Opinion Editorials, September 2015

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"It's perverse to treat people fleeing war and persecution as a threat to border security, and any country that follows this example is heading down a dangerous road."  Amnesty International 

Refugees Not Migrants Look for Humanitarian Compassion 

Thousands and thousands of innocent victims of the Western-led wars are fleeing from prevalent deaths and destructions to relatively peaceful Europe. For decades, hopes of peace are dashed away by death and despair across the Arab world.  The international institutionalized system of governance was supposed to protect the innocent victims from the scourge of wars. But global institutions are a failure to respond to humanitarian crises. The abstract words of Magna Carta, The UNO Charter and other wishful ideals of the universal protection of human rights - all appear blindfolded to the pains and sufferings of forcibly displaced people of Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and others. Except German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Pope Francis, Swedish Premier and the Austrian Chancellor, the rest of the world is overshadowed with maligned darkness. The Hungarian PM Viktor Orban made it known “Muslims are not welcome” to enter Hungary. The EU’s moral values are at crossroads without questioning the insanity of political behavior towards the refugees camping on divided national borders. European history tells that the doctrine of nationalism repudiates the notion that human life and wellbeing is sacred.  

Truth is suppressed and political interpretations disguise the real consequences of large scale Arab migration to the EU region. The Islamic cultural manifestation is feared in many political quarters. They do have their opinions and political indifference marked out visibly. The EU is not meant for the endangered species of the Arab Middle East. Wickedness premeditates human interest and for sure the indifference is catastrophic to human nature in a situation of global humanitarian crises. All is attributed to on-going sectarian warfare destroying the life and human habitats across the Middle East. As if wars have not destroyed the humanity but just its imagination. What have we learned from the historic warmongering? Could anybody assess the cost of wrongfully massacred mankind, millions of displaced civilians - the net casualty that should have been protected under international law if there was one operative within the global system of political governance? Global politicians missed the opportunity to address the consequences of their failure to uphold the supremacy of the international law of humanitarian intervention to safeguard the mankind. All wars have catastrophic consequences for the people of the Earth.  

 Arab Wars are the Art of Western Politics

All wars are aimed at destruction of humanity, the habitats and the Nature of Things. History is repeating the European people experience of the Two World Wars. The opportunity is missed to address the prevalent issues of war and peace. There should have been a moment of reflection - how few ignorant politicians and asserted global wickedness continues to undermine the large segment of mankind in war theatres like Syria, Iraq, Egypt, Afghanistan, and Yemen and across the Arab world.  But these are not accidental wars explains Professor Michel Chossudovsky (The Globalization of War: America’s “Long War” against Humanity. Global Research Publishers, Montreal 2015), ‘globalization of war’ is a reality on the visible screen:

The United States and its allies have launched a military adventure which threatens the future of humanity……  The “globalization of war” is a hegemonic project.  Major military and covert intelligence operations are being undertaken simultaneously in the Middle East, Eastern Europe, sub-Saharan Africa, Central Asia and the Far East. The U.S. military agenda combines both major theater operations as well as covert actions geared towards destabilizing sovereign states…….  The U.S. airstrikes initiated in September 2014 directed against Iraq and Syria under the pretext of going after the Islamic State are part of a scenario of military escalation extending from North Africa and the Eastern Mediterranean to Central and South Asia.

The modern cruelty of sectarian warfare is set across the Arab heartland. Once the conditions which are favorable to authoritarian cruelty are established, it goes viral with frightening rapidity. All egoistic leaders believe, there is nothing wrong when every thing goes wrong. They have become so numb and dumb not to imagine the consequences of their own folly. The aggressors claim to return to normalcy where all abnormal against the human nature assumes to be normal in bloody Syria, Iraq, Yemen and elsewhere.  Lately, the US and Russia are sounding alarms on the crippling humanitarian crises emerging out of the Syrian war theatres. But they wish to enwrap the mankind in solitude and do not understand the real imperatives of their own failure to act in crisis situations warranting urgent remedial actions. The five years of continuing Syrian war tarnished the human image of civilizations, culture and history and future-making. They all opted for military action and engaging the warriors into death squads to destroy the human habitats and to evict the civilians from their ancestral homes. None could imagine a creative approach to conflict-management and peacemaking.  One lesson is clearly written on the global observation post that dictators do not exit voluntarily or via dialogue. The US and Russian war strategists knew it well from day one of the Syrian conflict. The oil producing Arab leaders were too dysfunctional morally and intellectually to read the bulletin board for their own future. They heavily rely on the US and European guesswork for the future-making.

Refugee Crisis Needs Workable Political Solution

All the Arab States are deteriorating and could fade away with the passage of time. The refugee crisis is one of the important factors indicating the failure and complete disarray of the Arab culture and moral obligations. Foremost of obligations, it should have been the Arab leadership responsibility to manage the refugee episode as it has blown out of proportion for the West Europeans. The Arab leadership insanity embodies complete failure of moral, political and intellectual values for the wellbeing of the masses. Most are perpetuating sectarian warfare without being conscientious of the outcomes and short and long terms ripple devastation to the Arab national interest and solidarity. The Arab world appears devoid of any logical stance and significance in global political affairs. For too long, the occupants of secluded palaces ignored voices of reason and accountability. It is now the end game in motion. That is what making the US and Russia to hurriedly convene military experts and talk of the exit option as if they had a vision for peacemaking or a Syrian peace plan. Historically, Arabs were used as raw material in buidling many European empires of the past. They were recruited in millions to fight for the Europeans imperials wars during the First World War and the 2nd World War and they continued to be bogyman of America and Europe.  Strange people who don’t remember their history are condemned to repeat it. Kim Petersen (“The Muslim Bogeyman.” Dissident Voice: 2/23/2015) clarifies the West European stance:

“The Nazi regime had demonized Communists and Jews. Today, western lands paint Muslims with the brush of terrorism. In France, and throughout much of the western world, the message came through that “they are being attacked” by Muslims. What followed was a Nobel Peace Prize moment: a photo-op staged by western political heads, many of whom could be denounced as terrorists.”

Many Western nations are reluctant to take more refugees from the Arab world. They are concerned about the aftermath of Charlie Hebdo publication and the terrorism that shook France in January. Some could argue that extremist might enter Europe disguised as refugees. But are the Muslims really terrorists or just been labeled by the news media. Kim Petersen shares a rational insight into the contemporary thinking evolving over many European cultures and borderless geography:

And, if there are no Muslim terrorists or terrorist acts to be found, the FBI will create a Muslim bogeyman, usually some hapless chap. …..Decry the scapegoating of Muslims. Decry the killing of Charlie Hebdo staff. Decry also the racism that underlies the Charlie Hebdo publications. Decry the litany of western crimes against Muslims and people that don’t share all western values. Decry all violence not borne of resistance to oppression. One does not have to believe in the Koran or adore Muslim sartorial. One might well take issue with Sharia. One can, and should, disagree with sexism within Islam (and any other religion). However, one should, in general, be tolerant of differences. Be vigilant for seeming false flags. Do not allow false flags to become a pretext for overt racism, oppression, and warring! Muslims are not bogeymen! One must abhor the killing, love Muslims, and love all humanity.

The self-centered Arab leaders turned cancerous towards their own masses must realize that time and history is not on their side. They cannot be allowed to ignore the favorite perversion that Arab refugees are not the problem of their own wrong thinking, wrong behavior and wrong actions to dump them across the European borders. The Arabs are highly cultured, morally conscientious and civilized people. They could not have left their homes and ancestral habitats unless they were forced by insensitive authoritarian cruelty. Refugees are human not robot machines. They deserve compassion and all humanitarian assistance to escape insanity of Arab authoritarianism and militarization. The solution must come in rethinking, what went wrong to escalate the sectarian conflicts and how workable solution must be found out of their own mindset and changed policy behavior. Once political normalization restores peace, all these displaced people will return to their own homes. Thanking those who helped them at a time of extreme despair and distress. The Oxfam Director Andy Baker (Andrea Germanos, “Refugees Left Stranded As Europe Faces 'Crisis of Political Will” Common Dreams: 9/18/2015) said it right:

The current crisis European countries are facing, shouldn't be framed as a refugee crisis……Europe is facing a crisis of political will, not a refugee one—it clearly has the resources and capacity to host those arriving on its shores…..The millions of people who have fled violence in Syria are the ones living an unprecedented crisis, struggling every day to find safety, food and shelter. 

(Dr. Mahboob A. Khawaja specializes in global security, peace and conflict resolution with keen interests in Islamic-Western comparative cultures and civilizations, and author of several publications including the latest: Global Peace and Conflict Management: Man and Humanity in Search of New Thinking. Lambert Academic Publishing Germany, May 2012).

Opinions expressed in various sections are the sole responsibility of their authors and they may not represent Al-Jazeerah & ccun.org.

editor@aljazeerah.info & editor@ccun.org