Is there a way out?

As an Arab who feels proud of his glorious past, I am dissatisfied with the current reality that has come to characterize our being in this part of the world for such a long time.

I belong to a generation that was schooled to believe that the Arabs had a magnificent culture that was second to none. One cannot help but ask why we have reached this unenviable situation. To be sure, our region is among the least developed in the world. It is a region that is beset with ethnic, national and sectarian conflicts.

I also belong to a generation, which was schooled to believe that were it not for western colonialism, the Arabs would have been among the most advanced in the world. The West is usually blamed for all our failures. This position reminds us of George Orwell’s Animal Farm, a novel that accurately depicts the utility of inventing an external enemy to justify failures. Of course, the western powers played a role through the process of domination and subjugation. Indeed, even western scholars admit that. However, we have been independent for more than 70 years and our situation is getting worse.

This begs the question whether there is a way out of this stagnant situation. Undoubtedly, there is a way out provided that we understand the real challenges. The first challenge is knowledge deficit. This is a serious challenge as a knowledge-based economy is the recipe for relevancy in this century. If we maintain the current path we run the risk of being left behind. According to the United Nation reports on “Arab Human Development,” the knowledge deficit is a hindering factor in the development of the Arab nations.

A second serious challenge is how to confront radicalism. Like in many other regions, the focus is solely centered on terrorism. Arab countries affected by terrorism has been spending too much of its resources on fighting terrorism. I argue that while fighting terrorism is important, there should be a shift in our focus to radicalism that actually breeds terrorism. In other words, the Arabs should fight the root causes of terrorism. Is this doable? Of course, it is. We all know that where there is a will, there is a way.

Another important challenge is about the willingness of the Arab nations to act independently. Needless to say, the region is very penetrated. By this I mean many Arab countries do not take any initiative themselves and always look for Washington to take actions. Given the relative retreat of the Untied States from the region, key Arab countries are better off if they begin charting a course of action in the region independent from what is convenient for Washington and other western capitals. I believe that the Arab nations have the capability to stand for their cause.

I do believe that there is light at the end of the tunnel. It may take some time but for the time being I can only hope for a better future for next generations.