What the hope I have for 2018 ... 

Of course, my utmost hope is to find a solution for all the problems that surround me whatever they are. All people wish this to happen to live in  a universe full of serenity and pacificism. But, this puts us into an endless cycle of thinking; what should be done to reach an optimum level of the aforementioned values? 

The first step, exploring the nature of troubles that our human societies are stuck with. Then, an analysis from different angles to verify what causes these troubles. When the late Singaporean president had decided to get his country out of the decaying situation, he surveyed the main troubles that his people had been suffering from. He came up with a strategy that, "there won't be a successful nation without applying the morality rules."

Indeed, after urging his people that keeping public places tidy and acting morally is the first step to upgrade. Today, Singapore competes for the most prestigious positions in the world over in many fields. It achieved the renaissance that the president had wished to do.

There are many other examples of such country whose people and leadership had earnestly taken a courageous step into the realm of success. Japan, the country that moved out to show us a role model occupied very successful positions at the international arena, its technological renaissance narrates a story of a country had been ravaged by WWII. 

As a Middle Eastern dreamer, I could say that there is a lot of wishes that every individual across the Arab World wishes to achieve to step up as other nations have done. Therefore, I wish one day to see, first of all, stability overwhelms the general scene. This wish might be far-fetched at the moment since the Arab Spring has proven to be as yet a fruitless political process, except the chance that it gave to the Arab masses who courageously went down the street raising up the signs of liberties. Later on, we could say that "Arab Spring" made it possible to ask reluctantly for a minimum level of democratic assembly. 

I leave this wish to the time to decide on because it's a bit wasteful of time to wait for the dream of stability to come true while staying idly doing nothing in other fields. Therefore, my second wish is to see our communities embarking on the wagon of change. I assert the fact that we in dire need of change in our Middle Eastern Communities.    ... to be continued  

"French will be the first language of Africa, and perhaps the world!" said President Macron.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/emmanuel-macron-french-language-france-president-world-first-africa-burkina-faso-a8084586.html

My mother told me, "We had no all the necessities of life unlike what does this current generation have. In spite of this, we moved on toward success." 

I adore reading in a realm despises reading!

We have thousands of entrepreneurs like the newly-elected Austrian chancellor Sebastian Kurz in our eastern societies. But, the dilemma is...

What are we missing when we come across this, "Don't give me fish, but teach me how to hunt"?

On the occasion of International Day of Human Rights Dec 10th.

I don't assume that there would be change as long as there is no rationality in a liberated mind

Albert Einstein said, "The important thing is not to stop questioning." But, how can we apply this to a generation doesn't critically interpret what's going on around?! 

Why do our professions determine the nature of our social relations?

Rural and tribal society is the hurdle on the path of human advancement.

Human communities are various around the world. Some consumer, while others are productive. We live in a globalized universe where life is accelerating to the degree that you have to keep up with sophistication. Otherwise, you'll stay entrapped in the box, which is a big problem on the path of human development that requires you to get your mind off certain realms that withhold the mental capacities from making creativity.

In this context, I'm trying to prove the argument that conservative, rural, tribal or traditional communities are the main hurdle that impedes the human development. I think such communities are in dire need of "a shaking up process" in order to sweep off the elements that curb the development of the human mind and prevents it from updating its thoughts by throwing out the outdated things.

To explain more, the nature of mentality that's existing within the conservative or rural realms believe that the human mind is a pot must be dedicated to certain traditions that people or the adherents of this think that they're the only way to move on with the human life. Not to mention, those people believe that science and logical postulates come only out of places where preachers interpret religious texts based on their own interpretation without a sound logic. The dilemma is, those people are judgmental without critical thinking or taking a look at the other side of the mirror -other cultures- societies or civilizations to put new colors and find where's the rift or the point where those folks in other communities have made successes in order to deepen their thinking of what's the problem with the community they live in.

It's not a matter of beautifying other cultures and looking down on yours at all. Because conservative and rural communities have never reflected the real culture that characterizes entity within them due to the reason that culture and intellectualism are neglected. The tangible outcomes of these communities is a mentality rejects the principle of taking in new thoughts which contradict the common sense as they think. It's totally false, just bring in the intellectual products of other communities and have an argument over it. Check out what are the deficiencies either in yours or in the others. Basically, you in the conservative and rural community don't use the sound logic in your own culture, because you don't read to figure out how valuable your intellectual products are when opening up with the others which gives you the chance to develop your them. But, you don't want this, you are surrendered to the social hegemony that forces you to stay under the umbrella of backwardness.

It's fine, you're religious or believing in a certain faith, just bring it out and debate over it don't keep silent because of certain fears from bringing new ideas in. It's a matter of courage to get out of a small geographic area where the human beings have kept on the same level of thinking. God gave us the mind for filling it up with renewable knowledge, and it's an inevitable chance to develop it and leave what holds you back behind. Don't keep listening to outdated arguments, this won't help you out at all!

This is what conservative and rural communities are characterized by. For instance, in a near village, there are approx. 18.000 population, up till now, there haven't been any kind of creativities, scientific papers have been published, new intellectuals and debators to help us with generating new thoughts might be feasible for this globe. Not at all.

I'm afraid to make statistics to collide with awful results about rural and tribal communities that represent a massive part of many countries. What have they offered so far?

Why have many creative people ended up being losers? What prevents them from keeping up? Certainly, many pioneers are struggling within such suffocating realms.

There is a big problem must be tackled as soon as possible.

Note, (incomplete and unedited due to lack of time)

It might be fine to end up uncovering the fact that the whole matter is a mere mirage after a long time of struggle to have somebody in your heart!

My physical impairment doesn't justify your negligence to me.

The Two-State Solution is an unknown destiny. But, what about Bedouins in E1 area?

    Throughout many years of the prolonged negotiation between both the Israeli and Palestinian sides over many issues to establish an internationally recognized Palestinian State which has proven fruitless. The equation that finally came out of this failure as the Israeli official attitude indicates that there is no security without settlement and no settlement without security in the depth of the Palestinian Territories.

Based on this approach as clarified in the map, the Israeli government shortly aftermath of the War of 1967 that led to annexing Jerusalem entirely by the Israeli forces, came up with the “Greater Jerusalem” venture to be its permanent capital. Accordingly, the surrounding areas located outside the city boundaries shall have acceded to its municipal jurisdiction. Many dimensions prompted Israelis to implement this plan, like a security need which is a strategy that implies a reality whose parameters came into being many years later specifically after the Oslo Peace Accords. It’s proven to be an expansive and comprehensive plan that aims at thwarting the dream of the Two-State Solution by dividing the Palestinian Territories –the area is supposed to be a Palestinian State- up into two parts that reflect the political dimension.

Tracing this issue back, we find out that Israelis have been incrementally carrying out this plan from different directions to create an Israeli urban continuity around Jerusalem by expanding the illegal settlements. From the east, the plan aims to link Maale Adumim Block with the Mount of Scopus which widely penetrates the 1967 borders leading out to the Dead Sea and the Jordanian border. To implement this phase, E1 area located within the geographic vicinity of this block along the Jerusalem-Jericho road causes discontinuity between the settlement and Jerusalem because of its non-Jewish inhabitants, so that it must be totally confiscated. Therefore, this plan shapes a clear landscape that the “Greater Jerusalem” venture tends to confiscate as many dunams as possible within the depth of the Palestinian Territories.  

In this regard, Nadav Shragai addressed, “Israeli avoidance of creating settlement continuity between the Jerusalem area and the Maale Adumim area will inevitably give rise to another competing Palestinian continuity running north.” This area constitutes a strategic depth to make a defensible stronghold to overcome potential futuristic threats against the Israeli borders or the security interests in general.

In this context, this project won’t be carried out on the ground without leaving humanitarian consequences as the residents of E1 will be wiped out of their residential land according to this colonial plan which claims that the existence of the non-Jewish residents will be a demographic threat to the safety of this project in the foreseeable future. Thus, they are deemed to be deported by applying different measures either forcefully evacuating them or narrowing the path of life-lines through practicing oppressive policies that crackdown on the human activities at the residential shacks.

Currently, there are about 40 Bedouin families reside this area whose lifestyle is based on nomadic activities. They were originally displaced from the Negev Desert in the 1950s to resettle in E1 to end up encountering the same destiny now. For instance,  the Bedouin community of Arab Al-Jahalin has been demolished many times where the residents are left homeless. The iron dwellings don’t guarantee a permanent residency since those residents living along the Israeli highway aren’t recognized as legal dwellers according to the Israeli law that considers them refugees who fled their homes in the Negev Desert. Consequently, the Israeli authorities claim that those residents don’t have documented land claims over the area where they live. Furthermore, they illegally expand their shacks without a prior request from the Israeli civil administration office which is the only authorized aspect to issue permits to reside those people in the adjacent area of Ma’ali Adumim Settlement.   

Since the beginning of 2017, many structures have been demolished, and in a verdict, the Israeli high court decided that those people’s presence is illegal and suggested that they must be relocated to another area. The first proposal is to resettle them in Al-Ezariya village, but, there are no sufficient places to assimilate them. Moreover, Bedouins have a special lifestyle based on nomadic practices where they could graze their cattle which makes it very difficult for them to integrate into urbanized residential areas.

It’s worth mentioning the area where they reside is very marginalized lacks many basic needs like education and medical care. They depend on herding and earning incomes from their livestock because the development process is strictly watched out by the Israeli forces to prevent it; however, only international humanitarian organizations provide them with aid, like the solar energy panels had been donated to them but recently were confiscated.    

A further consequence of this project, it’ll be the main hurdle that divides the West Bank up into two parts where the geographical continuity among the Palestinian urban areas will be completely faded away. As a result, the dream of the Two-State Solution won’t take place according to what’s agreed upon in the Oslo Accords of 1993 which puts Israel into the cycle of international condemnation.

Taking a look insightfully at the international law, we find out that there is an international denouncement against the Israeli practices in the E1 area, and it considers it as a stark violation of the international law especially the Geneva Convention that prohibits the occupier from displacing the occupied residents or seizing their properties.

The bottom line is, the Israeli practices in the E1 area and the annexation plan as a whole leave us with two probing questions, how will the Israeli government come up with a solution to put an end to an imminent humanitarian disaster as a result of deporting about 1000 individuals of Bedouin community there? How will it encounter the status quo when the annexation plan totally comes into play which will deny more than 2 million people in the Palestinian Territories the right of freedom of movement from the south to the north and vice versa?

We leave these questions that pointedly give a realistic interpretation about the human rights situation and the main reason of instability in the Palestinian Territories to the International Community that considers the Israeli measures illegal to decide on.


Nasser Al-Qadi

AfD won't eliminate Democracy in Germany! 

It's time for political science theorists to come up with a theory that "Separatist minorities never get independence!"

When a big percentage of people in a society don't read, it's a complicated problem!

People with disabilities have a political voice also

The dilemma of the conservative society

Why Arabic Language was affected only in North African Arab countries during colonization era but not in the Middle Eastern?

Media coverage doesn't always provide us with impeccable facts and doesn't show the reality as it is. 

Sadism ... when human beings record the moments of indulging themselves over tormenting their victims!

"Sadism is the tendency to derive pleasure, especially sexual gratification, from inflicting pain, suffering or humiliation on others." Oxford 

Every story begins as a kickstart of an event occurred which shapes an indicative story transmitted from channel to channel. It might be a useful wisdom in which we express our trends toward the surrounding reality. 

The status quo gives a shaky hope that the human beings are still obliged to ethical considerations within the conflict zone. Therefore, the latest barbaric misdeeds committed by some Hezbollah-affiliated military personnel against unarmed fighters who had been abducted or had been not fighters just civilians roaming the earth seeking out a safe sanctuary in a bloody conflict-ridden Syria.                                                                 Marquis de Sade-www.britannica

At the first glance, I recalled the systematic brutality that featured the Iraqi war landscape when the U.S. invasion broke out to lead to growing some irresponsible military factions started off the farce of liberation by sending out chilling scenes of tormenting their entrapped victims, not to mention, the brutal human behavior reached at its utmost peak with inhuman recapitulation scenes where the victims were being exposed to sadistic misconduct by their victimizers who found it a joyful theatrical platform to have a pleasure over tormenting even the dead and mutilated bodies. 
At the Syrian arena, I've observed how human beings are practicing pleasures over their victims, too. Those victims are either hostage not necessarily belong to military foes who sometimes are unjustly incarcerated and exposed to systematic torture. 
Sarcastically, those inhuman tormentors have fun tormenting their victims through video recording they make. I feel that it has become an industry those insane people aim to show off their twisted muscles.

Most recently, some touchy video records have been leaked out by unknown resources show some military personnel from Hezbollah movement -it's a Lebanese party has a strong military presence- whose individuals are geared up fighting hand-in-hand with the Assad's regime. This military group is a sectarian-oriented waging this battle for religious considerations to back up its political goals, too.                                                                                                          The economist.com

Those persons are shown practicing sadistic brutality on their victims using different tools, like hammers and iron stakes. Those victims go through painful beatings and they are extrajudicially murdered. This is a slow death process.
The questions that spinning around themselves are, what kind of people these are? What's the name of the phase that those people get into when ruthlessly and sadistically deal with their victims? What kind of mentality do they have?
Dating back to the medieval, we can touch upon inhumanity different entities witnessed which demarked the history of sadism with stark scenes of brutality. Cannibals about whom used to read about in the history are still employed in fearful tales in legendary movies. For instance, Robinson Cruise, it's a story I enjoyed reading when he got lost in an insulated island full of cannibals, whom he ran into and attacked him trying to slice his body off by a cutlass and enjoy tasty grilled human flesh.
This is a disgusting scene that used to watch in mostly in fictitious stories and in fright movies believing that human beings don't dare to commit so on reality. Conversely, in the 21st century where the ethical code of conduct is applied, that delineates human relations based on mercy and compassion. 
Today, the scenes that documented in Robinson's novel are a novelty of the civilized people in this modern world which is managed by human beings who've grown up in the epoch framed by tenets that the International Community came up with in order for flipping the page of darkness that the World had gone through during WWII. Protection of human dignity which the first item of human rights declaration stipulates on. Needless to mention other international conventions whose central concern is ensuring human rights adopting all disciplinary measures to curb any form of violence against hostages whoever they are not having pleasure over mutilating and tormenting their feeble bodies accompanied by video recording aim at encouraging the culture of retaliation to show off pointless heroism of murdering unarmed people. This finds a fertile realm among those who have extremist-saturated orientations under the shadow of fierce extremism that is sweeping the political and religious platforms.
Hezbollah's fighters' grave misconduct including their foes in the battle who wrap up against the Assad's regime reflects the lowest level of immorality and the decayed human values. Ironically, Hezbollah's personnel are supposed to apply their religious rules of tolerance and mercifully dealing with war prisoners not having fun while torturing them and enjoy their touchy voices that come out of insufferable pains.

"In search for the excellence" Duzdar

"If you cannot do great things, do small things in a great way." Napoleon Hill

In fact, I was pessimistic that after the intellectual products that brought out by outstanding Arab intellectuals of the 20th century during the intellectual awakening movement, there hasn't been new distinctive intellectualism despite the fact that the Arab World is a fertile environment for intellectual creativity except certain attempts shattered apart across the Arab World. 
The libraries are packed with manuscripts and books show a stunning creativity in the Arabic literature over the early centuries until the colonization era in the Arab World. Therefore, after the end of the second half of the 20th century, the intellectual movement that's driven by like-minded authors has significantly declined. Consequently, the remaining thinkers are struggling to keep the Arabic intellectualism vivid inasmuch as they find stimulative realms to invest in.
Recently, I've been amazed to come over some interesting materials touch upon the reality of the Arab societies, intellectually designed by prolific thinkers whose products could be considered as praised attempts to revive the almost stagnant Arab intellectual movement in order to be the voice of the masses and identity. I, thus, found it interesting to highlight one of these voices.
Sa'ed Duzdar's book "The mind is an ornament: The 
Crisis of modernity in the Arab World."

Sa'ed Duzdar is a growing thinker originally from Palestine, a presenter, and producer of the series of "The Mind is an Ornament." He has been catching my attention due to the interestingly captured topics he is trying to get across to people in the Arab World. These topics mainly focus on the mind and the contemporary philosophy. Through that, he calls for waking up and reconciling with the world. This call is for everyone has turned his back on the life and progression to get back to his human propensity and ally with the universe and block the road off anyone is trying to nurture the conflict between the human being and his humanity. He authored a book titled "The mind is an ornament: The crisis of modernity in the Arab World." 
In this book Sa'ed points out, "I came to search for the other face of the planet, life and human beings with you all. I came to search for the fact with you all. I came to build up an intellectual limitless bridge stretches out to the future with you all."
It's worth mentioning, Duzdar's niece is Muna Duzdar is a high-profile politician who serves as a State Secretary at the Austrian Parliament.
In this episode "The mind is an ornament: The Genie inside you," Duzdar says;

"If the theory didn't fit into practice, it's certainly wrong. Whatever great your hypothesis is as long as was formed by a  great person for you. If we don't examine how we make mistakes, we'll keep making them year-by-year, and will last for decades and generations. Our problem isn't that we don't  respect the mind, thinking, and logic. But, our problem is we fear thinking. Our rational provisions on things are supposedly controlled by the available information. But, if this available information is changeable, mustn't our provisions on things be changed?

You are not supposed to believe in any thing you are told, we are in the age of cognitive flux nowadays, and there are a real knowledge and fake also.

It's possible to create cohesive and potent stories in our minds. However, it's not necessarily that these stories constitute a fact that you are not supposed to believe what I'm telling you now. So, it's a chance to verify and examine it. 

In my opinion, it's the optimum way to bring up useful information and facts. Thus, our lack of sound provisions is resulted by our inability to explore the obvious facts and reject superstitions and obvious contradictions that have been the reason of inflicting us a brain fever which made us talk a language full of ghosts and legends, a language of houses of condolence. It wants to embed ignorance and fear in which it's unable to adapt to the fact and with what's natural and natural creatures. We are the most valuable device on this planet, it's the rationality device. But, there are who refuse to use it and there are who don't want to set it on the sound wave like the old radio appliance in his hands. He's insistent on listening to disruptions and he got used to listening to this voice. And, there who on the wave now and would like to get out of this mental disruption to look for real motives and stimuli to explore the life and its core.
Because he became a believer that there are many things could be discovered just if he has decided to get into the deeper level of this world. Many youths are wondering about the kinds of these motives. The first thing presumably is searching for things that don't stimulate us and there are many of them, it's a conditional remuneration like if you have done so, you'll receive that. If you put this condition on yourself in most often you're destroying the substantial self-motivation. Because, if any wrong has occurred to thing that you're doing and you haven't succeeded in, it would affect you psychologically because you failed in firstly and, moreover, you didn't get the remuneration that you had been waiting for. Consequently, you killed your intrinsic motivation.
The second is, the effect of media when we flip TV's channels, we don't change them because we are bored of, but because we're grumpy at there isn't a person whom you don't trust is trying to make you anxious and confused, not because of mistakes but because of movies. For instance, the movie's protagonist keeps making wrong decisions over the episodes which lead to your frustration. Because he is a reflection to your subjectivity and you like to see your subjectivity through his behaviors and decisions or through the advertisements that make you feel and remind you of that you lack in something; your hair falls out, your stomach hurts you, your teeth aren't white enough as needed. Your flipping to channels isn't a boredom, it's an anger that might keep away from motives. You're not supposed to turn all media off in your life, but you must be careful and attentive to the psychological and negative consequences that could reach you out by this appliance.
The good motives that could help you to excel and improve your performance are the attempt of changing and turning the practices into action, by adding an entertainment element to practice it and remember it.
If I have to memorize a presentation, why shouldn't I sing or perform it theatrically? The idea is to bring it in your area where you feel comfortable and have fun in. Always remind yourself of reaching ingenuity phase or mastership which require things like a mentality incrementally develops which is conceived that "you don't have what's endless, and your talent or the work you're doing could always be improved if you put in the further effort," as well as, thinking of some suffering to reach ingenuity and perfection. Because you should get out of your convenience area and later your body and mind begin controlling and adapting themselves to create a new level of equilibrium in the area where you are.
This is exactly what happens when doing weight-lifting exercises at Jem center if you want to augment your muscles, you need to lift up stuff heavier than you could bear in order to start observing the difference. The same thing is applied to your mentality and practices in the things that you're trying to be masterful at to get to an ingenuity phase. In addition, you have to be totally convinced that despite everything, you won't reach the end line, you'll reach a line close to it or where you're about to reach it. However, you won't touch it. This is the way that helps you expand. 
Furthermore, one of the important things of motivation is the reason that supposedly you're linked with things bigger than you, this is the core of the reason. The thing is not only related to your personal success, but also there are a participation and an addition to the world that surrounds you at least. So, link this core reason in addition to what you are doing to develop yourself, and ask yourself every day; "Have I developed a little bit to reach this goal and core reason?" Remind yourself every day at dusk and ask yourself, "Is there a little improvement today more than tomorrow?"
It's time to write down your story by your pen and in your notebook in order to not read it a distorted story in others' stories!"

The end
The whole text above is an audiovisual episode available in Arabic.

Translator: Nasser Al-Qadi

It's conspicuous that two ethnicities can't co-exist in the Old Quarter of Hebron

   Another trip to Hebron aimed at providing a legal support to a known non-violent activist has been leading campaigns to back up the Palestinian residents' resilience in their struggle against the systematic policy of evacuation.

This episode came to add a new experience on previous ones had been garnered in the same city to delve more into the applied Israeli legal system in the Occupied Territories. The organizer, as usual, is an Isreali leftist NGO devoted to defending Palestinian rights which prompt many people within my society to wonder whether there are really impeccable Jewish groups with institutionalized efforts stand up against the Israeli policies?                         Legal session with Essa (Nasser)           

My intuition stirs up this inquiry about what do people think on our side, too. I haven't had the chance to sit down with a lot of people to ask them what do they think about the idea that there are Jewish groups calling for removing the occupation and illegal outposts. For instance, B'Tselem has been outspoken in this field. 

Anyhow, this trip to Hebron took place in the Old Quarter where a holy site the "Ibrahimi Mosque" which considered the core of conflict there. This quarter has passed through many phases of fluctuations. The most notorious event occurred in 1994 when an Israeli ultra-orthodox settler broke into the Mosque and opened fire gunning down 29 Palestinian worshippers.

Shortly aftermath, the International Community especially those who had patronized Oslo Peace Accords decided to find an immediate solution to the city by sending an international group of observers called (TIPH).
TIPH's car where the staff on their duty.(Nasser)

Consequently, the entire Mosque was divided up into two parts, one for the Israelis and the other one for the Palestinians. However, the fighting over the entire area hasn't ended up until then. Israelis still claim historical and religious rights which push them to wipe out what's non-Jewish. As a result, many Palestinian residents have moved out seeking safer resort in other parts of the city.

The general situation inside the old quarter doesn't indicate to a stable status of human coexistence among two ethnicities as long as the atmosphere requires military personnel to stand up in every corner. 
The entire historical site is enclaved by a long series of Israeli modern-styled dwellings called (Qaryat Arva) settlement, a well-known of its ultra-orthodox residents and right-wing proponents. 
Although I have been residing in Hebron for almost three decades, I have never been to this settlement. The access to it is available and, moreover, it's not walled off so we can't access from the direction of the holy site where it's allowed for us green ID bearers to get into without required permits. There are fenced checkpoints to check pedestrians out.
I have been to only the holy site for several times accompanying my foreign friends in recreational and exploratory trips.
Therefore, my work for this human rights organization has illuminated me about new things I would have never explored in my city, otherwise. 
We headed into the settlement after a short stop at the checkpoint installed at the main entrance, we got off to head up to a hill called (Tal Romeda) where a nonviolent activist resides. The first impression I came up with in the mixed neighborhood is the scene of Aleppo in Syria though the situation here is different in terms of no military confrontation with another armed side or guerrilla fighting.
Soldiers are stationed in every corner watching out pedestrians 24 hours, the sensation of hostility is visible, watching towers, metal detectors or other electronic censorship appliances, revolving gates installed at every passageway inside that tiny stifling area featured by tension and precariousness which undoubtedly make the image of the other as a potential assailant at any moment. Thus, the military protection is out-of necessity, because there is no trust in the neighbors who are from the other ethnicity and won't ever be such trust.
Discussing Essa's suit (Nasser)

Essa Amro hosted us, the session was kicked off highlighting his lawsuit at the military court, he is charged with different issues like incitement against the Jewish community there, surpassing the rules, disobedience, and so on and so forth. Our lawyer gave him some legal tips warning him of the compromise had been offered to him by the prosecutor to leave abroad to pursue his master's degree for two years, then all the charges will be nullified. "No doubt, you will be arrested when you come back after finishing your degree," said the lawyer.
It's the shrewdness of the military prosecutors who apply a military law in the (Opt) that we keep speculating about its repercussions. Not because most of us aren't well-educated enough to figure the whole process out. But, I assure that we are still ignorant because we aren't willing to learn the Hebrew language intellectually. How much percentage of Palestinians in the (Opt) understand it from the intellectual perspective? I'm concerned to say that it doesn't overstep 2%, most of them are workers speak only the street language or slang to handle their businesses with their Israeli employers. Furthermore, I have never seen a Palestinian worker carrying a Hebrew written flyer or Haaretz newspaper trying to learn strong Hebrew words. I don't know why there is no initiative to do so. What are they doing in the free time? How do they deal with innumerable legal issues they are exposed to in Israel where everything is in Hebrew? It seems to me the situation is lucrative for the Hebrew-Arabic translators.
My father, for instance, has been a worker there for almost four decades, he only speaks the language street, he can't read and can't write either. 
I recall his legal case with some other workers who found themselves stuck with the legal system after they had been tricked by a greedy permit broker who extorted workers to get them working permits in return for a big amount of money covertly which the Israeli Labor Authority didn't have reports about. Those workers ended up being charged with fraudulence issue of fake permits are registered at the customs office that supposedly the Israeli broker had already paid the required taxes. 
I had to struggle to find a fluent in Hebrew to explain to us the complicated court's protocol because the whole case was questionable. To overcome this complication, the Palestinian Authority must design curriculums to teach the Hebrew Language at our schools.
A soldier watching out the place around.

At the end of the session, we finished off heading back home. I was a bit surprised to see that settlers on the way back raising cattle in a barn installed within a Western-styled neighborhood. I wondered, did our Palestinian rural lifestyle or peasantry invade those Western inhabitants to raise cattle within inhabited civil area? We Palestinians raise different kinds of cattle and even poultry within residential neighborhoods where the demographic irregularities are remarkable. Thus, questions began hovering over because we have some stereotypes towards Jewish settlers who live in settlements are westernized, if they have livestock business, they set it up at places away from inhabitable areas. I really felt that my curiosity prompts me to come up to that Jewish lady and her son were watering their cattle to ask for their permission to take a picture for them inside the barn. But, I wasn't brave enough, the facial expressions of the soldier who was watching out inside the kiosk installed in front of, made me terrified. The situation has been precarious over the past years we Palestinians are conceived as a potential risk at any moment.
Indeed, the reality in the Old Quarter of Hebron isn't promising at the moment as long as the conflict there can be described as a matter of ethnic existentialism of one group over the other. 

The mysteries behind Singapore's successes 

   Ahmed Al-Shuqairi, a Saudi Arabian activist and media figure, has been well-known for his series of Khawatir programs, meaning "reflections" in English. He performed in this media project between 2005-2015. The kickstart of this project was to tackle the dilemmas that young people in the Islamic Arab world suffer from by showing the successful experiences of other communities overseas. It was a vibrant cultural exchange tool that prompted those youth to interpret their images in the mirror of others. Therefore, it highlighted political, social, and economic issues that were notably brought out, including intellectualism. 

In this episode, "The mysteries behind Singapore's success," in Arabic, Ahmed visited this country to show us the stunning progression in different fields that it has accomplished since its independence in the 1960s. I found it interesting to translate into English.

Ahmad starts narrating from 2:00 on, saying, 

"One of the standards of the country's success in providing a dignified life for its people is the economy. 

Individuals' income expresses it. How much is the gross of this income? Lists cover individuals' incomes in every country to compare them. The final goal that we'll display in this episode is to get some ideas across the Arab world to reach a high degree of dignified life and provide the highest degrees in the world to make the Arab-Muslim individuals' income the highest. It means that justice is applied and corruption is eliminated, then. 

When we see Singapore today in 2013 -at the top of prosperity and sophistication- we, the current generation, expect that those people have been as such since they were born and genetically developed to be as such. Look at the left side, where the public gardens and streets are clean. However, it's not true; we are in an area right now; look how it was in 1960. The roads were dirt with garbage to the degree that children took showers in the street. Poverty is high, and the highest level of civilizational and moral backwardness featured it. 

Lee Kuan Yew, the Singaporean Prime Minister, complained when he took over the office about people's morality and behavior, saying, "I'm mystified by how the Singaporean taxi drivers open their cars' windows to spit through on the street."

So, morality was violated, no money, poverty, and ignorance. It is how Singapore was. 

This is another area. Take a look at this building. Here it is in 1960. Singapore was well-known for its unorganized slums because of poverty, stacked stores, and unorganized dwellings. As far as I know, this problem exists in many cities in the Arab World today. It was in Singapore in 1960, but they tackled it. Look at the area around me now, skyscrapers. Look how it became well-organized and clean.

When Singapore gained independence from Malaysia, Malaysia was a vast country with resources and an economy but a small country. Consequently, Singapore's separation from Malaysia was a big shock and a slap on the face of Singaporeans to the degree that Prime Minister Lee Kuan himself showed up on TV crying in front of people. Imagine a PM who had nothing to say. 

Lee Kuan's statement—a speech he gave after independence—"I believe in the integration of Malaysia and the unity of both lands altogether. Those people are linked with economics, geographic location, and kinship among them." He nodded, saying, " Would you mind stopping for a while?" Then he continued weeping. 

Ahmad continues, "Look at Lee Kuan in 1965 crying, and the British newspapers wrote, "Singapore is out." So, it is out of the game and has no hope. The separation occurred between Malaysia and Singapore. Why was Lee Kuan crying? Because there was a big difference between Singapore's qualifications and capabilities and Malaysia's.

In short, Malaysia is in front of you now; it is 480 times double the distance of Singapore. Singapore is considered a massive drop in distance, which is Malaysia. 

Regarding resources, Malaysia comprises rubber, wood, and other materials. Singapore needs more resources and water. All of these were frustrating factors for a country that has no resources. But, with persistence and insistence, look at what they made; one of the basics is "unifying the country towards one goal," which is very important. We see that in Singapore, there were different ethnic groups: Chinese, Malawines, Indians, and Euro-Asians, four ethnicities living in this country. Each ethnicity has its religion, tradition, and language. They were fighting in the 1960s; there were protests and vandalizing cars among different groups. It wasn't easy, though. Thus, one of Lee Kuan's PM priorities was to make everyone understand that Singapore is number one. "We all work for Singapore, the Malawi, the Chinese ... etc. All of you set aside your ethnicity to put the country and its interests first," said Lee. He put this issue into schools.

The formal language in Singapore is English because it aims to unify people without discriminating against ethnicities. 

When he came to power, despite being from the Chinese ethnicity, which is the majority in Singapore, he stripped himself of his ethnicity for the country's interest. He said, "We won't impose a language on other languages; we have the Chinese, Malawi, ...etc. Even though I belong to the biggest ethnicity, I won't favor it over other groups' languages. So, choose a language that isn't ethnically based; choose Chinese, for instance."

The second thing is that it's a country of laws. Lee Kuan realized that we have people who need ethics to be promoted in Singapore but have no sophisticated background or the culture that he wants there to put the country at the top. This will only happen by reinforcing strict laws to be applied to all people equally to upgrade the city and people in Singapore to high morality and become a role model for other countries. 

Singapore is a country of fines. Fines are imposed on everything. Imagine somebody getting into the store to buy a shirt, and the fines are labeled on it. Souvenirs show people about these fines. 

For example, this shirt's slogan refers to "pushing and flushing." If you don't press on to keep the restroom clean for whoever comes in after you, the fine is $300$. Don't spite; if you spit on the street, the fine is $300$. Vandalism, vandalizing public properties, and the penalties are jail and lashes.

The laws must be applied to all: the PM, the ministers, the people, and even foreigners from great countries. While in some countries, foreigners cannot be jailed like the Americans have that powerful position. However, in Singapore, you're like others. In the 1990s, for instance, something happened in this regard when an American guy, an 18-year-old, sprayed graffiti on some cars and vandalized other things, which are punishable by Singaporean law by jailing and lashing because people own public properties must be maintained. In the aftermath, he was sentenced to 4 months, 2300 $ OK, and lashed six times. 

At the time, President Clinton intervened because he was an American citizen, but Singaporeans refused his intervention and said, "He is like others." Laws in Singapore apply to all people, whether they are American or not. These laws are labeled on almost everything, even on the mug when you want to drink a coffee or pinned on the wall. 

This comes to keep reminding citizens about the importance of these laws. More about laws: Imagine that in Singapore, chewing gum is forbidden. Ahmad asks around about this matter, "When was the last time you ate chewing gum in Singapore?"

The person says, "It was seven years ago when I was ten, and I got it from Malaysia."

Another citizen said, "Two years ago, I got it from Malaysia."

A third one, "On Sunday."

Ahmad, "In Singapore?"

She said, "Yeah."

Ahmad, "Where did you get it from?"

She, "Overseas."

Ahmad, "Why?"

They, "because it's a contraband here."

Ahmad enters a grocery asking, "Hello, do you have chewing gum?"

The seller said, "No, no, no."

Ahmad, "she felt scared. So, there is no gum, and they feel scared when somebody asks them for gum. She thought that I was asking for drugs."

Why gum is prohibited?

There are two reasons. First, after it's eaten, the consumer throws it away on the street, which costs the country very much to clean it off, and this money comes from people. Eventually, the states' money is people's. Please don't say the state will spend on it; this is your money. Thus, the Singaporean government stated, "Why should we spend millions of dollars cleaning gum in the streets? We have an example in London where anybody can recognize the spots on the sidewalk, with millions of them there. It's tough to clean them off; this requires unusual cleaning. In London, they have special devices to clean gum off. To do this, the cleaners must put up a plastic fence around the area of cleaning where 3.5 billion gums are thrown on London's streets. The cost of cleaning gum in Britain is 10 million pounds annually. The Singaporean government stated, "We deserve this money instead of spending it on cleaning off the gum." As a result, gum was prohibited for 14 years. Then Bush -the U.S. president- came to negotiate to export gum to Singapore because the U.S. gum companies sell it out, making millions of revenue.

The Singaporean government allowed gum to be sold only at pharmacies. We couldn't record it because it's a sensitive matter. Of course, there is no gum in the pharmacy; this kind is medical gum, and it helps you give up smoking or cleaning your teeth. So, it's the only gum they have, and there is no gum in the supermarket either. They live without it; nothing happened to them, though. 

They changed from people spitting on the street and taking showers to being one of the cleanest people in the world. Who expected so? This transformation happened over a few years. The answer is the laws. 

Here, we compare individuals' incomes in Malaysia and Singapore; we start from 1965, and this income is almost close to $300 annually. Malaysia is red, and Singapore is blue, about $350 annually. 

The race starts after separation to see how each government managed its country; look at how Singapore and Malaysia trended up from the 1960s to 1970s, but its improvement differs from Singapore. In the 1990s, Singapore continued trending up. It attracted foreign investments by showing the spirit of coexistence among different groups. While Malaysia suffered a little bit, it kept developing. We ended in 2010, and the big difference is moving on to reach 31.000 $ per capita in Singapore and Malaysia only 12.000 $. 

This happened through willpower, persistence, well-planning, eliminating corruption, and planning the economy well, which improved Singapore by 80 times (x80) compared to the time of separation. Malaysia performed well, but less than Singapore; it reached half of the percentage of Singaporean improvement. 

Also, one of the mysteries behind Singaporean development is clearing up corruption; it was the first priority. It was a corrupt country in terms of bribes and nepotism. But they stood up and said, "We as a country must get rid of corruption so that laws will be applied to all people who encounter it."

The first thing Lee Kuan did when he took over the office was say, "This ministry is white." All should wear white clothes to express the purity of their hands—it's a symbolic matter to show impeccability when the country at all levels shows attention and doesn't allow corruption. 

Until now, there have been corruption issues shown in the media. Look at the civil defense minister before people were driven to the court to be sued for bribery in France, though not in Singapore. Politicians, thus, aren't protected in case of corruption there. The head of the church was tried after having been convicted of corruption. The religious denomination isn't impeccable, though.

If we want to eliminate corruption, all social denominations shall be under legal accountability and not protected for any reason. Singapore has reached development, civilization, and coexistence because of Lee Kuan, who studied at this school between 1930 and 1934. After graduating, he embarked on a long journey of presiding over Singapore. He was elected eight times because of his accomplishments. Moreover, his people were very thrilled under his rule. 

In the 1990s, he stepped down voluntarily as the PM of Singapore. This step was to leave this position to the new generation despite all his successes. This is a lesson, wisdom, and thinking.

A further reason for economic development in Singapore is commercial facilitation for citizens; it has a fundamental and direct role in economic growth. Singapore is one of the easiest countries in which to set up a business. Here, I'm hosted by Mr. Kinny in his house. We did an experiment to establish a company. I said to Kenny, "What company should we establish? Let's establish a media production company."

Then, he began surfing the internet and inserted his data. We named the company "Sahel Production," which was straightforward. Through the internet, he made sure whether another company already used the name, and in a few seconds, the result popped up. In some other countries, to make sure whether this name is used, you must go to the Ministry of Commerce and apply; then, you'll be given papers to look up by yourself, and the next step you may receive the response the next day. It's a long story to know if the name is already used. We knew this in only one second here. After completing the data, he applied. 

Kenny said, "Congratulations on successfully registering a new business." He received an email informing him that he'd receive a confirmation after 72 hours. The next day, he called us to tell us everything had been successfully done, and the "Sahel Company" was now available.

We went back to him. Over 28 hours, he received an email stating that his company was formally open.

Ahmad said, "You're the owner of the Sahel Production Co?"

Kenny, "Yes, I'm the boss."

He then printed the certificate out. It's a simple paper, different from that highly considered one. It's undersigned and sealed, including the owner's name and registration number—like a bill.

He said, "It's unimportant, and there's no need for it."

Ahmad, "We don't need to keep this paper."

Kenny, "No, we can hang it on the office's wall."

Ahmad, tearing the paper up, says, "This paper is just to show it when you go to a company. So, you don't need it formally. His company is on the list; he only needs this registration number."

This is Mr. Kinny, the executive director "CEO."

Kenny, "Yes."

Finally, this message of Singapore's story in this episode gives hope that whatever difficult things are and whatever backwardness in the streets, there is always hope for reformation and becoming like this. Even better, if there is wise leadership, people want to be developed, and a country working for all of this—government and people."

The end 

The text above is an audiovisual episode available in Arabic here. 

Translated by Nasser Al-Qadi