My name is Sarah, I am Moroccan or is it Arab?

[Jenn! 918]

I thought this was an interesting post in light of recent events as well as a conversation I remember from the MENA forum not too long ago.....

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My name is Sarah, I am a Moroccan girl, and I spent a quarter of a century trying to prove to myself and to the others that I am not an Arab, that my country is different, that my culture is different, that my race is different, that my language is different, and that I am more European than Middle Eastern. Today I have these primitive tribal fervent feelings that I can’t explain whenever I see an Arab flag, here an Arabic song or see and young Arab demonstrating in a square. That’s why I would like to apologize and to admit that I was wrong about who I am.The Resurrection of Arab Nationalism:

I was born in the 80s, the years of draught not only of rains, but a draught of democracy, a draught of ideology, a draught of economic prosperity and a draught of victories. We’ve grown up hearing our parents talk about the leftist ideals and how they liberated the country and our grandparents talk about World War II adventures. While us we are staring carelessly at the TV on the national team football march and hoping they will win because it is the only victory our generation can afford!

After 9/11 things got worse for us. Many youth abroad starting denying that they are Arabs and finding refuge in alternative or fake identities. Even at the state level there were a competition between the Arab countries to appear the least Arab possible and the more western possible to benefit from more foreign aid, and foreign support for the dictatorships in place.

The Jasmine revolution and more strongly the Egyptian Revolution were a slap on our faces. A slap that woke us up from the years of indoctrination and pro-western propaganda, and we realised that we don’t need them, that we are mature adult citizens who can run our interests without the tutorage of any extern power. So thank you for the technology, but keep your ideas for yourselves! Egypt made us taste the feeling of glory and pride far from football stadiums. It took revenge for our honour which we were prostituting for the West for the past 50 years. Egypt upgraded our status from third level slaves to first level free humans. While demonstrators were cleaning up Tahrir Square, they were sweeping up all the dirt from our Arab dignity and resurrecting Arab Nationalism

The Death of the Euromed

The Union for the Mediterranean and the Euromed are soiled unequal games we were forced to play because we didn’t have any other choice to situate ourselves geopolitically when the Arab League and the Maghreb Arab Union both failed. Today that we see other options, I would like to tell you Europe: sorry for the money you spent on us, but are not interested to play anymore!

If the Arab countries are able to withdraw or correct their corrupted regimes, if the young generations take the leadership, if we have the choice of our foreign policy, why would we chose to be part of an heterogeneous union that we didn’t plan or thought or dreamed, when we have the choice to have a Union with people with whom we have more affinities and understanding: the Arab Union. And from what I start to see, no Arab country will allow foreign interference to assist us anymore in the so called ‘’peaceful transition’’, because intercultural dialogue with the west is a luxury now and we have better to do dialoguing with our selves.

If the Arabs finally as a synthesis of their 20th century history can unite we can still be good friends and neighbours of the EU and the US but not as orphan fractions; as one strong body. Then the equilibrium in the cooperation we’ve been seeking will be met when we will negotiate Arab Union to European Union.

Change in the Emotional Map

Maybe I am getting to Emotional about it. Maybe I am wrong and these are only dreams! But what made these revolutions come true except from youth dreams? Even if nothing happens any soon in the political map, believe me a huge upheaval occurred in the Emotional Map of the Arab World and nothing can stop it from rising!

Now I can say proudly: My name is Sarah and I am Arab!

http://www.moroccoboard.com/viewpoint/119-sarah-zaaimi-/5085-my-name-is-sarah-i-am-moroccan-or-is-it-arab