If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
Algerian independence was a just cause. A struggle against colonialism that should have won over all that France counted as humanists, on both the left and the right. Except that sometimes it happens that a just cause employs unjust means.
The three-day trip was a whirlwind, but I managed to capture some initial impressions of the fantastical North African city whose crimson and ochre hues and purple haze inspired the likes of Yves Saint Laurent.
A failure on the part of regional governments to deliver on their promises, raise living standards, and resist the temptation to impose majority rule on the minority will likely result in the same political apathy and disillusionment that is so prevalent in South Asia.
The challenge now will be to apply standards equally across the board--across borders and states where situations may be different in the details but fundamental human rights issues remain stubborn and constant.
While workers are consumed with immediate problems of economic instability and unemployment, labor activists struggle to find unity as organizations jostle for representation in the fractious post-Mubarak political landscape.
If such activities can work in a country as politically volatile, tribal and short of roads as Sudan, it will work in states like Egypt and Tunisia. If financial and technical support focuses on civic education and public participation, constitutions will be less threatening.
For five days during the battle of Kasserine Pass, German troops gained the high ground from U.S. units, but were eventually repelled in heavy fighting, causing the Germans to withdraw towards the capital, Tunis.
Democracy's greatest challenge is to demonstrate that what may emerge from the process of transitioning from authoritarianism to democracy is a fully functional, truly representative political system that improves living standards, raises incomes, and reduces poverty.
Microenterprises on average only employ a few people, but they create job opportunities where very few exist. One individual we supported was Jassim, a young Iraqi entrepreneur who was the sole supporter of his three younger siblings.
Algeria can no longer pretend that it has no vital interest in or responsibility for the outcome of the Western Sahara situation. Abductions of foreign nationals from their sovereign territory make Algeria a partner in the discussion, whether Algeria wishes it or not.
The propensity in the U.S. to conflate Islam with violence precludes the possibility of nonviolent Muslim protest motivated by an internal incentive, be it secular or religious. However, the concept of nonviolence is not foreign or new to Muslims.
Arundhati Roy famously once said,"Another world is not only only possible, she is on her way." My wish for the United States this tenth anniversary is to lay down its sword and shield and welcome her.
It is possible that President Obama is reverting back to a new version of Wilsonian diplomacy in order to let the Arab world sort itself out, instead of directly affecting the outcome with U.S. intervention.
In the Middle East and North Africa, the Second Wave of corporate governance will be stimulated because of the region's extraordinary need for growth and enhancement in the welfare of its citizens.
Built by a British-Berber partnership and hugged by one of the most stunning vistas you can imagine, the Kasbah du Toubkal is an absolute must in Morocco.
About a month ago, my husband Paul and I were en route to Tunisia, which was largely calm and peaceful, to see what the revolution was like on the ground. In my experience, there is media, and then there is reality.
