Here are some
recent editorials I wrote for The Gulf Today. (Posted for my records)
Conflicts leave
children
scared and scarred
At a time when they are
supposed to be studying at school or playing in the garden, millions of
children in conflict zones are forced to face frightful situations like losing
their homes, family members, friends, safety and the daily routine.
Unable to learn even the
basic reading and writing skills, they risk losing their future.
The latest observation by
Unicef that some 250 million children - one in nine children worldwide - live
in countries affected by violent conflicts reflects a scary situation.
As per estimates, Unicef
would now need a full $2.8 billion in 2016 to help millions of children in
humanitarian emergencies around the world. The money would allow UN to reach 76
million people -- 43 million of them children -- across 63 countries.
The biggest chunk of that
amount, ($1.2 billion), as can be surmised, is needed for aid in war-ravaged
Syria and to help the millions of Syrian refugees in neigbouring countries.
Syria has suffered too
much for too long. More than 260,000 people have been killed in nearly five
years of brutal conflict in Syria, while more than four million people have fled
as refugees and some 13.5 million people remaining in the country are in
desperate need of humanitarian aid.
Figures rattle: As per UN
reports, more than 200,000 children applied for asylum in European Union
countries in the first nine months of 2015, adding to the 30 million children
across the globe forced from their homes by 2014 due to war, violence and
persecution.
Actually, more people are
displaced now than at any moment since World War.
Over half a billion
children live in areas where floods are extremely common and nearly 160 million
live in high or extremely high drought severity zones.
UN officials had mentioned
last week that nearly 24 million children living in crisis zones in 22
strife-torn countries are being deprived of a school education.
The number of children
trapped in humanitarian crisis around the world is beyond belief.
Unfortunately, education
continues to be one of the least funded sectors in humanitarian appeals. In
Syria, one in four schools have been destroyed and more than two million
children are out of school.
As UN officials point out,
education is a life-saving intervention in emergencies. It should be borne in
mind that if a child does not go to school for five years, a generation is
lost.
A glorious example of
2-nation friendship
Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi
and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces His Highness Sheikh
Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan’s first State Visit to India at the invitation of
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has elevated the already-robust relations between
the two nations to a much higher level.
As is well known, the two
countries have been enjoying strong bonds of friendship based on civilisational
links, age-old maritime trade and vibrant people-to-people contacts, the
foundations of which were laid by the founding father of the nation, Sheikh
Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan.
Sheikh Mohamed has rightly
pointed out that late Sheikh Zayed’s historic visit to India in 1975
represented a fundamental starting point for the development and progress of
all relations between the two countries over the past decades.
Indians living in the UAE
consider it second home and the credit for that goes to the large-hearted
Emiratis, whose hospitality and affection are adorable.
Nearly 2.6 million Indians
live in the UAE making up the largest UAE expatriate community.
It may be recalled that
during Prime Minister Modi's historic visit to the UAE in August 2015, the two
nations agreed to further strengthen their cooperation in several key areas,
including trade and investment, security, counter-terrorism, joint defence
production, space cooperation, IT and electronics.
The joint statement issued
at the end of the three-day visit of Sheikh Mohamed has fervently emphasised
the importance of expanding growth and trade opportunities to drive the
strategic partnership forward.
The prevailing trade
relation figures reflect a robust relationship. India is considered to be the
UAE’s primary trade partner, accounting for about 9.8% of its total non-oil
trade.
India is also the largest
importer of goods from the UAE, buying about 14.9% of that country’s exports
and about 8.7% of its re-exports, becoming the second-largest market of the UAE
in the latter category.
It is not just that. India
ranks third among countries that export to the UAE, accounting for about 9.2%
of the total imports by the UAE.
The total volume of
foreign trade between the two countries amounted to $60 billion in 2014, making
the UAE India’s primary trade partner in the Middle East and North Africa.
Interestingly, economic
sources expect the value of trade exchanges between the UAE and India to hit
$100 billion in 2020.
The UAE and India have set
a shining example of how mutual understanding and dynamic cooperation can lead
to robust engagement, ultimately benefiting the people.
Ban just spoke the
truth
and Israel can’t digest
it
Truth is indeed bitter and
it is not a surprise that Israelis are unable to digest it when United Nations
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon insists that Palestinians are losing hope in the
face of nearly 50 years of stifling Israeli occupation.
Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu’s criticism of the UN chief for revealing the truth is
nothing less than disgraceful.
This is what Ban said at
the opening of the 2016 Session of the UN Committee on the Exercise of the
Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People: “Young people especially are
losing hope. They are angered by the stifling policies of the occupation. They
are frustrated by the strictures on their daily lives. They watch as Israeli
settlements in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, expand and
expand. They see the dream of a sovereign, contiguous and independent Palestinian
state slip away.”
He also stated: “The
people of Palestine have lived through half a century of occupation, and they
have heard half a century of statements condemning it. But life hasn’t
meaningfully changed. Children have become grandparents. We issue statements.
We express concern. We voice solidarity. But life hasn’t changed.”
Each and every word in
this is an honest reflection of world opinion, especially of peace-loving
people. There is absolutely no reason for Israel to feel enraged by this honest
expression of truth.
The UN has repeatedly
cautioned that Israeli settlements are illegal under international law,
threatening to destroy the two-state solution. But Israel keeps snubbing the
world body by continually building illegal settlements.
Ban has also correctly
emphasised that provocative acts, such as Israel’s plans for over 150 new homes
in illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank and the declaration of 370
acres in the West Bank, south of Jericho, as “state land” are bound to increase
the growth of settler populations, further heightening tensions and undermining
any prospects for a political road ahead.
The situation in Gaza too
is a matter of serious concern. Eighteen months after the last Israeli war
there, the humanitarian situation there remains perilous. Gazans are struggling
to meet basic needs like water and electricity, besides being strangled by dire
unemployment.
The message is loud and
clear: The status quo cannot continue as it undermines the future of
Palestinians. The one and only path to a just and lasting solution involves an
end to the occupation, leading to a sovereign, independent State of Palestine.
A summit in UAE that
will benefit the world
World attention remained
focused on the UAE on Monday and for valuable reasons.
The three-day World
Government Summit in Dubai, titled “Shaping Future Governments,” under the
patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President
and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, has taken off in style with
highly constructive ideas pouring in from top dignitaries.
The thrust of the message
from the leaders from all walks of life was for governments across the world to
be responsive to their citizens.
The biggest announcement
came in the form of a new government that will comprise less ministries but
more ministers handling national, strategic and dynamic files.
As Sheikh Mohammed explained,
“We want a young and flexible government that would fulfill our youth’s
aspirations and achieve our people’s ambitions.”
As expected, Sheikh
Mohammed’s inspiring interaction with his 10 million social media followers
during a live conversation turned out to be a major highlight of the day.
The Summit in Dubai has
attracted more than 3,000 personalities from over 125 countries, and 125
speakers in over 70 sessions.
US President Barack Obama
addressed the crucial subject of ongoing strife shaking the Middle East ever
since the Arab Spring started in 2011. His direct message was that when
governments truly invested in their citizens, their education and health, and
when universal human rights were upheld, countries were more peaceful, more
prosperous and more successful.
The most fertile times in
the history of civilizations come from a culture of discovery, which was
prevalent in the Arab world for centuries over a thousand years ago during the
Golden Age of Islam.
This powerful message was
well put forth by Neil deGrasse Tyson, Director of the Hayden Planetarium at
the American Museum of Natural History.
Over two thirds of all
stars have Arabic names and the words algebra, algorithm find their origins in
the Arabic word al-jabr. As he
put it, if the region had sustained this pace of discovery, it would’ve
produced Nobel Laureates every year.
A suggestion by Paul
Anderson, who teaches AP science in an American school, on how classroom game
design helps improve learning added another constructive element to the
session.
As per Anderson’s
view, a classroom should resemble a workshop where one reads, watches
videos, work on skills and then applies them to a project to solve problems in
the real world.
The summit holds great
value especially because several priceless reports are being issued in
cooperation with knowledge partners from major global scientific research
institutions.
If at all anything, the
summit goes to show that the UAE values peace and prosperity not only for its
citizens and residents, but also beyond, globally.
Dire humanitarian
situation in Syria
The worsening human rights
situation in and around the city of Aleppo and other parts of Syria is a matter
of serious concern as shocking violations and abuses are committed on a daily
basis.
The United Nations High
Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, has aptly termed the
situation grotesque.
As he explained, the
warring parties are constantly sinking to new depths, without apparently caring
in the slightest about the death and destruction they are wreaking across the
country.
Women and children, the
elderly, the wounded and sick, people with disabilities, are being used as
bargaining chips and cannon fodder day after day, week after week, month after
month.
Since the latest offensive
by government forces began last week in the Governorate of Aleppo, reportedly
accompanied by numerous air strikes by Russian and Syrian aircraft, some 51,000
civilians have been displaced and a further 300,000 are at risk of being placed
under siege.
There have also been
several civilian casualties and major destruction of civilian infrastructure.
Also, according to UN
officials, a military offensive by Syrian government and allied forces has cut
off 120,000 people in the northern Homs governorate since mid-January,
worsening hunger and killing patients unable to get to medical care.
There are reports of
increasingly acute shortages of food, basic commodities, medical items and fuel
in the area.
With the irregular supply
routes used until mid-January now cut off, food items that are still available
are now being sold at much higher prices.
Sadly, bread prices are
already 10 times higher than in the city of Homs, and unaffordable for most
families.
The last UN aid convoy
reached rural northern Homs in October 2015. The UN has been trying to send
additional supplies since then, but has been unable to get approval.
The reality is that
thousands of civilians in other parts of Syria are facing dire humanitarian
conditions, particularly those under sieges imposed both by government forces
and affiliated armed groups, and by armed opposition groups, besides Daesh.
As UN officials rightly
point out, all the parties to a conflict have obligations under international
humanitarian law not to place the civilian population in peril by taking
shelter amongst them, or in protected structures such as schools and hospitals.
A lasting peaceful
resolution of this horrific war is the need of the hour and that can be
attained through urgent and serious dialogue.
