قرار إداري ساري المفعول...

[اميرة العلي]

السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته
I couldn't disagree with this decision any more if I wanted to! This unfortunate decision tantamount to a slap in the face to all those Syrian and Arab intellectuals who fought very hard and poured their hearts and minds and souls to educate us on the predicament of the Syrian people and the heinous crimes commited by this regime against its own people. Their cries for justice and liberty are no different from that coming from the Palestinians and Gazans suffering under the criminal-Zionist occupation or from the Iraqi people enduring a brutal American occupation or from that of the Arab people at large who are suffocating under the grip of tyrant regimes. The cause of justice is surly one and quite the same in every case and we cannot separate between the three situations.
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As if all this is not bad enough, this unrepentant regime in Syria, much like the rest of Arab dictatorships, not only wants to have his cake and eat it too, but is also perpetrating the mother of all lies on the Arab people. Its not surprising to see how the regime's media and paid mouthpieces frequently cite "Arab national security" and the "state of war with Israel" as the underlyng reasons to bury the cause of liberty, circumvent the rule of law, and shelf
democratic reforms indefinitely. Not only this excuse is a lame one in everyl sense of the word, but it has also worn thin over the years, and quite frankly, no one is buying it anymore! Lets not forget this is the age of information and these corrupt regimes simply cannot hide the truth any longer or have monopoly over the facts.
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But lets assume for the sake of the argument that the syrian regime's execuses are all true and 'valid', since when and to whom did it seem such a good idea to subjugate the entire Syrian population and to rule over them with an iron fist, simply because the regime says we are in a state of war with Israel or it is secretly planning to 'someday' liberate the Golan heights and 'someday' march on Jerusalem! How can we be so gullible and so naive to believe such absurdity! Whilst we all know how this regime has stood idly by and done little to absolutely nothing by way of providing for Arab defense against Israeli aggression when Lebanon was attacked in 2006 and Gaza was brutalized months ago! Also, when checking back in history as to when was the last time this regime has actually went to war with Israel over an occupied Arab land, I and probably more than half of the population of Syria and the Arab World weren't even born yet.
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Benjamin Franklin said something to that effect that is so profound and so true "Those who would sacrifice freedom for security deserve neither"
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We used to travel to Washington DC and stand at the gate of the Whitehouse and call Bush and Chaney murderers and killers for their invasion of Iraq, and they could very well hear us, but we can't call A Spade A 'Spade' on the account that this 'Spade' happens to be an Arab regime
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The US held its Presidential election in the midst of a bloody civil war. The rebels had the capital, Washington DC., under siege and Robert E. Lee's mighty rebel - army of Northern Virginia had just invaded Pennsylvania. President Lincoln was so adamant in his refusal when some politicians urged him to postpone the election and he said "If the rebellion could force us to forego, or postpone a national election, it might fairly claim to have already conquered and ruined us."
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I don't think the Palestinian people would be too thrilled to hear this argument from the Arab regimes and find out that their liberty and freedom from Israeli occupation could only come at the expense of the liberty of other Arab people
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If one can be momentarily allowed to be cynical, It seems so very likely that there exist some unholy alliance and collusion in goals and meeting in minds and merging of interests between the Zionist regime in Palestine and all these Arab dictatorships. One conveniently uses the other to legitimize its own existence. Meanwhile, neither side has shown any genuine interest in ending the conflict or resolving the Palestinian question

On the subject of some people are leaving WATA...It saddens me great deal when I see some intellectual chose to leave on their own accord and for reasons unknown. I am disappointed especially on the news that Dr. Muhamad Al Rreefy, Dr. Naser Al Hareery, and Dr. Chebair have all left. I learned so much from these people as well as from others who graced WATA with their presense and their bright minds, and for that I owe them my deep gratitude. But I'd like to remind Dr. Muhamad of something very apt he wrote here at in the pages of WATA a while back "

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هذا اقتباس من مقالة كتبها الدكتور محمد الريفي..
أ.د. محمد اسحق الريفي
نحن العرب لدينا قابلية كبيرة للانخداع، ونتخادع فيما بيننا، فيخدع بعضُنا بعضاً، ونرضى بأن يخدعنا أعداؤنا، ليس لأننا نفتقر إلى الوعي والفطنة والحكمة، بل لأننا نجيد التنصل من المسؤولية، ونفضل الفرار من المواجهة، ونلوم غيرنا على أخطائنا.
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ومما يزيد من قابليتنا للانخداع أن لدينا ذاكرة قصيرة جداً، فنحن نميل إلى نسيان الماضي وعدم استقرائه أو أخذ العبر من أحداثه، ليس لأننا نريد استجماع قوانا والانطلاق بروح متحررة من أوزار الماضي وأغلاله الثقيلة، وليس لأننا نريد فتح صفحة بيضاء نسطر عليها أمجاداً تمحو بؤس الماضي، بل لأننا نحب التهرب من المسؤولية والفرار من المواجهة. فنحن دائما نحب الهروب إلى الأمام، ونريد فقط أن نعيش حياتنا بأي طريقة وبأي ثمن، حتى لو كان هذا الثمن حريتنا وكرامتنا وإنسانيتنا. ويعود ذلك إلى حبنا للدنيا، حباً شديداً يدفعنا إلى الرضوخ للواقع والاستسلام له، وإلى كرهنا للبذل والتضحية والعطاء.

د. محمد; اتمنى عليك ان تعود الى واتا ولا تحرمنا من عطائك وعلمك وفكرك الزاخر الذي بلا شك اثرى هذا الملتقى الفكري واضاء الشمعة تلو الاخرى ..في هذه الاثناء اتمنى لك ولعائلتك الكريمة ولكل الاهل الاحباء في غزة وفلسطين والعراق دوام الصحة والعافية والسلامة وصبرا ان فجرالحرية ليس ببعيد..