Sunday Times 2
From despair to hope, dare to dream the impossible dream
As we move into 2014 in an era of savage capitalism with its vices of selfishness, self-centtredness and greed, wars, violence and wickedness, deception and double-dealing, corruption and plunder of public money, we yet need to begin the year on a hopeful note.
Hope indeed springs eternal in human hearts and we could, for instance, fix our gaze on a prophetic proclamation made more than 700 years before Christ.
This proclamation part of which is the motto of the United Nations says nations will beat their swords into ploughshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nations will not rise against nations; they will train for war no more. It will be an era where the wolf will dwell with the lamb, the leopard will take rest with the kid, the calf and the lion cub will feed together, and a little child will lead them. Befriending each other, the cow and the bear will see their young ones lie down together. Like cattle, the lion will eat hay. By the cobra’s den the infant will play. Into the viper’s lair, the child will put his hand.
Most of what is happening today is a nightmare of a crisis within crisis, confusion or contradiction and do we dare to dream dreams of AK-47 Kalashnikovs being turned into chips, computers and smart phones. Indeed we could, if our hearts and minds are moved by the words of an immortal song: “Deep in the dusk of the twilight, dim be the region afar, will not the deepening darkness brighten the glimmering star. Then when the night is upon us, why should the heart shrink away, when the dark midnight is over, watch for the breaking of day.”
If milestones are needed for such faith and hope to be built upon, then 2013 provided it when we saw the largest gathering of leaders in world history to celebrate the life of the legendary statesman Nelson Mandela, who passed away to his eternal rest on December 5. Madiba or farther Mandela, who began as a shepherd boy in the poor but beautiful village of Qunu, suffered and was tortured in notorious prison camps for 27 years but eventually, conquered the Goliath of white supremacy. After a battle of about 40 years, he eventually became the first democratically elected black president of South Africa and what he did in four years could be written in more than 4,000 pages of history.
Having experienced inner liberation from any desire for personal gain or glory, power or popularity, Madiba sincerely and selflessly served all the people, black or white, whatever their religion. Most importantly, he had a vision and a mission based on freedom and justice, truth, forgiveness and reconciliation. In pursuit of this vision, Mr. Mandela set up the now famous Truth and Reconciliation Commission headed by close friend and counsellor Archbishop Desmond Tutu. The leaders of the white minority regime, its troops and supporters, were given an opportunity to come as they were, admit the truth of their lives and what they did, apologise and seek pardon from the people. In response to this, they were forgiven and given the opportunity to play their full role in society as they are doing now.
Pope Francis: Top priority for worldwide social issues
Significantly, one of the main speakers at the memorial ceremony was the last apartheid president F.W. de Klerk with whom Madiba had worked out the historic peace deal. The most important speech at the service came not so much from the United States President Barack Obama who was cheered like a rockstar but more so from Archbishop Tutu. He pleaded with the world leaders who had gathered there and the people all over the world that the greatest tribute they could pay to Madiba was not to erect statues or sing his praises but to do what he did and practise what he preached. If that happens, 2014 may turn out to be the beginning of an era, where we will see world leaders concentrating more on issues such as peaceful conflict resolution, poverty alleviation, social justice and the curbing of global warming or environmental pollution which is leading the whole world towards an apocalyptic catastrophe.
New Pope
Like Nelson Mandela, who was perhaps the greatest leader since Abraham Lincoln and Mahatma Gandhi, our focus of hope could also be centred on the people’s Pope Francis, who, since his sudden election in February, has been turning the Vatican, the Church and the world upside down. The Time Magazine’s person of the year, the Argentine born Pope began with a dramatic turn of events. It is traditional for a newly elected pope to come to the balcony of the Sistine Chapel and bless thousands of people who wait outside. But Pope Francis took the first step towards humility and participatory church by going to the balcony and seeking blessings from the people. With that began a spiritual revolution or an era of liberative spirituality that the world has not seen for more than 2000 years. Pope Francis decided to wear simple vestments and live in a room of the Vatican guest house instead of the palatial papal apartment. He discarded his Mercedes and chose to travel in a simple Ford.
Pledging he would preach less and practise more — unlike the hypocrites and sanctimonious humbugs who did not practice what they preach — Pope Francis declared he would give top priority to worldwide social issues such as poverty alleviation and peaceful conflict resolution. Some months ago, when the US was on the verge of launching airstrikes on war-battered Syria, Pope Francis publicly told the US President there must be no airstrikes as it would mainly affect more than 2 million refugees living in varying degrees of destitution, degradation and deprivation.
After making this public call, he had a full night of prayer at St. Peter’s Cathedral for peace in Syria. The next day, Russia which in the Soviet era was damned for its Godless atheism intervened to bring about a change of heart with Syria agreeing to surrender all its chemical weapons.
Pope Francis also declared that the globalised capitalist market economic policy which most countries had swallowed and were blindly following was the new golden calf. He said this policy of savage capitalism was making the rich richer and the poor poorer with thousands of super billionaires in one per cent of the population which owned or controlled more than 70 per cent of the world’s wealth and resources.
He said this hidden unjust structure must be dismantled to bring about a more equitable distribution of wealth and resources, social justice and an equal opportunity for all in vital areas such as health and education. Setting the precedent with a simple and humble lifestyle — or alpechchthawaya as we refer to it in Sri Lanka — Pope Francis called on the clergy to get off their pedestals or the comfort zones of their sanctuaries or sacristies, go out and get their feet muddied by getting involved in the struggles of the poor, the lonely and the marginalised.
On controversial worldwide issues such as divorce or separation, abortion or contraception, and even gay marriage, the Pope said he believed the Church was obsessed with such issues and therefore had developed an attitude that was judgmental and condemnatory. He called not so much for a change of doctrines or dogmas but for a change of attitude to be more merciful and compassionate like the Lord Jesus Christ. This has created some opposition in orthodox circles but the Pope is widely respected and loved by billions of people who believe not only their religious leaders but even political and other leaders should do what Pope Francis is doing. The Pope who many believe is bringing about a new Pentecost focused largely on the Syrian crisis when he gave his Christmas message on Wednesday. He called on world leaders to act fast to end the carnage and bring about peace amid speculation the Pope might play a vital role in the upcoming peace talks.
Syria the darkest night spot
In contrast to Mr. Mandela and Pope Francis, where it was a case of living for others and for purposes beyond themselves, the darkest night spot in the world today is Syria. Most analysts see it as the gravest crisis since the Second World War and a flashpoint that could trigger the third and obviously the final nuclear war where the world will destroy itself. As we enter 2014, prospects for the peace talks scheduled to be held in Geneva on January 22, are clouded in confusion and contradictory claims if not bloody chaos. The besieged Bashar al-Assad regime is surrendering its chemical weapons to an international body and says it is ready for a peaceful resolution of the conflict. The UN Security Council’s permanent members – the US, Russia, China, Britain and France — together with Germany, known as P5+1, are also ready but far from optimistic about the talks, the main reason for the generally negative if not sceptical feeling is the division among the Syrian rebel factions with the once dominant group the Free Syrian Army now being overpowered by the al-Qaeda-affiliated groups including the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS).
The US and other western powers have suspended even non-lethal supplies to the rebels amid concern that it may end up in the hands of extremist groups. They fear that if the Assad regime is overthrown by a pro-Qaeda group, the calamity might become a catastrophe with the creation of the first al-Qaeda state and politically, it might be something worse than even 9/11. What an irony! The wheel has not only turned full circle but it appears to be running over the driver. So where do we go from here? Will it be from here to eternity? The US and the Western powers have one motive. Saudi Arabia and Israel another. Iran and other regional countries such as Qatar and Turkey also have their own agendas. Other factors in this crisis include oil politics, pipeline politics and sectarianism involving the Hezbollah and other groups. Most analysts say the only hope is for all parties including Iran to play a full role in the conflict resolution process and try to find some accommodation on a middle path or a win-win solution. This needs to be done and done now because, according to UN figures announced on Wednesday, the number of documented deaths in Syria has soared to 120,000 while the number of refugees is more than two million with the horror of horrors being that upto one million of them are children below 12.
Iran deal
In contrast to Syria, Iran’s new President Hassan Rouhani is taking dramatic steps to re-establish dialogue and hopefully diplomatic relations with the United States after the 1979 revolution which led to not only a breakdown in ties with the US but the downfall of the then US President Jimmy Carter. President Rouhani during his visit to the UN for the General Assembly sessions, had a surprise telephone dialogue with President Obama and since then ties are improving, step by step, with Teheran agreeing to open its nuclear facilities for UN inspection and curb its nuclear enrichment though an angry Israel led by the hawkish Benjamin Netanyahu threatens to attack Iran if the US works out a deal with Mr. Rouhani.
Egypt’s Arab winter
In Egypt, where the Arab Spring bloomed fully and promised what appeared to be something even better than Tunisia, the Nile appears to be flowing backwards and the country looking like the tomb of the pharaohs. After the long-time dictator Hosni Mubarak was toppled in the people power revolution, hopes were high that the whole Arab world would be blessed by freedom and democracy movements. But in July this year, the Egyptian military, making use of large scale public protests against what the opposition saw as the democratically elected President Mohammed Morsi’s pro-Islamic Brotherhood policies, moved into take over and install what is widely seen as a puppet military government. Military strongman Abel Fatah al-sisi says a new constitution is being drawn up and democratic elections will be held. But his promises and fate appear to be similar to what happened to the pharaoh in the Moses era.
In Palestine, the key area in the Middle East, hopes keep going up and down with President Obama apparently looking at history books and Secretary of State John Kerry shuttling between Palestine and Jerusalem to set the table for peace talks as we enter 2014. Almost every US president since the 1970s has tried and failed to work out a widely acceptable two-state solution. But analysts believe Mr. Obama who is more committed than others and wearing a Nobel peace hat, appears to have some chance of resisting the powerful Jewish lobby and getting Mr. Netanyahu to agree to a fair and just solution. The hardline Zionist policies of the Netanyahus appear to have put Israel in political exile now just as the Jews were sent into exile several times in history.
Brave girl Malala
Pakistani student Malala Yousafzai (2nd R) is greeted by United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon in New York during the UN Youth Assembly. The UN has declared July 12 “Malala Day”, which is also Yousafzai's birthday, and will host the UN Youth Assembly. AFP
In Asia, we saw the emergence of another personality like Madiba or the Pope. The 16-year-old Pakistani girl Malala Yousafzai has been hitting world headlines since the Taliban shot and almost killed her for defying extremist laws and promoting full education for girls. Recovering almost miraculously from serious head injuries, Malala was given the honour of addressing the UN General Assembly where she vowed she would continue to fight and was even ready to sacrifice her life to bring about equality between men and women.
The teenage girl was also widely tipped to get the Nobel peace prize but it went to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.
Malala’s Pakistan also saw another historic feat. For the first time in history, a democratically elected government led by President Asif Ali Zardari – husband of the slain former premier Benazir Bhutto – was able or allowed by the powerful military to complete its full term. Peaceful and fair general elections were held to bring former Premier Nawaz Sharif back to office but he is overloaded with crises including the battle with the Taliban and the continuing US drone strikes.
Hope in South Asia
In neighbouring Afghanistan, more than 12 years after the then US president George W. Bush sent tens of thousands of troops reportedly to defeat the al-Qaeda and its Taliban host, the US troops are preparing to withdraw by the end of next year. But with Afghanistan, like Iraq, being in a bloodier hell hole than it was before the US invasion, uncertainty looms over what will happen and in whose hands the country will end up.
In neighbouring India, the big negative story was the brutal gangrape of a 23-year-old medical student in a public bus. The tragedy set off a countrywide uproar with the government bringing in tough legislation against rape or sexual harassment of women. On the positive side, the Indian parliament this month passed sweeping anti-corruption laws whereby even the Prime Minister and union ministers or state chief ministers could be tried by an independent panel. This came after a relentless campaign by civic action activists, including Anna Hazare. Many here hope the Sri Lankan civic right activists also will take a lesson from this.
China and Big Brother
With China emerging as a superpower, politically, militarily and economically, high tension has arisen with Japan over a series of disputed islands which are believed to be rich in oil and gas resources. After warnings and counter-warnings China last month declared an air defence zone over the islands but Japan and its closest ally, the United States, are scoffing and defying China’s move. Most analysts are warning that this also could escalate into a major conflict, because the US has also shifted its focus towards Asia and wants to play a dominant role with the backing of Japan and India.
Some decades ago, when George Orwell wrote its famous novel, 1984, many believed the Big Brother he referred to could turn out to be the Soviet KGB. But with the collapse of the Soviet empire in 1991, the real Big Brother has emerged and in an irony of ironies it has turned out to be a country which sits on the Statue of Liberty. The defection of Edward Snowden, a contractor working for the US National Security Agency, has brought about shocking revelations that the US is spying not only on foes, but on friends also with the mobile phone of German Chancellor Angela Merkel and other leaders being tapped. Mr. Snowden, who has been given temporary asylum in Russia, appeared on Channel 4 on Wednesday to give the alternative Christmas message where he referred to the US as being bigger than the Big Brother, reminding people of the parable of Cain.
As 2014 dawns, a better and just world appears to be an illusion or an impossible dream. But the civic conscious people of the world need to arise and dream those impossible dreams to fight the impossible foes, climb every mountain, search every sea and follow every rainbow until we find our dream.
| 2013 farewells
1. Margaret Thatcher, Britain’s first woman prime minister, died of a stroke in London on April 8, at the age of 87. She was the longest-serving British prime minister of the 20th century, in office from 1979 to 1990. Public reactions to the news of her death were mixed, ranging from tributes praising her as Britain’s greatest-ever peacetime prime minister to expressions of deep vitriol from those who suffered as a result of her policies. 2. Nelson Mandela, South Africa’s first black president and anti-apartheid icon, died at his home in Johannesburg on December 5, at the age of 95. Mandela led the country’s transition from white-minority rule in the 1990s, after spending 27 years in prison for his political activities. 3. Irish actor Peter O’Toole, star of the 1962 film classic Lawrence of Arabia, died on December 14, aged 81. 4. Prince Johan Friso, second son of the former Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, died on August 21 after 18 months in a coma following a skiing accident. 5. Jorge Rafael Videla, de facto President of Argentina from 1976-81, died in jail on May 17, aged 87. 6. British novelist Doris Lessing died at her home in London on November 17, aged 94. She was the oldest person to receive the Nobel Prize for Literature – in 2007 when she was 88. 7. American actor Paul Walker, best known for his role in the action movie, The Fast and The Furious, died in a high-speed car accident in Los Angeles on November 30. 8. Seamus Heaney, acclaimed by many as the best Irish poet since WB Yeats, died in Dublin on August 30. 9. British physiologist Sir Robert Edwards, whose pioneering IVF technique helped bring more than five million children into the world, died on April 10, aged 87. 10. British biochemist Frederick Sanger, the only person to have won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry twice, died in hospital in Cambridge, aged 95, on November 19. 11. Veteran British broadcaster Sir David Frost died on August 30, aged 74, after suffering a heart attack while on board a cruise ship where he was due to give a speech 12. Vo Nguyen Giap, the brilliant and ruthless general who led the outgunned Vietnamese to victory first over the French and then the Americans, died in Hanoi on October 4, aged 102. A national hero, Giap’s guerrilla army encircled and crushed the French army at Dien Bien Phu in 1954, an unlikely victory that led to Vietnam’s independence and hastened the collapse of colonialism across Indochina. Giap then defeated the U.S.-backed South Vietnam government in April 1975, reuniting a country that had been split into communist and non-communist states. 13. U.S. singer and former Velvet Underground frontman Lou Reed died from liver disease at the age of 71, on October 27. 14. Joan Fontaine, one of the most successful film actresses of the 1940s and 50s, died in California on December 16 at age 96. 15. James Gandolfini, the U.S. actor best known for his role as a therapy-seeking mob boss in The Sopranos, died on June 19, while on holiday in Italy. 16. Renowned Nigerian author Chinua Achebe died on March 21, aged 82. One of Africa’s best known authors, his 1958 debut novel Things Fall Apart, which dealt with the impact of colonialism in Africa, sold over 10 million copies. 17. Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez died on March 5, aged 58, following a two-year battle with cancer. The former paratroop commander waged a continual struggle for his socialist ideals, defeating a coup attempt, winning re-election three times and using his country’s vast oil wealth to his political advantage. A self-described “subversive”, Chavez modelled himself on 19th century independence leader Simon Bolivar and renamed his country the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. He thrived on confrontation with Washington, on one occasion memorably referring to President George W. Bush as a “donkey”. 18. Reeva Steenkamp, a well-known South African model and girlfriend of Paralympic gold medallist Oscar Pistorius, was shot dead in the bathroom of Pistorius’s apartment in a gated housing complex in Pretoria in the early hours of February 14, Valentine’s Day. - Graphic News |
