Technology bridges the gap

Dubai: From the 1950s to the end of the 60s there were many revolutions in the Arab world for the sake of freedom and to end European colonialism. Nowadays, we have been witnessing another type of revolution in some Arab countries — revolutions against leaders, governments and policies.

Arabs in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Yemen and Syria have decided to force political changes in their countries by asking their leaders to step down and to let a new generation lead them. There is no doubt that the current movements in the Arab world have caused strong debates over the actual reasons behind the "People's Revolutions".

By the end of the 1960s, almost all Arab countries enjoyed freedom from foreign occupation and each country began its own economic and social development plans. The only factor that was aligning those countries together was, and has been, the Arab League.

Since its establishment it has been focusing on strengthening the national identity of the Arab countries, regardless of their tribal or sectarian identity. This policy was clear in the economic, social and, sometimes, political projects between Arab countries under the supervision of the Arab League.

However, observers have witnessed an increasing gap between the "traditional leaders of freedom" who ruled the Arab countries after liberation and their people.

The reasons behind the creation of this gap included lack of democracy, absence of social welfare, unfair distribution of wealth, lack of human rights, and the non-existence of a new generation of leaders. However, during the same time there has also been an essential bridge that worked on decreasing the gap between Arabs; whether within a country or in different countries. This bridge has been established by another revolution: the revolution of telecommunications and technology.

In my point of view, this revolution has managed to overcome all tribal, sectarian, and national differences between Arabs, and it seems that this revolution will be dominating the political scene in the Arab countries for many decades. But the key questions that could be worth discussing could be: Are the Arab societies ready for a smooth and peaceful political transition between totalitarian systems to democratic systems?

Is there a well-prepared generation of youth which is ready to lead their nations to stability, welfare and prosperity? And what will be the new role of the Arab League within the reforms that have been created?

— The reader is a UAE researcher living in Dubai