In 2003 when the US attacked Iraq, people all over the Arab world felt it was a personal attack on them. I was in Aleppo at the time, watching the news closely and discussing them with everyone: family, friends, shopkeepers, taxi drivers and even random people on the street. We didn’t think it was an attack to establish freedom or to remove weapons of mass destruction. We didn’t even think it was an attack for oil. We believed it was an attack to weaken the region and destroy any threat to Israel. What was once a Palestinian wound, became a Palestinian/Iraqi one.
What made things worse was that we projected the homogeneity of the middle eastern culture and politics onto the West. We didn’t think there was any ideological difference between republicans and democrats or between America, Europe and Australia. For us, the West was one homogenous unit that was represented by Fox News! It felt like the world was conspiring against us. A sense of injustice and helplessness prevailed.
In 2005 I moved to Australia. Slowly the heterogeneity of the West started becoming apparent. The West is not one unit, it is a multitude of beliefs, systems, cultures, and ideologies. America is not Europe, and Australia is not America. Not everyone is an atheist, neither everyone is religious. Not everyone is liberal, neither everyone is conservative. Not everyone supports Israel and Fox News is definitely not a true representative of the West.
Today the middle east is undergoing another adversity but this time I get to experience western opinion and media first hand, not through AlJazeera-filtered Fox News. Friends openly express their support of the Palestinians, the media is repeatedly using the term “Illegal establishments on Palestinian land” and my Facebook newsfeed is filled with photos and videos that highlight the injustice taking place.
Although nothing has changed on the ground yet, but it’s great to feel that injustice is not supported by everyone, it’s great to feel that the world is not conspiring against you, it’s great to feel full of hope for the future.
02 Aug 2014 No Comments
A Different Perspective
In 2003 when the US attacked Iraq, people all over the Arab world felt it was a personal attack on them. I was in Aleppo at the time, watching the news closely and discussing them with everyone: family, friends, shopkeepers, taxi drivers and even random people on the street. We didn’t think it was an attack to establish freedom or to remove weapons of mass destruction. We didn’t even think it was an attack for oil. We believed it was an attack to weaken the region and destroy any threat to Israel. What was once a Palestinian wound, became a Palestinian/Iraqi one.
What made things worse was that we projected the homogeneity of the middle eastern culture and politics onto the West. We didn’t think there was any ideological difference between republicans and democrats or between America, Europe and Australia. For us, the West was one homogenous unit that was represented by Fox News! It felt like the world was conspiring against us. A sense of injustice and helplessness prevailed.
In 2005 I moved to Australia. Slowly the heterogeneity of the West started becoming apparent. The West is not one unit, it is a multitude of beliefs, systems, cultures, and ideologies. America is not Europe, and Australia is not America. Not everyone is an atheist, neither everyone is religious. Not everyone is liberal, neither everyone is conservative. Not everyone supports Israel and Fox News is definitely not a true representative of the West.
Today the middle east is undergoing another adversity but this time I get to experience western opinion and media first hand, not through AlJazeera-filtered Fox News. Friends openly express their support of the Palestinians, the media is repeatedly using the term “Illegal establishments on Palestinian land” and my Facebook newsfeed is filled with photos and videos that highlight the injustice taking place.
Although nothing has changed on the ground yet, but it’s great to feel that injustice is not supported by everyone, it’s great to feel that the world is not conspiring against you, it’s great to feel full of hope for the future.
by tms120@hotmail.com in Uncategorized