By – Amro Selim (Chairman of Elmoustkbal for Political and Strategic Studies – Member in the alliance for crime prevention and criminal justice)
“If Biden wins, I will invite you for launch .. As for if” Trump “succeeds in the elections, you will invite me for breakfast tomorrow” … This sentence was going between two friends, each of whom wagered on a specific character to win the US presidential elections that took place a few weeks ago. For the first time, the elections for the Grand Chair in the White House were the focus of attention on the Arab street. Rather, it turned into intense quarrels and tensions between many individuals, some of whom support the current President “Trump” and the other “Biden”, to the extent that some of them linked the victory of any of them to a major change in his life or scope surrounding him.
I can’t deny that these enthusiastic elections that painted a wonderful picture of democracy and a clean political challenge in the Arab street have motivated them to follow public and international affairs as well.
Fears and optimism
Between fears of an upcoming unknown, joy and optimism with light on the way, the Arab street was divided, especially in the countries that have witnessed a popular movement in the last ten years. Some feared that Biden belonged to the regime of the former president, “Obama”. Perhaps some of the policies they entrusted with may return to support what they called The revolutionary movements that have witnessed many tragedies from each other during the past years, and perhaps many refer to Iraq, Libya, Syria and Yemen, and the devastation that happened in them resembles the nuclear confrontations inflicted on those countries in which many aspects of life were completely wiped out.
There is another team who was optimistic and even happier, most notably those looking for broader democracies and more effective political participation, because they see that the new US president “Biden”, unlike Trump, places democracy and freedoms on top of his upcoming presidential agenda, which the current president, “Trump” has largely overlooked during his reign.
Biden and the next
Amidst these two parties, the question remains: Can stability be achieved in parallel with freedom and democracy while paying attention to the economic aspect that the region desperately needs?
Let us not be surprised when we know that the Middle East and North Africa region has witnessed the killing of more than half a million people during the last ten years in violent acts and bloody political conflicts, and the region has turned into a large refugee camp, housing nearly 10 million refugees and 20 million displaced persons .. Yes the region lives on the edge of a volcano of poverty, violence, ignorance, and a shortage of the enzymes of organized democracy and freedom.
We summarize the situation in one scene, for most of the peoples of the region grew up in agricultural or pastoral environments and were raised in simple rural families, so stability and staying next to the land and cultivating it and happiness in seeing the fruits grow and flourish is one of their utmost aspirations. I will not forget the scenes that I saw during my travels in Egypt, especially in Agricultural roads, where agricultural lands and farms surround you on both sides of the road, to see simple families stand in line from the father and the mother to the young children, the father holds the ax to plant the land, while the children throw the seeds, and the mother brings food to gather together at the end of the day to eat inside Their little green land and they are so happy as if they own the planet and everything in it.
Arab peoples simply want a strong economy that enables them to provide the foundations of life for them and their families, even if you ask many citizens about their political ambitions, you will find that he tells you I want work, a salary from which I can spend on my family and simple possibilities to marry and build a family, as their youth, full of energy and vitality, want democracy without violence. Do not destroy, its spectacle is managed by those who understand, know and are capable of actual giving, not a trafficker or a false speaker who benefits from bright slogans that he repeats and does not implement himself, so I will not forget the president of a human rights network who was constantly chanting slogans about freedom and democracy, and he was the first to abuse employees And his workers because they disagree with him, so they called him behind his back “the dictator of democracy.”
The equation is not difficult for the new American system to get “closely and truly” acquainted with the Arab citizen closely, providing a strong economy that the citizen feels its fruits in a direct way, and an organized freedom based on foundations and rules that guarantee the security and safety of society, and the energies of youth are truly emptied away from the chaos that is still going on. Its scenes are in the minds of many so far, as true organized freedom guarantees distance from terrorism and violence, and a fruitful economy that provides a decent life and a good education, which is in line with the American interests in the region included by this simple prescription.
Do not forget so that we do not deceive ourselves with bright dreamy slogans, that if you give a hunting gun to someone who does not know how to use it, the first thing he will do is that he will shoot those around him and perhaps himself, and he believes that he is hunting food for making them happy, so he must be taught first how to hunt without being destructive person.. Also it is the freedom.