There was hope in the air and joy in the streets, 5 years ago, as the Arab Spring started. Alas, with the exception of Tunisia, where it all started, everywhere else is gloom, despair, destruction, death and suffering.
In Tunisia, the political rivals worked out a compromise, that is still holding. It won them the Nobel Peace Prize. In Egypt, after weeks of street marches, demonstrations and resistance from the government, Mubarak was driven out of office, Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood was elected, but was ousted in a military coup. General el-Sisi came to power and immediately cracked down on the media and political opposition. Thousands were jailed and over 1,000 have been killed. Instability is the order of the day and there have been outbreaks of terrorism.
In Yemen, chaos and misery, as surrogates of Iran and Saudi Arabia are slugging it out in a deadly battle for power. Libya is ungovernable, with rival parliaments and various militias fighting it out. Syria has the government of Assad, fighting off various rebel groups (supported by outside powers, like the Saudis, while Assad is supported by Russia), as well as ISIL, with a coalition led by the USA and including Canada, Britain, France etc. bombing ISIL on a daily basis. This has created a humanitarian crisis with millions uprooted and many killed and others leaving in droves for Turkey, Jordan and Europe. Then there is Iraq with its continuing war and here the Kurds are battling ISIL, and so too are the Iraqi military. Mayhem.
The dreams of Dec.17, 2011, have become nightmares and these nightmares keep repeating themselves, over and over again, with no end in sight.
In Tunisia, the political rivals worked out a compromise, that is still holding. It won them the Nobel Peace Prize. In Egypt, after weeks of street marches, demonstrations and resistance from the government, Mubarak was driven out of office, Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood was elected, but was ousted in a military coup. General el-Sisi came to power and immediately cracked down on the media and political opposition. Thousands were jailed and over 1,000 have been killed. Instability is the order of the day and there have been outbreaks of terrorism.
In Yemen, chaos and misery, as surrogates of Iran and Saudi Arabia are slugging it out in a deadly battle for power. Libya is ungovernable, with rival parliaments and various militias fighting it out. Syria has the government of Assad, fighting off various rebel groups (supported by outside powers, like the Saudis, while Assad is supported by Russia), as well as ISIL, with a coalition led by the USA and including Canada, Britain, France etc. bombing ISIL on a daily basis. This has created a humanitarian crisis with millions uprooted and many killed and others leaving in droves for Turkey, Jordan and Europe. Then there is Iraq with its continuing war and here the Kurds are battling ISIL, and so too are the Iraqi military. Mayhem.
The dreams of Dec.17, 2011, have become nightmares and these nightmares keep repeating themselves, over and over again, with no end in sight.
