Latest in Tag: opinion Highlight
Latest in Tag: opinion
Money talks
By Philip Whitfield Sing along: Money, money, money must be funny in the rich man’s world. Money, money, money: always sunny in the rich man’s world. ABBAâs chart-topper. Hereâs the 64-million-dollar question: Where will the money come from to save Egypt? A clue: The man with the plan worked his wizardry in China, Russia, South …
The need for a peace narrative in the Middle East
Dr Cesar Chelala Growing up in Tucuman, a town in the North of Argentina, I had the opportunity to see a small example of peaceful coexistence and collaboration between Arabs and Jews. I was reminded of that experience after reading an article by Uri Avnery, one of the leading peace activists in Israel. Tucuman, a medium-size city …
Israel’s deadly attack on Gaza â A never-ending dĂ©jĂ vu
By Jonathan Moremi A few weeks ago I bought the book “The General’s Son” by Miko Peled, an Israeli. His father â Matti Peled â was one of the most respected Israeli Generals fighting in the 1967 Six-Day-War at the side of people like Yitzhak Rabin and Ariel Sharon. As a colonel in the preceding …
The Gaza Diktat
The Versailles Treaty directly led to World War II. It came, infamously, to be known by the German side as the âDiktatâ. It is an insidious notion in politics: the dictation of terms by one side to another. The anger that followed, within the German Zeitgeist, led to the rise of German hyper nationalism which, …
How’d they do it?
By Timothy Kaldas Howâd they do it? How did Israel manage to bombard civilians with impunity and convince so many to stand silently by or even offer their endorsement and secure the support of many of their citizens who cheer on the attacks and encourage the Israeli military to go further? Many in Egypt are …
Israelâs âProtective Edgeâ: Why Now?
By Fadi Elhusseini The new Israeli military operation in the Gaza Strip is not the first and wonât be the last if the political equation in that region does not change. Throughout previous aggressions Israel launched on the Gaza strip, several military goals were declared. This time, the âProtective Edgeâ operation comes in a different …
The betrayal of Dr Schweitzer
By Dr CĂ©sar Chelala I first learned of Dr Albert Schweitzer’s work when I was a medical student in the 1960s. During those years, the story of Schweitzer’s efforts to improve the health of Africans in his hospital in LambarĂ©nĂ© ignited my companions’ and my imagination. It was thus with a sense of privilege that …
Football pitches: An emerging battleground for control of Iraq
By James M. Dorsey Iraqi football pitches have emerged as an alternative battleground in the struggle for control of Iraq between the Islamic State, the jihadist group that controls chunks of northern Iraq, and embattled Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki. Iraqi officials said the broadcasting last Sunday in Baghdad’s Al-Shaab International Stadium of the World Cup …
Broke? Spend, spend, spend
By Philip Whitfield Let me give you my vision: A manâs right to work as he wills, to spend what he earns, to own property, to have the state of servant and not as master. They are the essence of a free economy and on that freedom all our other freedoms depend. Regrettably, those are …
What are the socio-cultural dimensions behind the phenomenon of harassment? (5)
Slums, according to our definition as outlined in the four previous articles, are characterised by a largely poor and marginalised population, a lack of services and the absence of prior planning. The neighbourhoods are often newly built and also have a newer social composition. This has resulted in an inundation of the slums on one …
The Un-united Arab Republic of Egypt
By Amr Khalifa âUnited we stand, divided we fall,â a wise man once said. Apparently, Egyptians have not heard of the man â Aesop, an ancient Greek storyteller. The tumult Egypt has experienced for the past 3.5 years has been marked by blood and, most damagingly to national psyche and long term prospects for the …
Gaza, the Gordian knot
Gaza___Â the formula of a quick fix and hope for the best has failed. The simple fact that the recent war in the Gaza strip is the third in six years is enough proof of the futility of one lull after another. The civilians in Gaza cannot handle another dose of a pain remedy that eases …
Donât shoot I hoot
By Philip Whitfield Letâs remind ourselves of the central challenge Egypt faces: the population explosion and its consequences. We know Greater Cairoâs 22 million will be 40 million in 10 years. In 30 years Cairoâs population will be greater than the entire United Kingdomâs. Unless something dramatic happens â and I imagine it will â the …
Israel and Saudi Arabia: Forging Ties on Quicksand
Distrust of the US and questions about the reliability of the US as an ally have persuaded Saudi Arabia and Israel to go public with their tacit alliance
Do Egyptians deserve a better life?
By Mohammed Nosseir In principle, every citizen deserves a better life; why should people suffer if their lives can be improved? However, a better life wonât be dished out and served up on a golden plate. To lead better lives, citizens should not only work hard, they must abide by a number of values that …
Gazaâs heavy price
By Dr Cesar Chelala The new Israeli attacks against Gaza, which have already resulted in more than 100 deaths, will prove, once again, to be counterproductive. Violence against Palestinians will not diminish their rightful demands for freedom from occupation and for a normal, peaceful life. Why, then, if Gazans want to live in peace do they continue …
Speech of the Ambassador of Georgia HE Mr Archil Dzuliashvili
By HE Mr Archil Dzuliashvili The following is the speech given by the Georgian ambassador to Egypt on the occasion of the signing by Georgia, Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova of the Association Agreements with the European Union on 30 June 2014. I am honoured to welcome you today to celebrate the historic day for …
Israeli investigation into Palestinianâs murder focuses on football fan group
By James M. Dorsey An Israeli investigation into the murder of 16-year old Mohammed Abu-Khdeir in apparent revenge for the killing of three teenage Israeli settlers on the West Bank has focused attention on Israelâs most militant, racist football fan group. The focus, irrespective of the groupâs involvement in Abu-Khdeirâs death, is likely to end …
What are the social and cultural dimensions behind the phenomenon of harassment? (4)
Over the three previous articles we have tried to identify the social and cultural dimensions of the harassment phenomenon, and we considered this phenomenon to be mainly associated with the spread, growth, and rebellion of the slums in recent years. In the interpretation of the emergence of middle-class dwellers practicing harassment, we used the expression …
Egypt mourns emblematic figure of interfaith dialogue: A tribute to Dr Mahmoud Azab
By Didier Leroy Dr Mahmoud Azab, interfaith dialogue counsellor for the Great Imam of Al-Azhar University (often considered the highest authority in Sunni Islam), passed away on 29 June in Cairo. The day before, Didier Leroy, researcher at the Royal Military Academy of Belgium (RMA) and teaching assistant at the Free University of Brussels (ULB), …
âCatastrophicâ it is!
Amnesty International said last week that Egypt is witnessing a âcatastrophicâ decline in human rights. Indeed, human rights conditions in Egypt are currently a disaster, but the âcatastropheâ Egyptians are witnessing these days is all-encompassing. On Friday, the government announced an increase in fuel prices â a step every government has struggled to take and …
Gaza will live
By Dr Cesar Chelala Gaza is subject, once again, to severe Israeli bombing for the death of three Jewish teenagers. This only aggravates a situation that has been causing enormous and unnecessary civilian suffering to a population whose main sin is to want to remain alive and prosper in their own land. As a result of …
Crisis in Syria: Civil war, global threat
By Ban Ki-moon The horrific war in Syria continues to worsen and bleed beyond its borders. A cold calculation seems to be taking hold: that little can be done except to arm the parties and watch the conflict rage. The international community must not abandon the people of Syria and the region to never-ending …
What are the social and cultural dimensions behind the phenomenon of harassment? (3)
We stress for the third time, the four attributes of slums that were described in the previous two articles: the first, that most slum residents are marginalised; second, that these residents are poor; third, that these neighbourhoods lack utilities, services, and urban and humanitarian planning in advance; and fourth and last is that these neighbourhoods …
Facts are stubborn things
On 5 March 1770, British soldiers killed five civilians in Boston, Massachusetts in what Americans would call the âBoston Massacreâ. The incident happened within the larger context of escalating polarisation between factions calling for American independence and those loyal to the British Crown. Leading up to the trial of eight British soldiers, the polarisation was …
In answer to Pope Tawadros, now is the time to talk about human rights
By Wael Eskandar Last week Pope Tawadros issued the latest in a long list of fiery statements, when, in a visit to Norway, he remarked: âWe can pray in a nation without a church but we canât pray in a church without a nation. The statement is an attempt at nationalism to support Egypt. Yet …
Why Bush and Blair should be prosecuted for war crimes
By Dr Cesar Chelala Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair recently stated that air strikes and drones should be used once again on Iraq to stem recent gains by extremists in that country. Mr Blair is oblivious of the responsibility he shares with former US president George W Bush on account of one of the most serious …
World Cup boosts Iranâs image, highlights political sports battles
By James M. Dorsey It didnât take long for it to emerge that Iranian President Hassan Rouhani shared an understanding of footballâs political utility with predecessor, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, whose conservative policies he hopes to reverse. Like Ahmadinejad, Rouhani, a cleric, is seeking to identify himself with the success of his countryâs national football team, delivering …
Al-Jazeera Trial and Sisiâs Era
âShocking, appalling, preposterously unjust.â These are excerpts of angry global reactions to the harsh prison sentences of three journalists for Al-Jazeera English by an Egyptian court. Canadian Mohamed Fahmy and Australian Peter Greste were sentenced to seven years in jail on charges of aiding terrorists and endangering national security, based merely on ludicrous pieces of evidence. While the verdict …
Victims of female genital mutilation make harmful traditional practice a crime
By Ignacio Artaza 14 June marks National Anti-FGM Day in honour of 12-year-old Bodour Shaker, from Minya, who died on the same date in 2007 as a victim of this inhumane practice. In June 2013, 13-year-old Soheir El Batea from Daqahleya suffered the same fate. As heartbreaking as these two tragedies are, their untimely deaths …