Is it a donkey or people in a country of future tense?
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THERE is an anecdote about two elderly men who were sitting in front of a grocery store and laughing loudly when a curious man who was passing by asked them why they were laughing. One of them said, “We have a plan to solve the country’s crisis, which is to imprison everyone and a donkey.”
The man was surprised and asked, “Why would you lock up a donkey?”
The elderly man then turned to his companion and said, “Did I not tell you that no one will ask about the people?”
Unfortunately, this anecdote applies to several Gulf and Arab nations, because those responsible for public affairs live in a world that is different from where the common people live. They are therefore not surprised by the commoners’ cries of suffering but will instead ask about what the donkey did to be put in prison!
This is due to the fact that officials in the Arab world are used to making promises on the basis of their separation from reality, such that this nation became known as the nation of “future tense”.
Occasionally, when a leader comes out to speak to the people, he starts making promises, and excuses for inaction and negligence. He then talks a lot about combating the corruption that plagues state institutions.
As a result, people end up being sedated either with promises or despair until they reach a level where reform becomes nearly impossible.
For instance in Lebanon, deceptive promises from officials and party leaders led to a fateful crisis, disintegrating the country into factions and groups, and plunging it into poverty and destitution. The beneficiaries of this situation continue to milk the country.
Another example is Iraq … Despite possessing one of the largest oil reserves in the world and having many potentials that could make it an economic power, it has been living in one of the worst economic, living and political crises since 1958 after its first coup.
All this is the natural outcome of the inability of the leadership or those responsible for public affairs to put in place realistic programs for the advancement of their country. They are instead reeling from the praises of their confidantes and advisers.
On the other hand, there are leaders who worked to build strong states and resisted all external and internal pressures that aimed to divert them from their mission.
For instance in Yugoslavia, during the reign of Josip Tito, he managed to unite six countries and made it a great economic and political power in Eastern Europe, and also founded the Non-Aligned Movement.
Despite 41 years since the death of Tito, the Yugoslavs still consider him the unifying leader, despite the disintegration of those states and their plunge into a civil war.
There is a leader in the Arab world who is similar to Tito. He is the late President of Egypt Jamal Abdul Nasser, who was a renaissance force at the beginning of his rule. Unfortunately, instead of walking down the path of construction, he deliberately made intelligence a ruling force above accountability. He handed over the leadership of the society to centers of power that used Egypt’s economy to its advantage. This led to the retrogression of this great state during that era, and it did not rise until after his departure and the liquidation of the centers of power.
The experiences of people capture experiences of other nations. If those responsible for public affairs do not learn and benefit from them, and correct their mistakes, then they end up leading their countries to division.
The people, out of despair, do not react, and this ultimately leads to chaos. This is due to the separation of those responsible from reality, such that they deplore the idea of locking up the donkey instead of realizing that an entire nation is suffering.
By Ahmed Al-Jarallah
Editor-in-Chief, the Arab Times
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