There is no better example than Iran. The Iranian government is not a victim of this, they deserve any revealing coverage that comes their way. It’s a country that thrives on its own people’s blood and by executing people at such a fast rate that it’s difficult to be shocked or even shaken by such news anymore. People hear about it so often that it’s numbing. They hear about it mostly because it’s accessible. U.S and Israeli media report it every day as a strategy to empower itself. It’s a brutal psychological war that uses real lives and real personal stories, real people, to give itself more power. The more it happens, the more they celebrate it. It shows from their energetic coverage of such news. For their convenience, such news helps to divert your attention away from their own crimes and their own dirty games that play a big role in today’s political and human rights crisis across our countries. Protesters shot and killed in Saudi Arabia or Bahrain? Move along people, nothing to see here.

Many of my activist friends in Iran share this same feeling. These governments (also oppressive) taking advantage of these activists who risk their own freedoms to expose these stories and who, as a consequence, have to witness these stories being used against them. We all know that the U.S and Israel, and their allies, have no interest in human rights and in us as human beings. They have an interest in their political and economic status, and to maintain Israel’s role as a superpower in the region, one that also thrives on blood and murder. But the U.S regards that as “necessary crimes” for Israel’s “survival,” though Iran and Syria can claim the same thing. They kill for the survival of their current government and current structure and to protect the current people in power. You can justify anything if you try to and sometimes it would even make sense, it just would never be right. Especially if it means you end up putting even more people in danger than they already were, which is what both the U.S and Israel are doing with its narrow coverage.

Some people ask why others are so focused on Israel when there are crimes happening in their own countries or other neighboring ones. The answer is that coverage of these issues gets in the wrong hands all too often. These are powerful hands who call the shots (literally.) In one instance you still want the entire world to know what crimes your government is committing and in another you don’t want to empower occupying and imperialist forces to use that as justice for their interference. A lot of people feel that the latter is an important struggle because the human rights movements feels incomplete without it.

Unfortunately for us, this will happen regardless of our fight against it. That doesn’t mean we can sit back and watch it happen, but we should expose it and discourage it and even refrain from speaking with certain journalists at certain papers and state our reasons why so that they understand that we’re not going to help their agendas that are in direct competition with ours. And our agenda is the simplest demand that is the hardest to fight for: to be free. Free from tyrannical regimes and free from occupying foreign forces.

Contrary to what the Turkish government would like you to believe, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, was not born out of thirst for baby’s blood. No, the Kurdish guerrillas in the mountains of Turkey are not all callous sociopaths who gain pleasure from terrorizing villages and kidnapping women and children. The propaganda machine, that is the Turkish state, has been hard at work since the 1970’s trying to paint the most horrific image of the Kurdish movement, and it has been relatively successful in swaying the opinions of major world powers, and a large portion of the general public.

The PKK is listed as a terrorist organization by a number of countries and international institutions, including the United States and the European Union. Since what constitutes “terrorism” has yet to be defined in international law, let’s take a look at what the word means according to Turkish law. In Article 1 of Turkey’s Anti-Terror Law (TMK), “terrorism” is defined as “any kind of act done … with the aim of changing the characteristics of the Republic as specified in the Constitution.”

Based on that description alone, one can infer that in Turkey any form of dissent can be categorized as terrorism. And when you take the racist nature of the country’s constitution into consideration, it becomes disturbingly clear that any advocacy of minority rights is severely punishable under Turkish law. This is the reason why dozens of local and international organizations, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have called for the abolition of TMK.

Nevertheless, the US and EU stand firmly behind Turkey’s “war against terrorism”.

So what is it about the word “terrorism” that gives states license to persecute and harass without repercussion? In fact, when the term first appeared in the English language during the 18th century, it meant “systematic use of terror as policy”. Today, however, the word is vastly distorted and abused by oppressive governments to incite fear and intolerance in the populace. In recent years, we have witnessed a transformation of the term “terrorism” from denoting an instrument of governance to being synonymous with “opposition”.

It was Noam Chomsky who said “the terrorism they don’t like is called ‘terrorism’ and the terrorism they do like, because they carry it out or their allies carry it out, is called ‘counter-terrorism’”, which brings us to the Turkey-PKK issue.

Turkish intellectuals, in an effort to complicate the matter, present the conflict as a “chicken and egg” dilemma; an endlessly looping question of which came first and who is at fault. While the Turkish state cunningly uses the expression “counter-terrorism” to give the illusion that it is simply defending its sovereignty from vicious criminals who emerged suddenly to quench their thirst for destruction. But what they neglect to mention is the decades of brutal oppression and genocide that was imposed on the Kurdish population before they took to the mountains and began to fire back. It is noteworthy that when the PKK first began the armed struggle, most of its commanders and leaders had served prison sentences for pursuing civil and political rights for the Kurds within the democratic and legal boundaries of the Republic.

At this time, I’d like to pose this question to the dear reader: Who is the terrorist, the state that systematically arrests, represses, tortures and slaughters, or the disenfranchised minority who finally stands up and defends itself?

True, both parties employ violence in pursuit of political aims, but considering the scope and scale of the Turkish military and police forces – not to mention the state propaganda system – there is no way the two can be compared logically.

Perhaps even more damaging than the physical violence inflicted on Kurds in Turkey is the psychological terror. Since the country was established on false notions of cultural homogeneity and linguistic uniformity, the indigenous Kurdish population has suffered a distinctive sort of ethnic cleansing. Immediately following the formation of the Turkish Republic, the Kurdish language, along with schools, associations and publications – all manifestations of Kurdish identity – were prohibited. The term “Kurd” was banished. Turkish Army General and the country’s second president, Ismet Inonu, summarized the ideology of the new state in these terms: “Before the Turkish majority other elements have no kind of influence. At any price, we must Turkify the inhabitants of our land, and we will annihilate those who oppose.” Thus began the psychological war.

The policies and practices of devastation, depopulation and dismantlement of the Kurdish society continued into the 21st century, but these appalling facts are presented to the public under a different light. In a letter sent to his prime minister, former President Turgut Ozal suggested: “The scope of our activity in releasing press statements, leaking news, and if need be, spreading ‘disinformation’ should be increased.” This has been the government’s number one weapon in maintaining the status quo, as founder of Kurdish Institute in Paris, Kendal Nezan, explains, “Skillful and effective misinformation convinced a segment of the public that the Turkish state was in essence only defending its territorial integrity against terrorist maneuvers.” While sustaining this false appearance of virtue, Turkey has succeeded in rallying international support for its war against the Kurdish people.

Storming through neighborhoods, kicking down doors, snatching mothers and fathers away from their petrified children during late hours of the night; is this not terrorism? Perpetual arrests are standard for Kurds living in Turkey. Police regularly raid homes and offices of Kurdish individuals and organizations. Being Kurdish is all that’s necessary to fit the state’s vague depiction of a terrorist. Turkish prisons are overflowing with thousands of Kurdish activists and human rights defenders, as well as children, journalists and lawyers.

Violently attacking peaceful demonstrators; is this not terrorism? One characteristic of a democratic society is freedom of assembly, but in Turkey almost every nonviolent gathering organized by Kurds is brought to a bitter end by brutal police intervention. Time and again, peaceful protesters have been killed or severely injured by gas grenades, high pressured water cannons, rubber bullets, and – in the recent cases of Ayhan Yildirim and Murat Elibol – actual bullets.

Deliberately dropping bombs on civilian areas, killing scores of innocent children, and leaving others orphaned; using illegal chemical weapons; proudly posing for photos with mutilated corpses; continually shelling and conducting military raids during a ceasefire; are these acts not the embodiment of terrorism? And can the men and women who order and engage in such behavior not be regarded as terrorists, notwithstanding the flag under which they serve?

On the subject of terror and violence, Nelson Mandela famously stated that, “it is the oppressor who defines the nature of the struggle, and the oppressed is often left no recourse but to use methods that mirror those of the oppressor.” The PKK’s “terrorism” is an easy scapegoat for Turkey, but we mustn’t let be forgotten the decades of merciless persecution the Kurdish people endured before they resorted to armed action. The Kurds have repeatedly declared that they do not wish to change the borders of Turkey. And although making it clear that their struggle is for equality and fundamental human rights for minorities within a democratic Turkey, the state continues to label Kurdish activists as “terrorists” and “separatists”. Through official propaganda, the Turkish government breeds racism, intolerance and ignorance in the populace, allowing for this vicious circle of terror to persist.

In essence, Turkey’s Anti-Terror Law is an instrument of institutionalized racism, as it gives the government consent to round up Kurdish politicians and civil servants under the fallacious pretext of wiping out terrorism. Turkey is further emboldened, not only by the west’s continuing silence in regards to atrocities committed against the Kurds, but by its willingness to provide weapons and arms under the spurious justification of “fighting terrorism”. Additionally, the international media continues to accept and regurgitate Turkey’s psychological warfare of misinformation and lies, leading to the utter criminalization of the Kurds’ legitimate struggle for basic rights and freedoms. Only after Turkey abolishes its undemocratic Anti-Terror Law and, together with its western allies, decriminalizes the legitimate demands of the Kurdish people, will a peaceful and political solution to Turkey’s most fundamental issue be possible.

For the next 2 days the workshop will open a discussion about laws and regulation in Iraq that concerns freedom of speech and censorship laws. Bloggers will work together to discuss new media applications and technologies and how they can use it to share information and building each other’s blogging networks and capabilities. The conference in held by help of IMS and HR institutes to develop new media in Iraq.

Several Arab and Iraqi bloggers had sent a video message that will be shared during the lectures, and several speakers will discuss media, freedom of speech and blogging.

wameeth@gmail.com

I’m not saying we should provide a one-sided view about maids in the Gulf. Complaints will exist and some are legitimate. However, journalists, columnists, bloggers and editors need to be extremely alert and cautious about how they are framing these issues. Maids lack a lot of legal rights in our countries, thanks in part to the sponsorship system which leaves them completely vulnerable to abuse, but they also suffer from a considerable amount of racist discrimination throughout our societies. Look no further than an average mall or an airport anywhere from Doha to Manama to witness the despicable treatment of South Asian workers. It’s common enough that it’s impossible to deny.

We need to highlight our outrage to these editors who don’t know any better than to publish this propaganda that seemingly encourage racism and normalizes classism. Why push for the idea that maids are “pampered” when they have incredibly demanding jobs under little to no protection? Why complain about the expenses involved in hiring a maid when they get the least amount of compensation which amount to nothing in comparison to the average salary in the Gulf? And more importantly, why amplify these self-absorbed voices instead of the voices of victims and their families that are barely recognized? Thousands of families are still demanding justice for their siblings, mothers, fathers, sons or daughters who have disappeared without trace upon arriving to our countries. They are forgotten and dismissed.

In a previous article I took similar issue with one of the other pieces published by this same paper. Sadly other local papers appear to have been inspired to be following a similar trend. This is a grave problem.

For a publication called Emirates 24/7 the editors should consider creating a section to discuss the “24/7 workers” who work insane hours on a daily basis to provide for complete strangers, sometimes under deplorable conditions. They spend years doing this. Some don’t come out of it alive. Some take their own lives. Some patiently go through each day despite not having their salaries paid on time or in full. Some get beaten to death. Some get raped.

This isn’t to generalize and claim that all domestic workers go through these issues, but they do happen in such frequency that we should be alarmed and informed enough to take action. We should never dismiss these as the “few” cases – there’s enough of these cases that makes this OUR problem. Every single week for an entire year there’s one story after another about these incidents and yet the outcry remains largely invisible particularly in these media outlets, who instead publish these horrid stories about maids being “pampered.”

So I have a few questions for Shuchita Kapur, one of the authors of such offensive and unnecessary op-ed pieces. You think it’s tough having to “pamper” a maid? Having to provide for her the way she gave up years of her life to provide for you? Having to grant this individual who catered to your every need a decent request? Go through one day as a maid and I assure you, you will never complain again. I’m confident it will change the tone of your stories when you realize the challenges and physical/psychological pressures involved in the job. When you are turned away from public spaces, mocked, dismissed, and harassed because the entire community around you deems you so pitiful to the point of worthlessness. When the idea of reuniting with your family is a distant dream that may or may never happen depending on nothing but pure “luck” because your protection is never guaranteed.

Shuchita, I doubt you have the strength required to endure this pain.

It might appear from the influx of tragic stories that these maids are weak and helpless. Make no mistake in assuming that. Most have the inspiring courage, determination, and patience necessary to survive decades of abuse, imprisoned in a household where they are taken advantage of, mistreated and never appreciated, all the while missing out on watching their own families grow. How many of us can go through that?

It’s time for us to urgently take a stance against trivializing abuse of migrant workers in the media.

Unrest in Syria, domestic and foreign conflicts, unstable economics, and ever increasing sanctions are some of many factors challenging Iranian’s regime. The question arises, whether the current circumstances can be taken advantage of by the working class, students, and generally the opposition and the green movement?

A national state requires its different components to be in accordance in order to function properly. After its allegedly rigged presidential elections, over two years ago, the Iranian government was faced a political crisis. While the opposition was heavily oppressed, the new government also had to cope with the burdens of the Islamic republic, ranging from economical deficits to foreign struggles. Removing subventions and establishing diplomatic relations with Latin American countries were just a few of newly introduced policies. However these efforts could not sufficiently stabilize the compromised integrity and legitimacy of the government. On the contrary the opposition is making an effort to reorganize, domestic conflicts are getting radicalized and the economy is on its downturn. Moreover the controversial nuclear program and the sanctions added on the pressure.

From a strategic point of view, the opposition can make best of the current regime’s dilemma to reach its own goals. At the moment the opposition has the opportunity to dispute the aforementioned matters and their consequences on the society. If the opposition succeeds to take a stand on these issues it may be able to reunite different groups and mobilize masses. The western interest on one hand and the conflicts inside the regime on the other hand made a momentum to be used by the opposition.

1) Video: On Sunday 5 Feb 2012, villagers from Al-Walaja and international supporters went to the area where the Israeli apartheid authorities were still destroying lands to build a wall that will isolate the villagers from their remaining lands and allow for further expansion of the illegal colonies of Gilo and Har Gilo. Already over 90% of the village lands were taken for colonial settler activities in the past 6 decades. The area this short video was taken is just around the oldest tree in Bethlehem district (an olive tree > 3,000 year old).

2) The “Herzliya Conference” just concluded. This is the annual conference that brings the elites of the Israeli military industrial complex together to plot “strategy” in a coastal town named after the founder of Political Zionism Theodor Herzl. This location is on ethnically-cleansed Palestinian land (see for history of the location). Shimon Peres, a war criminal and architect of Israel’s arsenal of Weapons of Mass Destruction appropriately opened as a key note speaker. There were several sessions that touched on Iran including “Iran: Will Sanctions Work?” and “The Ticking Clock: Dissuading and containing Iran’s strategic ambitions” where war criminals like Danny Ayalon debated whether it is enough to continue to use clandestine terrorist operations in Iran or whether we need to push the US to start another war like they did on Iraq (one million civilians killed so far) on behalf of Israel. There was a session on “Galilee: Setting Priorities for Regional Development” where a number of Jewish Zionists discuss how to transform the Galilee into a Jewish area (without consulting the native inhabitants of the Galilee).

The Galilee and Negev were left with a good number of Palestinians after the ethnic cleansing during the foundation of “Israel”. There were sessions titled things like “Advancing Israel Normalization in the International Community” where efforts to whitewash apartheid are celebrated and plans for new propaganda and lobbying campaigns debated. There were also sessions celebrating the anniversary of the Jewish National Fund or KKL (Keren Keyemeth L’Israel), a group that participated for decades in ethnic cleansing and continues to do so (e.g. in the Negev where Bedouins are being displaced to Judaicize the Negev). Participants were also taken to military bases and training facilities of the apartheid army so that they could visit with the most moral army that caused the largest post-World War II refugee crisis and that has murdered over 25,000 children. There was even some talk about how to get Mahmoud Abbas (whose term has expired long ago) to return to fruitless and endless negotiations. After all, the “Peace process industry” needs to be revived so that more time is allowed for continued rape of Palestine (expanding colonial settlement etc)! In over 20 sessions, not one dealt with what the natives of Palestine (Christians and Muslims) go through or how we feel. To cap the “conference” the Israeli government made announcements of more land confiscation (e.g. 430 dunums in Nahhalin) and more home demolitions (e.g. in Al-Aqaba).

Shamelessly, the head of the United Nations Ban Ki Moon addressed this gathering of apartheid leaders. Also Mr. John Baird, foreign minister of Canada (with MP Irwin Cotler) came to claim that Canada supports Apartheid Israel. Mr. Riad Al-Khoury from Jordan came and thus also lent his blessings to apartheid. There was also the Zionist Zoelnick (head of the World Bank) and a few other American Jewish Zionists “discussing” how best to get Israel even more money and arms from our taxes.

I guess I should look on the positive side: that this year, there were less of those “Internationals” willing to show their faces at this circus. But it is a distraction to blame these rich elites but ultimately it is our responsibility to make sure that we end their games of domination, war, and destruction. People are taking on the responsibility of change and each of us can do more to advance peace with justice. The horrific events in Egypt (where 80 people were killed when fans of two football teams collided) also remind us of the worst element of human weaknesses. It then matters a lot what those who disapprove DO.

Unfortunately, many of our closest supporters and even Palestinians themselves do not understand basic issues relating to Palestine and the Israeli apartheid system. Because of these misunderstandings, they make devastating choices including for example supporting the mythical “two state solution”. I will not discuss here why it is mythical and why it is what led us to 20 years suspension of the Palestinian liberation Struggle in return for an industry of negotiations (yes an industry that is profiting some Palestinians who became invested in the status quo (i.e. in the occupation) and addicted to the “security aid” and “humanitarian aid” that comes primarily from the US and Europe (respectively). I already discussed this in detail in my 2004 book “Sharing the Land of Canaan”. But I am also willing to debate anyone in pubic on these issues.

3) Example of action: I wrote to these email addresses the letters below about Brussels Air promoting Israeli apartheid. Please read and if interested to write or take action based on your conscience, then please do. That is how change happens in society: when enough people say enough is enough!

To Brussels Air and Ink Global
wlemmes@brusselsairlines.com
gsciot@brusselsairlines.com
info@btheremag.com
jane.wright@ink-global.com
jenny.mcneely@ink-global.com
Bart.Beirlant@standaard.be

You did not respond to my earlier email (copy below) sent three weeks ago about your January 2012 Brussels Air magazine’s shameless promotion of Israeli apartheid. But then when I returned home from Belgium, I noted that this was not the first time you are promoting Apartheid Israel as a destination. In fact, your web-page which I just checked http://www.btheremag.com starts out with the August 2011 issue promoting Tel Aviv and stolen Palestinian food (Falafel) as if it is an Israeli food “Tasting Tel Aviv: Where Fashion meets Falafel”. So I am now personally boycotting your airline and will be promoting a boycott of your airlines.

Sincerely,
Mazin Qumsiyeh, PhD

Earlier email:

Dear Colleagues in Brussels Air and Ink Global

It was my first trip on Brussels Air and it will likely be the last. Your B.There! Airline magazine soured my trip since it promoted apartheid. Imagine if at the height of Apartheid in South Africa, your magazine chose to highlight the white part of the segregated country and promoted it in three distinct locations in one issue, something you do not do for any other of the nearly 200 destinations to normal cities/countries. This is precisely what you did by promoting Apartheid Israel in three locations in your January 2012 issue: On page 14 you promoted “Tel Aviv Art weekend”, on page 50 you promoted a Tel-Aviv “food blog”, and in page 55 you had feature article advertising (free) an Israeli company (Uploads). Brussels Air according to your magazine and website flies to nearly 200 destinations around the world. Yet, I saw most of those not mentioned in this magazine let alone deserving of three free promotional items.

This alone is favoritism but is scandalous when we add the fact that Israel is recognized by people around the world as an apartheid state and there is a worldwide movement for boycotts, divestments, and sanctions (BDS) called for by Palestinian Civil Society.

I realize Brussels Air contracts with a British company to do their magazine and the mistaken bias likely originated with Ink Global. Perhaps in your next magazine you can promote Palestine alternative tourism (www.atg.ps and http://sirajcenter.org/ ) or highlight the way Belgians are traveling to help their fellow human beings like in the upcoming welcome to Palestine Campaign (http://bienvenuepalestine.com/). I would be happy to help.

I have an email list of more than 50,000 activists and depending on your answer to this email, I will write to them to encourage a boycott of this airline. After all, there are other ways to travel without being pelted with free advertisements for apartheid Israel.

Sincerely,

Mazin Qumsiyeh, PhD
Palestinian – American Professor and author currently on speaking tour in Belgium

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4) Sabeel 7th Young Adult Conference. Challenging Oppression, on a Donkey: Christ, Resistance, and Creative Discipleship.
4 -15 July 2012

Needless to say, the issue of what the international community’s response should be to the Syrian uprising has even our brightest political leaders perplexed. The leaders of the main Syrian opposition group, the Syrian National Council, have used this UN meeting to bring out their new found diplomacy skills in full force, demanding that the Security Council pass a resolution condemning Bashar Al-Assad, and demanding some sort of (diplomatic and economic) intervention.

While the focus is on Syria, however, it is the Arab League that has enjoyed the spotlight, as it has formally led the campaign “for” Syria within the international community. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has been the most grateful out of anyone for the Arab League’s leadership, and as diplomats have organized further meetings to pass a resolution about Syria, Clinton has continued to parade the Arab League’s initiative as the path that Syrians and the international community should follow. The initiative itself calls for Bashar Al-Assad to step down and relinquish power to one of his vice-Presidents, who will then form a “unity government” within two months. At last, one might say. A specific plan. A path. Maybe one that we can waltz down. Syrians should breathe a sigh of relief.

A proposed UN resolution, then, would throw some support to this Arab League initiative, but the how, where, and why of it has member states quabbling. Russia has stood firm against any explicit calls for Assad to step down, nor would it accept an arms embargo or sanctions of any sort. As it stands, the debate over the resolution will continue into the weekend as Russia attempts to navigate away from calling for “further measures” should Assad fail to comply with the resolution after 21 days. Russia would prefer the word “steps” over “measures”.

And so the waltz music screeches.

Watching this debacle, I don’t know what to think, except that I’m vaguely reminded of the Palestinian bid for statehood in the General Assembly last September. Sure, some action is better than no action, some might say, but is this action actually just spinning us in circles? The United Nations is a corrupt, inept bureacratic system rigidly set up in a way to protect the interests of more powerful nations and preserving the status quo. When Palestine was voted as a state in the General Assembly, Israeli guns did not stop shooting, and Palestinian bodies did not stop suffering. Instead, a specific, PC idea of Palestine led by the Palestinian Authority was oh so graciously allowed to participate in the same system that disenfranchised it to begin with.

That is not waltzing. That is monkey in the middle.

Rather than reassure me that everything will be all right in the end, this recent game of diplomatic charades has me worried about who do these people really think Syria belongs to. The only reason I’m not more worried, is because I know they’re useless. And my worry will begin when anyone thinks that they are of some use. As much as I would appreciate an arms embargo that stops Russia from feeding Bashar’s killing machine, and as much as I want to believe that targeted sanctions will chip away at the regime, I refuse to be the monkey in monkey in the middle and thank everyone for letting me play.

The United Nations, the United States, the Arab League, and the whole damned lot have no interest in the lives of Syrian people, not in Syrian freedom and not in a electrical powerful, free and fair and shouting out loud Syria. When I hear the condemnation of Assad, I know they’re not speaking the same language that I am. They’re not dancing.

It does not matter if Russia rolls over and plays good doggy to American demands. (Seriously though it’d be nice if they stop this whole arming business.) It does not matter if a resolution is passed tomorrow. Syrians are fighting for a new world of possibility, and the United Nations and Arab League are the picture perfect representation of the old one. Whats more, it takes away the emphasis of Syrian liberation belonging in Syrian hands and places the responsibility for ousting Assad on the shoulders of diplomats rather than the shoulders of protesters. The Syrian National Council is the mechanism for which this happens, by making diplomacy and tragedy the public face of the Syrian revolution, rather than grassroots mobilization, individual sacrifice, and a unity among the Syrian people the likes that has never been seen.

Don’t get me wrong, protests alone will not bring down Bashar Al-Assad. But neither will playing games. Although the priority right now must be the downfall of the current regime, Syrians must not allow the current “support” of regimes as corrupt as Bashar’s to influence the creation of our new political consciousness. The debacle at the UN may cause some good, but will definitely cause harm, if Syrians themselves are not the very strong leaders of this very complicated dance.

The normal conclusions you’d draw from knowing these things are that the Internet is an amazing tool to connect people, a powerful way of spreading information and changing opinions, and a vast world to explore and so on. On the other hand, the conclusion drawn by many dictatorships is that the internet is dangerous when used by the peoples they try to oppress. This is illustrated in how censorship is implemented in states such as China and Iran and in how social media such as Facebook have become symbols of revolution in the Arab Spring movement. It is therefore no surprise that greater powers seek to consolidate their positions by keeping up with their own time and realizing the potential, the usefulness and the dangers of the Internet.

SOPA, PIPA, ACTA. These acronyms have caused uproar in Europe, America and Asia where people speak up in debates, go out on the streets and demonstrate and wage virtual war against the attempts to stop net-piracy from the USA and EU, who seek to make it possible to shut down and block entire websites that feature, for example, copyright-protected images. The opposition believes that any form of internet-regulation, no matter reason, would lead us closer to a world where governments can regulate the streams of information to control what people can know. Thoughts of George Orwell’s dystopic “1984” haunt the minds of many concerned citizens who see the American attempts to regulate the Internet as a sign of the very same imperialist hubris that started the War on Terror. They used 9/11 as an excuse to secure oil from Iraq and Afghanistan – now they try to control the Internet discreetly in the name of War on Online Piracy.

This collides violently with the interests of the Kurdish people in many ways, brothers and sisters. For it is so, that the Internet is a key tool in our struggle for freedom – imagine it being controlled by states allied to our enemies in Ankara or Tehran, enemies who have shown that they don’t hesitate to attack journalists, activists, photographers or a certain Kurdish TV-station in Scandinavia. Imagine how more SOPAs and PIPAs slowly undermine freedom of speech over the years and how the War on Online Piracy is able to evolve into a campaign against enemies of the American government and its allies. Imagine that we, the already silenced people in mainstream media, become silenced on the net, having our sites taken down, our blogs blocked and our videos and images that prove committed atrocities deleted.

To succeed in our struggle, we need all the help we can get. And it is an accepted doctrine among the Kurds that we must seek support in non-Kurdish governments and peoples who can apply outside pressure on our oppressors. But, in order to do that we need to keep the information flowing from the homeland – the proofs of killed civilians, the jailed journalists, the children on hunger-strikes. There is a reason behind the systematic attacks against Kurdish media by the Turkish, Iranian and Syrian governments – if knowledge is power and additionally free and easily accessible then it’s also dangerous for the regimes. The sharpest spears in our struggle are the pencils we hold in our hands – the letters in an article are more dreaded than the bullets fired by rebels.

Knowing these things it should be absolutely out of the question to even accept that the Internet falls into the hands of any government that may be capable of censorship and cutting information-streams – especially not the information-streams vital to the survival of our struggle and nation. Opposing regulations on the Internet is therefore a question of necessity and survival, of protecting our flanks and sides in the virtual world.

Now, the pessimist might say: “what use is there to protest, they will let these laws pass anyway”. Yes, the governments of the West will probably not back down on these laws sooner than we would like and the opposition is in for a long fight. But it is our resolve that should determine the intensity of our struggle – not the resolve of the people we oppose. With such pessimism the attempts of dialogue between Turks and Kurds could be dismissed as futile, especially since the fascists in Ankara use the army to quell the opposition, in contrast to the states of the West. Yet, the struggle in northern Kurdistan goes on – as should the struggle on the streets and squares of Europe and the forums on the net. The cause, to preserve freedom of speech, will have to fuel people and turn the angry freedom-fighters into patient, unrelenting freedom-fighters. If anything, patience and perseverance are the traits every Kurd carries deep within him or her – born from the constant struggle, which have more than once seemed utterly fruitless. The Kurd is not only in need of joining the ongoing campaign against War on Online Piracy but has a natural place in the struggle and can prove to be a valuable ally of the global opposition.

Also, aligning ourselves with the people who protect the Internet is according to the principle to seek non-Kurdish support for our cause. As I have stated before, we live in the age of free information and a completely new, global, internet-culture is emerging. Anonymous, Lulzsec and other hacker-groups are groups created from online-communities and when looking at different demonstrators around the world we see that they carry symbols, signs and masks indicating a common cultural base – internet-memes and Guy Fawkes-masks tell us about the new generation of internet-users, the generation that one day will inherit the world. Joining the opposition would therefore not only be an act of defending the interests of our people, but also to create spheres of influence for the Kurds. By demonstrating side by side and joining forces we’d be getting new friends in a generation that is currently gaining power fast. By protecting the values and ideals all free peoples of the world should staunchly preserve, we remind the new generation that we are humans too. And as the development of the Internet-movement continues Kurds ought to jump on the train in time to keep up – the struggle for the Kurdish people lies not only in preserving our ancient culture and following nationalist paroles from the past, but also in carrying our nation, culture and people from one time-period to another. This is the eternal duty every Kurdish generation is tasked with.

Although most Kurds may not even have any access to the Internet it is no reason for us in the diaspora to neglect the ongoing events of War on Online Piracy. In fact, responsibility lies heavier on our shoulders (or should I say, our keyboards?) since we are the only ones who are able to speak for the Kurds in online media. As our brethren suffer unspeakable atrocities in the hands of our enemies, our duty is to keep the flow of information going – and to protect the backs of our people in Kurdistan.

With all this said, we have a lot to win in joining the struggle and a lot to lose if we do not. Let us therefore join the fight against SOPA, ACTA and PIPA as one of the free peoples of the world. We do it for You, Kurdistan.

67 years ago, in Japan, “THE LITTLE BOY” didn’t mean innocence; it meant damage, pain and suffering. It wasn’t blue and wasn’t white, it was black and grey with spots of red all over the place. And most importantly it wasn’t a toy, it was the bomb that vanished Hiroshima!

It took only 60 seconds to kill 30% of the total population of Hiroshima, 90% of their doctors and 70% of their buildings were instantly turned into ash. Experts predicted it would take a city wiped off the map decades to ever be the same.

Three to four years after the A-bomb, Hiroshima rose from the ashes!

After all, naming a bomb that killed thousands of children “the little boy” wasn’t that cruel. It gave the Japanese the hope of a new start that a “little boy” can have while riding his bicycle for the first time. Each fall showed him the mistakes, which he should never repeat again. And instead of crying, he smiles and tries again and again until the day comes when he can let the winds wipe away all his painful memories as he ride his bicycle as fast as a bicycle can be ridden.

The people in Hiroshima couldn’t fight death, burns or diseases from the radiation, but they certainly could fight fear, despair and negativity. They knew that with hope and faith, everything is possible. They believed in the power of the human willingness, determination and his ability to recover. When people told them “the glass is half full”, they disagreed and refused to settle for anything less than a “full glass”!

As an Iraqi, my left and right brain sides are always in dispute.

My left side thinks we can never be Hiroshima, Iraq can never be the same, the damage can never be undone, the hurt and pain that each Iraqi carries over their shoulders can never be lifted and that we will have to live with the shame of not recovering forever. My left side thinks peace and happiness have left Iraq long ago, and he insists that they will never come back again. He reminds me every day of our mistakes as Iraqis, as a government and as humans.

And whenever someone asks me “where are you from?” he nags me to deny being an Iraqi, he screams loudly the names of the children who were killed by the Iraqis themselves, he sings the wedding songs of the newly weds who were killed on their wedding nights, and sometimes, he makes me listen to the Iraqi mothers telling their stories which always start with tragedy and end with uncertainty. And when I remind him of Hiroshima, with a voice full of rage and anger, trying to hold on to my last piece of hope, quietly he says “but we are Iraqis, we can never do the same!”

Then…just then, my right side wakes up, with his loud silence, reminding me of the days of Hulagu, when he raped, destroyed and shuttered Baghdad. The days when instead of giving up, Baghdad ran and took the hands of her history, medicine, astronomy and mathematics and hidden them inside of her, under her streets and between her walls, turning her rivers into a blue water which she later generously let us drink.

She was smart enough to know that with sword and hatred, you might be able to kill people, damage houses, or even make a city vanish! But she was sure that they could never erase our history, wipe away our culture. That the smell of smoke cannot replace the delicious smell of our tea, and no matter how bitter our pain is, we can never forget how sweet our date once tasted.

I still believe in Baghdad, in Hiroshima!
I refuse to settle for half-solutions, half governments, and that Iraqis will always live with half happiness, half satisfaction and that sometimes they only get to live half a life!
I still want to believe that I will not settle for half a country, I won’t get to choose between south and north, Sunni or Shia, I will never follow half a religion!
And no matter what my left-brain side says, I try to hold on, as hard as I can, to the belief that my right side will always be RIGHT.