An open letter to Nabeel Al-Arabi
The Secretary General of the Arab League
Mr. Nabeel Al-Arabi
Salam
Since we don’t know each other, please let me first introduce myself.
I am an Arab Syrian writer and poet who has been living in the United States for more than a quarter of a century. Before I came here, I was one of the majority, of the people, but not from the elite of the government or the economic leaders. So I was very happy with revolutions that stormed our countries at the beginning of the year. These revolutions kicked out three rulers so far and promised to get the rest. As a matter of fact, I not only sat and watched these revolutions; I was also moved by them to write poems and articles almost daily. I also organized a poetry recital event here in Houston in support of all of them, and participated in a conference in Washington DC in solidarity with the Syrian revolution. Some websites called me The Poet of the Arab Revolutions, and others put me on two ‘Honorary lists’.
From my side, I was very optimistic when I knew that a man like you, who was one of the protesters in Tahreer Square (in Cairo) during the Egyptian revolution, became the Secretary General of the Arab League. I became even more optimistic because of your name which I thought that it reflected your character. So I said to myself ‘finally a Noble man became the head of this establishment, and he also carries the title of the Arab nation’ (The name in Arabic means the Noble Arab). My optimism reached its highest when I saw you on TV and was touched by your ‘White-hair look’. The first thing I said to myself was that the blessing which started to appear in some of our countries arrived also at their League. As a matter of fact, the first thing I expected to hear from the ‘Tahreer Square’ man in the opening assembly of the League was “Dear sirs, I’m honored to break to you the news that the era of the dictatorship is over. Therefore I demand that all of you leave the conference hall except the representatives of Tunisia, Egypt and the Libyan transitional council, and do not return until your rotten regimes leave power”.
That was what I expected you to say and do, but sorry, none of it happened. The Arab League stayed the way we all knew it before. The same league which I recently declared it ‘Dead’ in a poem I published at my website and on the net. I also e-mailed it to you. I can understand why the Arab countries, in addition to its bad reputation league, all are taking that ‘mute watching’ stand towards the recent revolutions. There is in Damascus a popular proverb, ‘Everyone took part in burying the victim’.
But I did not expect you to visit Syria, whose people are currently suffering one of the worst and most vicious campaigns in recent times, just to meet with its rulers and to announce that you are happy with their handling of the crises and their responding to the people’s demands. Let me here draw your attention to, which I do not think that you do not know, that while you were in that meeting, the tanks and the canons of the regime were shelling the Syrian cities and killing the unarmed civilians. And the security forces were sharp shooting the citizens in the streets, or arresting and torturing the children to death. I will not be hesitant of reminding you with some of the children names like Hajar Al-Khateeb, Hamza Al-Khateeb and Tamer Al-Sharee beside others. My questions to you here are ‘Did you see the photos of those children before and after they were killed? Did you watch the CD’s of the security forces’ behavior in the streets and squares, especially the famous one of Baidda Square? Have you seen what happened in Hama city yesterday (Sunday July 31 2011)? How the civilians were thrown headless on the streets? Do you think that such a regime, which has specialized in butchery arts, is capable of delivering any reform?
Because I’m not interrogating you here, I will not ask you any more questions. What I’m trying to say, in brief, that the Syrian people, just like the other Arab people, deserve the same freedom, democracy and dignity you demanded for the Egyptian people in Tahreer square. But your recent visit to Damascus and your announcements there mean completely different things. That action pushed me to understand that your demonstration in Tahreer square in Cairo during the revolution was just a photo opportunity on one hand and to score a stand from which you benefit later, on the other hand. I can see that the second part was accomplished at its best.
I hope my words are not too hard on you, as I construct my understanding based only on the apparent actions and results. I will leave the hidden parts of that to God to determine, and I will leave the future results of it to the astronomers.
In case you discover the huge mistake you committed by that visit and those announcements, and decide to correct it, then I would like to tell you that it is not too late. All that you need to do is to listen carefully to me and follow my advice precisely and without any delay.
First: Call the Arab League to an emergency meeting the next day after you receive this letter by e-mail.
Second: Stand up and give the following opening speech, which I advise you to memorize it by heart in order not to stumble with it as you did when you were talking to the media after your meeting in Damascus. This is the speech:
‘I, Nabeel Al-Arabi who was recently elected Secretary General of this league, confess that, instead of doing my duty by defending the rights of the Arab people, I let these people down starting with the wounded Syrians. I, by doing that, committed a huge moral, national and legal mistake by shaking hands and siding with the butchers instead of siding with the victims and healing their wounds. Please do not ask me why I did that because I do not dare to say. Therefore, I decided that I am not qualified for this position and I resign.
Mr Nabeel Al-Arabi
If you really have the courage to do that, then you prove that you are really a ‘Noble’ and an ‘Arab’. One popular proverb says ‘Admitting the mistake is a virtue’ and another one says ‘No one is immune to mistakes’.
But if you don’t do it, then I don’t think that the youth of the Egyptian revolution, nor the youth of the other Arab revolutions will let you last long misbehaving in the corridors of the Arab League. I will not be surprised even if I see you joining your pals of the uprooted regime who headed you to behind the bars.
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By: Tarif Youssef Agha
Houston, Texas
August 1st. 2011