The People's Tsunami

On the 26th of December 2004 the Indian Ocean rose up and made clear that nature is still much more powerful (and even smarter) than what humans can muster in its face. It claimed the lives of many directly or indirectly. Today we see another tsunami rising up and crashing down but this time its a human tsunami crashing on decrepit regimes through some of the Arab countries, and just as a tsunami those countries rose up and crashed down on thier dictators suddenly and whitout warning.

Just try and go back through time and imagine how great Egypt was in times past, so was north Africa, and all the Arab countries that are now so backward. The common factor in thoes backward countries is that they are ruled by "out-of-fashion" totalitarian regimes. Tunis, the land of the Carthagenians, those that ruled one third of the mediteranian and stood up to the Roman republic. Egypt, the land of Pharoes who tamed the Nile and on later centuries became one of the most prominant pillars in the Islamic state. Yemen, the land of Sheba, and another major pillar of the Islamic state. Yet we grew up seeing those countries under the yoke of those that would indroduce poverty, illiteracy and repression. Their greatness is now only in the history books, and only as a footnote. Those regimes existed and came to power as a reaction to colonialisim, but after freeing their nations from the European colonial powers, those regimes became local colonial regimes themselves. So to the people of those nations it was only a change of faces. Replacing one extortionists with another. Some might even argue that the Eropean colonialists were more humane than their own rulers, how sad is that! Now we are witnessing the rise of the ordinary man, not the rise of the military, or an idiology or even a religious idea. That is the beauty of it. Its a rise of a nation and not just a sector or class of a nation. All is needed now of those people is to keep the momentum and push for real reform towards a democratic government (a real one this time). Let them come together and unite behind a constitution that they all agree upon, that will be the first step towards rising up as a nation and setting thier trains on the track of greatness once again. By God, those nations do have the potential to be great, and I believe with all my heart that they can reach such great hights that they would compete with all the great nations of the world once again.

My heart goes out to the families of those that gave their lives in those blessed days in the persuit of freedom.... Freedom, what a word, what an idea. It is the only idea that cannot die, no matter how repressive a government may be. Ever since the dawn of history and humans have always seeked freedom. Even animals die out if freedom is taken away from them. So it was really not a surprise as to the rise of those people, it was only a matter of when. This brings to me a great quote by Albert Camus in which he said "freedom is nothing but a chance to be better".

On a final note, I read a wonderful tweet by an Egyptian that reads "to the dictators: you are not invincible, to the people: you are not powerless, to the west: you are not needed anymore."

I hope to live to see the day when we see these countries great once again.