Demonstrations all across Egypt have erupted against the government. In Lebanon, protestors have flooded the streets calling for a new government and Tunisia remains in a political turmoil. Arabs across the Middle East are taking things with their own hands asking for freedom of choice. And freedom they shall get, but what will be the cost of freedom to the Arab-Israeli conflict?
It is no mystery that the stagnant waters of the Arab world have become violent. Countless antigovernment protestors are rising and calling for a democratic system that would offer them better living conditions. With more than 25% of the Egyptian population under the poverty line, drastic reforms are much needed.
However, economic incentives are not the only motives behind such protests. The political agenda of Arab presidents has been met with nationwide disapproval. To be more precise, many Arabs, Egyptians especially, want to cut ties with Israel and help out their Palestinian brethren by opening up the borders and voiding the Israeli peace treaty. Husni Mubarak has ignored such requests for the sake of political and economic stability with Israel. He realized that adhering to the nation’s request by confronting Israel could potentially backfire and overthrow his government. He submitted to foreign-made pressure and to his own personal interests.
Now that riots are ubiquitous in Cairo, Mubarak’s 29.35 year-long trek is nearing its end (see my prior blog post). In addition to building a better economy, Egyptians will be constructing a different foreign policy that could affect the ongoing peace process between Israel and Palestine. As to how this new policy is going to affect the situation, I don’t know. One thing is for sure though: Israel will no longer depend on full cooperation from the Egyptian end. Now that Israel is dealing with millions of Arabs instead of handful leaders, it must step back and weigh its actions accordingly.
Overthrowing any Arab government in the Middle East is dangerous for the status quo. Now, I realize that democracy in Egypt and any other Middle Eastern country is necessary. However, people should be extremely careful with their new foreign policy choices, as this could lead to more Middle Eastern conflicts. War is never the answer for the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. We’ve seen many of them take place in the Middle East, and unfortunately, Palestinians suffer more with every war. As riots continue, we must practice self-restraint and wisely choose our next steps when it comes to foreign policies.
Despite all of the risks mentioned above, I support an Arab world free of greedy dictators. I used to be ashamed of my Arab roots because we were many led by few. We were intelligent, yet we specialized in demeaning manual labor. We were consumers, but tomorrow we’ll be innovators.
This year, I am proud to be an Arab.
Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons