“Freedom, Justice and Equality”

French Revolution, and French Riots!

Imagine yourself living in very terrible circumstances. You don’t have equal opportunity in life with the ‘elite’. You work harder and harder and your future is still unknown. Your father is getting older and older. He just sits by the door smoking as if this smoke is the only thing in life he could achieve! You’re almost unemployed, and if you got lucky, you are 100% underpaid! What is the solution?

First idea, as Arabs, comes to us is to immigrate! Immigration at this point turned to be the only solution, the magic lamp that will achieve our legitimate ultimate goal of ‘suitable life’. Can you imagine that life itself has become a goal to strive for in the underdeveloped countries?!

I’ll talk about some personal experience! I didn’t face that, but I’m seeing it every minute. One of the examples; I had a friend; his name is Rami. He is Christian by the way! He lived in one of these countries! If you saw him 15 years ago, you’ll surely think that this guy will be the president of his country! He had everything a kid dreamt of; he was strong, clever, and so thinking organized. His father was an educated worker, his mother used to sell clothes ‘smoked clothes’! His future was unknown, until his brother went to ‘the dream land’ USA to study Medicine! However, as always, he got married there and started a carrier in a Petrol Station! Now, tow of his brothers followed him there, and they’re living the Arabic Dream in American! The mother and the father stayed in their country and are supported almost totally by the brothers!

I have a question, in this case, who is to be blamed? The people who are just trying to have a better life? The foreign governments that are making it more and more difficult for foreigners to immigrate? Or the national government that makes life a living-hell?

I can’t blame any! The goal of man in life is to live, so, why can’t we make it a better life! The goal of any foreign government is to protect its people. And, of course, we can’t blame a government from underdeveloped countries! Yes, they’re corrupted, but, I don’t have any other solution, and I don’t want another Iraq in my region ‘hopefully’!! Beside, any talk about internal change will be, at least, a long-term solution!

Now, considering the situation that happened in France one month ago; this question rose up again; who is to be blamed? However, I put the above-mentioned introduction in order to compare the Arabic dream of a good life, to the African-Arabic dream in France; which has the same goal, with a total different path!

During the 50s of the last centaury, France brought workers from its colonies in Africa. These workers were stronger than French men, and they were also much less paid! They built buildings, bridges and participated in the whole reconstruction process!

However, they were not educated and they started to create their special community; according to their religion, culture and social life. That doesn’t mean that they didn’t go through and learn from the French culture; of course not! They went into it, deeply! It’s the culture of freedom, justice and equality, isn’t it??

After these days, a problem in the French society started to take place. These people are not only workers to work! They are also human, who need rights. For example, they do need equal opportunities in life; according, of course, to their skills! They’re not asking for something huge! They just want to ‘share’. Is it that big??
The real problem is in some French people mentality is that, for sorrow, they don’t see this simple fact! They just think that these people are only foreigners no more no less. They’re trouble-makers. They are mugging, killing and doing all the bad things! If anything happened, the first accused is the “African or Arabic” guy, unless evidences and eye-witnesses say otherwise!

After September the 11th, it’s been easier to Nicolas Sarkozy, who is believed by the way to be the next president after Jacques Chirac, to use bad word against these ‘slams people’! He didn’t even care what kind of impact it will create for people who are having serious problems as second-hand goodies in this society!! French Riots were not totally the fault of who did it! They were also the fault of who helped it to happen ‘maybe on purpose’! That was obvious, to me, with the racist decision that Sarkozy made; to exile any suspected or accused in these riots, even if this person had the residence!! By the way, the most common way to get a residence in France is to marry a French girl! And these marriages are 99%, real marriages! What does that suppose to mean? Well, from an outsider point of view, this means that it’s a kind of purification to the French society! It’s a kind of discrimination between first class person, and a second class one who is not even welcomed in the society at all!

This mentality is to be blamed for these riots! It’s not about Islam or Christianity, for those who believe in the conspiracy theory of September the 11th; it’s about a new Hitlerism in thinking and acting! Sarkozy, to me, represents that tendency in France. I’m really pessimistic about the future if he got to be the president.

On the other hand, I can’t deny this fact; France once was the light of ‘equality’ in the world. These people, who think in Hitlerism, are likely to be reminded of Louis the sixteenth! He had the same thought about the poor, that they were not noble. However, nobility in itself was achieved by the French revolution. I’m not advocating for a revolution, of course not, I’m just drawing the attention of Mr. Sarkozy, and the like, that these people you called barbarians, are more noble that any discriminator and racist in the world; including yourself! To me, even animals are more noble than any racist!!