Sasa,
This is only a concern for those who still harbour the illusion that Western Europe and America will be able to help the Arabs. That has never been and will never be the case. I've become incredibly pessimistic in recent years and am a firm believer that success and rejuvenation will be from within.

Wassim, I agree with you, and I think all Arabists would. We can't depend on our colonial masters to help us.

But in an environment of conflict - where Israel and the US are preventing us developing, and providing an excuse to every leader in the region not to concentrate on domestic concerns. And at the same time, undermining opposition movements. How can we have faith in ourselves.

France's future support for Israel will make our development as Arab nations, far less likely.

S.

Sasa, firstly don't you mean "former" colonial masters ;)

Fair enough, we are not getting a break from anywhere, but in true Gramscian style, wouldn't the foundations of a new superstructure be patiently constructed in the rotting foundations of the old corrupt one?

Liberation begins in the mind before the body. The more educated, mentally and morally strong individuals that emerge throughout our countries, the more weaker ones will gravitate to them. The power of example and the spoken word worked once before and can again for us. It just takes some self discipline IMHO

No, I left out the word 'former' for a reason. Who can call the American-Iraqi relationship or American-Gulf, or the Israeli-Palestinian, or the French-Lebanese, or many, many others, anything but colonialism.

Almost every Arab country has characteristics similar to those of locally-ruled colonies.

The foundations aren't rotting - far from it. How can we rebuild, when the destruction continues?

And I don't believe there is a battle for ideas as you suggest. The more educated, liberated the individual, the more they are bound to oppose the Arab world's corrupt rule.

And the more they oppose authority, the more they are labelled traitors.

Ahh, good point on the Colonial label. I agree to that. I guess the situation is overall much more complex, but we both agree that more education is definitely the way forward.

However, what I fear is that we get an influx of Westernised Technocrats who would internalise big corporations and the Western elites' dialogue and would perpetuate this neo-colonialism without the people even realising it. I guess what we are both trying to answer is your question, "How can we have faith in ourselves?". I don't have the answer to that, but I imagine that several attempts begin with sounding negative, but the one that succeeds is the one which thinks it can find an answer. The dearest thing we are missing is our self belief, without it, we'll just keep sitting with "our hand on our cheek."

Wassim,

I did some reasearch into Western vs developing world NGOs, and I fear the influx of norms and ideas from one part of the world has already happened. Some powerful NGOs are perpetuating the colonialism which I'm sure they are opposed to. So it is already happening.

I agree, we must have faith or we have nothing! And education is definately definately the way forward. It is our problem, and we have no one but ourselves to blame. It has to change, and it is a change of attitude, not money, that's needed.