In Focus: Walking the line The regional scene is not encouraging, yet resistance to power and injustice in Palestine and Iraq can serve to inspire and perhaps redeem, writes Galal Nassar It's a fine line between despair and hope, and for the Arabs more than most, who hope against hope that all is not lost. The Arabs have little faith in their political regimes, none of which is lifting a finger to stop the bloodshed in Iraq. Over 50,000 people are said to have died in Iraq since the US-UK invasion. Palestine is hardly in better shape. The Palestinians have been living under the heels of a ferocious occupation for more than 50 years. They have arisen in one Intifada after another, only to see their resistance leaders killed, their homes demolished, and innocent people slain in the thousands. Elsewhere in the Arab world, the scene does not warrant much celebration. Half a century ago or so, it was revolution time. Free officers rose up against the status quo, then created their own. Throughout the Arab world, army officers have become businessmen, importing and exporting, wheeling and dealing. The armed forces became engaged in civilian activities, building bridges and roads, setting up water stations and power plants. Some defence ministries are providing housing, medicine, transportation and other services to military personnel. They are even providing venues for parties and weddings, the same service you see religious movements offer through facilities adjoined to many mosques. In Sudan and Somalia, foreign powers are intervening under a variety of pretexts ranging from human rights to the fight against terror. This is dispiriting to the Arab public. Equally dispiriting is the sight of an Arab country reaching a military deal with the West, so that it can shed its "pariah state" label. The Arab world has been, since the days of revolution, suspicious of such deals. It had little faith in such arrangements as the Baghdad Pact and the Islamic Pact. The Arabs have a joint defence agreement, which should have offered them the means of protecting each other. Does anyone remember what happened to that agreement? Now you see Arab countries conducting joint military drills with the US, but to defend what exactly? And as icing on the cake, an espionage cell has been uncovered in Lebanon. The cell has apparently been working for Israel, and may have been involved in at least some of the recent assassinations in Lebanon. In Egypt, the judiciary law has been passed despite strong protests from both the judges and the country's political opposition. Freedom is being widely debated in the Arab world, but curiously enough the debate has yet to produce tangible results. The Arabs are running out of patience. Things have reached boiling point in this part of the world, and yet one sees no action taken to restore the remaining semblance of national pride. Compare our situation with that of Malaysia, Venezuela and South Africa. There, governments challenge major powers when national interests are at stake. We've been inactive for too long, busy with our daily worries, waking up from our slumber only to watch football or listen to a new song. With the doors to public life locked and bolted, we have been looking for small diversions to fill our time. The more the despair continues the more things get out of hand. Now you hear people waxing lyrical about the 1960s when dreams of Arab unity, progress and socialism were in full swing. And yet, perhaps there is light at the end of the tunnel. One sees sparks of hope in the distance. Resistance is continuing in Iraq, a country that has turned into a quagmire for invading US troops. And one cannot help but remember Vietnam, when a small nation defeated the world's mightiest war machine. Who knows? Perhaps there is a new beginning in the horizon. The Palestinian resistance is still refusing to give in. Although Hamas and Fatah have been at cross purposes, the recent attack on an Israeli military post has lifted the spirits of a nation that had been on the verge of civil strife. The attack succeeded despite the separation wall, despite early electronic warning systems, and despite tanks and armoured vehicles. The Palestinian resistance is in a position of power, not of weakness, despite what people say. The resistance is taking out Israeli occupation forces, despite the disparity in men and materiel. And although Israel is still refusing to exchange imprisoned women and children with the captured soldier, the Palestinians remain defiant. More prisoners are being taken but unconfirmed reports speak of another Israeli soldier captured in the West Bank. The resistance is fighting from bunker to bunker and from street to street, in a scene reminiscent of the 1973 War. Once again, it's a showdown between men and tanks. And chances are that Israel will sink into Gaza's sands, just as the US war machine sank in Vietnam and is sunk in Iraq. Che Guevara has once called on revolutionaries to engage US invaders in more than one place, so as to distract and debilitate them. That's one hope the Arabs have left. That may help bring the region back to life -- restore its health, focus and dignity. These are difficult moments for the Arabs, for we're treading a thin line between hope and despair. But seeds of renewal remain: we can awake and be part of history once again.
