Here are some recent editorials I wrote for The Gulf Today. (Posted
for my records)
Bleeding
Aleppo needs
balm, not
bombs
The tears
of Aleppo refuse to cease, nor do the bullets that rain incessantly on innocent
civilians.
The
tormented city cries for humanitarian attention, but the international powers
are too busy trading charges against each other.
The
city’s residents are facing a precarious situation with worsening food and medical shortages. Stores of
food and vital medical supplies are rapidly dwindling to nothing.
One of
the toughest challenges for the residents is that the water supplies to many areas remain cut after
pumping stations were damaged during weekend attacks.
Distressingly,
the denial of access to food, water and medicines has been used repeatedly as a
weapon by all sides in Syria's brutal five-year-old civil war.
Adding to the civilians’ woes, several charity
kitchens in the eastern districts are no longer operating because of the danger
of air strikes.
Many hospitals are struggling to deal with a huge
number of casualties. Heavy shortage of blood has also compounded the problem.
But it seems that the world just would not care,
with powerful countries locking horns and engaging in rhetoric.
Western powers at the United Nations have accused
Russia of war crimes.
US Ambassador Samantha Power has accused Russia of
"barbarism," while the British and French envoys went even further.
"War crimes are being committed in
Aleppo," French Ambassador Francois Delattre has stated, while Britain's
envoy spoke of "a new hell" unleashed on Syrians with bunker-busting
bombs and more sophisticated weaponry used to pummel residential areas.
Moscow, on its part, has hit back at the
accusations, with Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov denouncing "the overall
unacceptable tone and rhetoric of the representatives of the United Kingdom and
the United States, which can damage and harm our relations."
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon has correctly
warned that the use of advanced weaponry against civilians could amount to war
crimes.
Instead of squabbling, the world powers should work
towards ending the nightmare in Syria that has already left more than 300,000
people dead and driven millions from their homes.
It is extremely painful that even the images of
children under rubble and the bodies of innocent men, women and elderly have
not prompted the international community to find an urgent solution to end the
agony of Aleppo.
The situation is worsening by the day, which the
city cannot endure anymore.
The bleeding of Aleppo should stop, now.
What the city needs is balm, not bombs.
Dubai
Opera: UAE’s
cultural
masterstroke
It is the
latest masterstroke by the land of superlatives, the UAE, that literally comes
as music to the ears.
The
opening of Dubai Opera has effectively pitched the country as a vibrant global
cultural hub, heralding a new creative era for the city, region and beyond.
The
"king of opera," Spanish tenor Placido Domingo’s spectacular opening
concert on Wednesday night at the venue set the rhythm for a perfect takeoff.
Domingo
launched the event with a series of performances including Rossini's "The
Barber of Seville" and the Broadway musical "West Side Story."
Dubai
Opera is the city’s first purpose-built multi-format performing arts theatre
and the definitive destination for quality entertainment productions and
performances.
Creative
talent would be exhibited in varied ways. Dubai Opera's stage will host an
incredible lineup including operatic performances, ballet, classical music
concerts and productions at the core.
It will
also stage musical theatre, fashion shows, jazz, comedy, family shows and a
full range of live entertainment.
Emirati
singing sensation Hussein Al Jassmi will take centrestage on Oct.10 giving fans
the opportunity to enjoy the live concert.
Incidentally,
Al Jassmi has achieved more than 500 million views on YouTube and continues to
capture hearts around the globe with his innovative fusion music.
The new
opera building has been designed as an architectural masterpiece, blending
tradition with modernity. In recognition of its long history as a port city,
the opera house is shaped like a dhow.
Music is
a universal language and the UAE recognises this. His Highness Sheikh Mohammed
Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler
of Dubai, has rightly affirmed that the strong cultural movement witnessed by
the UAE contributes to positioning itself as a beacon of thought and creativity
at the regional level and shows its keenness on maintaining its effective role
in enriching the Arab cultural life.
Here is a
venue where one can experience the best entertainment, immerse senses in a
variety of performing arts and also discover a wide selection of shows that
offer something for everyone.
Trade, travel and tourism are all synonymous with the UAE,
and with the opening of Dubai Opera, Arts and Culture have also become
important icons.
As Sheikh
Mohammed pointed out, the Dubai Opera has a great value as a new platform for
the arts, an effective cultural bridge and an intellectual window for the
infusion of the world's creative arts.
Children
bear the
brunt of
conflicts
The world
has to awaken to the fact that children are paying a heavy price in conflict
zones and much more needs to be done to protect them.
A report
from the United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef) has indicated that almost 50 million children worldwide are uprooted,
forcibly displaced from their home countries by war, violence or persecution.
Sadly,
young ones driven from their homes due to conflict or in the hopes of finding a
safer future face further dangers along the way.
The
dangers include the risk of drowning on sea crossings, malnourishment and
dehydration, trafficking, kidnapping, rape and even murder.
Unicef
Executive Director, Anthony Lake, has cited the example of Aylan Kurdi and
Omran Daqneesh's to highlight the plight of children.
“Indelible
images of individual children – Aylan Kurdi's small body washed up on a beach
after drowning at sea or Omran Daqneesh's stunned and bloody face as he sat in
an ambulance after his home was destroyed – have shocked the world,” he has
noted.
The
report “Uprooted: The growing crisis for refugee and migrant children,”
presents a sobering picture of the lives and situations of millions of children
affected by violent conflict and other crises that make it seem safer to risk
everything on a perilous journey than to remain at home.
What is
shocking is also that more and more children are crossing borders on their own.
Figures
reflect a scary pattern. In 2015, over 100,000 unaccompanied minors applied for
asylum in 78 countries – triple the number in 2014.
UN
officials have listed specific actions to protect and help displaced, refugee
and migrant children:
These are
valuable ideas that should be duly implemented.
Among the
suggestions are;
* Protecting
child refugees and migrants, particularly unaccompanied children, from
exploitation and violence.
* Ending
the detention of children seeking refugee status or migrating by introducing a
range of practical alternatives.
* Keeping
families together as the best way to protect children and give children legal
status.
* Keeping
all refugee and migrant children learning and giving them access to health and
other quality services.
*
Pressing for action on the underlying causes of large-scale movements of refugees
and migrants.
*
Promoting measures to combat xenophobia, discrimination and marginalisation.
The
failure to protect children would reflect very poorly on the international
community and leave an unsightly scar on its face. Ignoring the plight of such
a large number of children would
come at a very high cost.
Mohamed,
Pope
on a
peace mission
The UAE
has always been in the forefront when it comes to promoting the values of
peace, justice and coexistence in different parts of the world.
Crown
Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces His
Highness Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan’s historic meeting with Pope
Francis has certainly pushed that noble mission to a much higher level.
Pope
Francis’ praise of the UAE's efforts to promote tolerance and coexistence is a
vindication of the fact that the UAE remains an oasis of peace in the region.
Under the
leadership of President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the
country is a leading supporter of humanitarian initiatives and is the world’s
largest donor of development assistance in proportion to its gross national
income.
Generosity
has thus always remained the hallmark of its leaders and people.
It has
provided humanitarian assistance totaling Dhs6.97 billion to help save lives,
alleviate suffering and protect human dignity during and after emergencies
worldwide.
In
December, the International Humanitarian City will organise the first bi-annual
World Humanitarian Forum in Dubai to coincide with the Ten Humanitarian
International Leaders meeting, which aims to bring together the humanitarian
community to share experiences, build relationships and discuss emerging
challenges and solutions.
The UAE
assistance has solely humanitarian objectives and is never ever governed by
politics or limited by the geography, race, colour or religion of the
beneficiary.
In such a
background, Pope’s hailing of the UAE for its ongoing humanitarian and
philanthropic initiatives, its role in promoting sustainable development and
support to all countries and communities in need, makes perfect timing and
sense.
It is not
mere talk. The UAE walks an extra mile when it comes to promoting an open
society. A law against hate crime and discrimination was issued by President
Sheikh Khalifa last year that strongly reinforces the concept of safe coexistence.
In a
world ridden by strife in many parts, meaningful discussion between
well-meaning personalities goes a long way in alleviating the situation.
The Pope
has been playing a positive role in peace-building and promoting dialogue among
civilisations.
With over
200 nationalities living with a spirit of harmony and understanding, despite
differences of culture, race and religion, the UAE remains an adorable model
for unity.
The
momentous Sheikh Mohamed-Pope Francis meeting highlights the genuineness of the
UAE’s mission to promote peace across the globe. It is an extraordinary meeting
with a noble goal.
Need for greater police
accountability in US
The fatal shooting of 43-year-old African-American
Keith Lamont Scott at the hands of Charlotte police is the latest in a long
series of controversial police killings of black men that have ignited tensions
in the US.
The
killing has raised growing concerns about accountability in the country’s law
enforcement community.
Scott's relatives claim that he was not carrying a
gun as claimed by the police, but had a book in his hands when he was gunned
down.
According to the relatives, he was waiting for his
young son at school bus stop when police arrived.
The city had to be brought under
emergency following violent demonstrations as news of
the shooting spread.
Incidentally, the
violence in Charlotte came on the heels of another fatal police shooting of a
black man, Terence Crutcher, on Friday in Tulsa.
Tulsa police chief Chuck Jordan conceded that video
footage of Crutcher's deadly shooting was disturbing and "very difficult
to watch."
The 40-year-old is seen with his hands up,
appearing to comply with police officers before he is shot once by officer
Betty Shelby and falls to the ground. Another officer fires his stun gun.
The US Department of Justice has promised to
conduct a federal civil rights probe into the Tulsa shooting.
However, the question remains on whether any
effective means are being enforced to end such questionable killings.
On July
17, 2014, African American father-of-six Eric Garner, 43, died after being held
in a police chokehold while he was being arrested for selling individual
cigarettes illegally in New York.
On Aug.9,
a white police officer killed an unarmed black teenager, college student
Michael Brown, 18, prompting violent protests and heavy-handed police tactics
in Ferguson.
Unarmed
Walter Scott was shot in the back as he ran away from an officer in South
Carolina in April 2015.
A study by the Center for Policing Equity showed
police used force on blacks at rates more than three times higher than for
whites.
The use of force by police against
African-Americans in cities from Ferguson, Missouri, to Baltimore and New York
has sparked periodic violent protests.
Such killings have even spawned a movement called
Black Lives Matter.
Police
have the ability to take suspects into custody without killing them and there
have been several examples for this.
Questions about racial bias in US law enforcement
need to be answered. There is certainly a need for greater police
accountability for the killings of black people in America.
