I pull this article of the Globe and Mail
Thought you might find it interesting. Let's see if you can read with an objective mind.
The misery of the Arab world
By JEFFREY SIMPSON
Wednesday, July 10, 2002 ? Page A13
'The Arab world is at a crossroads." A clich?? Perhaps, but nonetheless true.
What is, after all, the Arab world? It consists of whole countries and parts of others, accounting for about 5 per cent of the world's population (about 280 million people). The gaps among them -- as between Kuwait and Djibouti, for example -- are huge.
But taking the Arab world as a whole, as a United Nations study just did, the news on the human development front is discouraging. The Arab world, with only a few exceptions, has fallen behind many other parts of the globe on almost every social and economic indicator.
Western "orientalism" or paternalism, you say? Read, then, the latest report from the UN Human Development Index, authored not by Westerners but by Arab experts who insist their "world" is at a crossroads. The results are unsettling, for Arabs and non-Arabs alike.
The Arab HDI survey is based on the methodology that has placed Canada at or near the top of the charts in recent years. It looks at what we might call the "life chances" of citizens -- not just their economic well-being, but educational opportunities, health outcomes and political systems.
In all categories, the Arab world is failing. Of course, there are some exceptions. Kuwait, for example, stands near the top of the HDI charts. The other Arab countries, however, are struggling.
Start with government. Arab countries consistently show a "freedom deficit." The HDI authors write: "The wave of democracy that transformed governance in most of Latin America and East Asia in the 1980s and Eastern Europe and much of Central Asia in the late 1980s and early 1990s has barely reached the Arab states."
The rule of law is shaky. Representative democracy "is not always genuine and sometimes absent." Too many regimes spend too much on armaments. "Freedoms of expression and association are frequently curtailed."
Too many Arab countries mock or misunderstand the fundamental link between human development and human rights, including democratic ones. Young people who cannot find work or legitimate outlets for dissent display frustrations, resentments and, in many cases, a desire to leave.
The HDI authors commissioned a poll of young Arabs that found 51 per cent of "older youths" and 45 per cent of younger ones wanting to emigrate, with Canada among the most desirable destinations. "The implicit judgment of how livable these young people consider Arab societies to be is evident."
One out of every five people in the Arab world lives on less than $2 a day, although Arab countries have among the lowest levels of dire poverty in the world.
Population growth is adding about six million labour-force entrants a year, but unemployment is already very high -- about 15 per cent across the region. Education enrolment rates have risen impressively, but 65 million adult Arabs remain illiterate, a much higher rate than in poorer countries. Only 0.6 per cent of the population uses the Internet, a tiny fraction of the rate in developed countries.
The role of Arab women is especially discouraging. More than half of Arab women are illiterate. The region's maternal mortality rate is double that of Latin America and the Caribbean, and four times higher than in East Asia.
"Women also suffer from unequal citizenship and legal entitlements, often evident in voting rights and legal codes," write the HDI authors. Almost every development expert underlines the role of women in improving the standard of living and quality of life of societies. By that standard, the Arab world is failing miserably.
Naturally, the Arab authors tiptoe around the role of Islam in explaining the Arab world's dislocations. They do point, as if almost obliged to do so, to the Palestinian question that has preoccupied many Arab governments for decades and allowed them to divert attention from problems within their own countries.
Palestinians live in an intolerable situation. But their plight, as this report implicitly suggests, can hardly account for most of the problems in the far-flung Arab world.
Non-oil exports from Arab countries grew by only 1.5 per cent in the 1990s, compared to a global growth rate of 6 per cent. Some of this sluggish growth can be blamed on rich countries that protect their textile and other industries where Arab countries have an obvious competitive advantage. But most of the explanation lies elsewhere.
The Arab world is shot through with tariff and non-tariff barriers, inefficient state monopolies, and corruption that siphons money to families with government connections.
So where to start in heading the Arab world down the right path from the crossroads
Thought you might find it interesting. Let's see if you can read with an objective mind.
The misery of the Arab world
By JEFFREY SIMPSON
Wednesday, July 10, 2002 ? Page A13
'The Arab world is at a crossroads." A clich?? Perhaps, but nonetheless true.
What is, after all, the Arab world? It consists of whole countries and parts of others, accounting for about 5 per cent of the world's population (about 280 million people). The gaps among them -- as between Kuwait and Djibouti, for example -- are huge.
But taking the Arab world as a whole, as a United Nations study just did, the news on the human development front is discouraging. The Arab world, with only a few exceptions, has fallen behind many other parts of the globe on almost every social and economic indicator.
Western "orientalism" or paternalism, you say? Read, then, the latest report from the UN Human Development Index, authored not by Westerners but by Arab experts who insist their "world" is at a crossroads. The results are unsettling, for Arabs and non-Arabs alike.
The Arab HDI survey is based on the methodology that has placed Canada at or near the top of the charts in recent years. It looks at what we might call the "life chances" of citizens -- not just their economic well-being, but educational opportunities, health outcomes and political systems.
In all categories, the Arab world is failing. Of course, there are some exceptions. Kuwait, for example, stands near the top of the HDI charts. The other Arab countries, however, are struggling.
Start with government. Arab countries consistently show a "freedom deficit." The HDI authors write: "The wave of democracy that transformed governance in most of Latin America and East Asia in the 1980s and Eastern Europe and much of Central Asia in the late 1980s and early 1990s has barely reached the Arab states."
The rule of law is shaky. Representative democracy "is not always genuine and sometimes absent." Too many regimes spend too much on armaments. "Freedoms of expression and association are frequently curtailed."
Too many Arab countries mock or misunderstand the fundamental link between human development and human rights, including democratic ones. Young people who cannot find work or legitimate outlets for dissent display frustrations, resentments and, in many cases, a desire to leave.
The HDI authors commissioned a poll of young Arabs that found 51 per cent of "older youths" and 45 per cent of younger ones wanting to emigrate, with Canada among the most desirable destinations. "The implicit judgment of how livable these young people consider Arab societies to be is evident."
One out of every five people in the Arab world lives on less than $2 a day, although Arab countries have among the lowest levels of dire poverty in the world.
Population growth is adding about six million labour-force entrants a year, but unemployment is already very high -- about 15 per cent across the region. Education enrolment rates have risen impressively, but 65 million adult Arabs remain illiterate, a much higher rate than in poorer countries. Only 0.6 per cent of the population uses the Internet, a tiny fraction of the rate in developed countries.
The role of Arab women is especially discouraging. More than half of Arab women are illiterate. The region's maternal mortality rate is double that of Latin America and the Caribbean, and four times higher than in East Asia.
"Women also suffer from unequal citizenship and legal entitlements, often evident in voting rights and legal codes," write the HDI authors. Almost every development expert underlines the role of women in improving the standard of living and quality of life of societies. By that standard, the Arab world is failing miserably.
Naturally, the Arab authors tiptoe around the role of Islam in explaining the Arab world's dislocations. They do point, as if almost obliged to do so, to the Palestinian question that has preoccupied many Arab governments for decades and allowed them to divert attention from problems within their own countries.
Palestinians live in an intolerable situation. But their plight, as this report implicitly suggests, can hardly account for most of the problems in the far-flung Arab world.
Non-oil exports from Arab countries grew by only 1.5 per cent in the 1990s, compared to a global growth rate of 6 per cent. Some of this sluggish growth can be blamed on rich countries that protect their textile and other industries where Arab countries have an obvious competitive advantage. But most of the explanation lies elsewhere.
The Arab world is shot through with tariff and non-tariff barriers, inefficient state monopolies, and corruption that siphons money to families with government connections.
So where to start in heading the Arab world down the right path from the crossroads
