimes from abroad - and Lebanon is no exception).The
masses form the third element in an Arab State.These
are also divided into many factions, all factions sharing one common characteristic:
that of being consumers.
Arab
rulers and their opposition are - most of the time - dependent on foreign
international support.Throughout
the Arab world, one can barely find any self-sponsored regime.Even
those Arab governments on wheels (such as the National Palestinian Authority)
have mortgaged their independence to their major sponsors (such as the
US and the EU) in order to get enough cash so that they can control the
stability of their regime-like rule.The
opposition is not more genuine, however, as most opposition movements are
fostered by one or more international or regional sponsors.
All
the Arab masses have one property in common: satellite channel receivers.Most
Arabs are becoming more globalized, and this social globalization is preoccupying
the Arabs with the triviality of what the West has to offer in terms of
consumer goods.Thus, the average
Arab citizen is more concerned with Big Macs and designer jeans thanin
what goes in Ramallah and Jerusalem.Consequently,
chronic problems in the Arab world are far from being solved.Disagreement
between different Arab regimes has complicated the situation to the extent
that none of them can stand up to face any "imperial" or "imperially sponsored"
danger.The Arabs, under the command
of their wise rulers, have become so vulnerable that they cannot even protect
a thirteen-year-old kid like Palestinian Muhammad al-Durra from dying.
At
the American University of Beirut, students reflect the above picture completely.Student
political parties are divided:Parties
who are represented on student committee and other parties who attack these
committees' performance.All student
groups and parties are racing to win over to their side a bigger share
of the Green Oval.Most student groups,
as we all know, are either sponsored by or are affiliated with a Lebanese
political party or figure.
The
Green Oval students are an episode by themselves.Although
heterogeneous in their social composition, these students have acquired
a common attitude of indifference to whatever goes on at the University.Most
of them are "globalized," and they are indifferent to all issues.If
you happen to see someone who is reading a newspaper while sitting at the
Oval, you'd be dreaming.
To
their misfortune, student political groups have always failed in bringing
the issues, which they pursue, to the attention of the Green Oval students.Let
us say that amidst their endless animosity, these political groups have
had no time to develop their publicity systems or to rethink their ancient
dogmas.They are still living in
a different age and their only concern is to keep up their representation
on student committees.
Just
like the Arab regimes, the concern of most student political groups with
issues like Palestine is theatrical and rather superficial.Both
(regimes and student leaders) dominate the media, communicate cliché
messages, and wait for further orders (either from Western sponsors or
from off campus).
Also
just like most Arab regimes, many groups appeal to religious sentiments
when talking about Jerusalem and again, all they do is talk.Significant
contribution to the support of the Palestinians was minimal.For
instance, when we learned that the Palestinian Cultural Club (PCC) was
running a fund raising campaign for the support of the Makassed Hospital
in Jerusalem, we saw that the parties' actual participation in this campaign
was clumsy.Even when these parties
showed an interest in supporting the PCC (by circulating bulletins or pasting
up posters), their apparent signature was bolder than the main content
itself.
I
am not trying to discredit the parties' national and Arab sentiment. What
I'm saying is that the parties' reaction to the on-going events in Palestine
ought to be more practical and effective and ought to live up to their
nationalistic rhetoric, in other words, student groups ought to balance
their actions with their rhetoric.This
same advice goes to the different Arab regimes.Both
of them, student groups and the ruling regimes, ought to get closer to
the common people and to coordinate, at least, some actions that would
benefit the Arab society at large.