Being proud of our forefather’s civilization will not provide us food [Archives:2008/1203/Opinion]
By: Nabeel Haidar
I have not understood the real reasons that led to the current global financial crisis, however, I cast doubt that the crisis was caused by a single reason: the U.S. Stock Market. A friend of mine increased my suspicion by adding another reason that is of a secret related with the current oil prices.
What I quite understood in an exceptional manner is placing all the eggs in one box is the huge mistake, as well as the big devil that destroys economies of small and big countries worldwide. By this I mean, causes of the various problems should sorted out one by one.
The horrible thing in this regard is that nearly one billion people are threatened by starvation worldwide. Seemingly, these people had been benefiting from external aids that help them survive. And due to the current global turmoil, the source that had been feeding them depleted and did not suggest fundamental solutions to problems experienced by those starving people.
What concerns me in this regard is that the global financial crisis should ring the bells of risk at the local level and excessive dependence on oil revenues alone is a pre-paid death. One month ago, another bell rang while the world was facing a food crisis, and as a result, people increased the rhythm of their movements in search for food in various parts of the world.
In our homeland, we turned to lament the thousands hectares of wastelands. A very small number of farmers, who account for 75 percent of third world population swapped their previous trees for corn seeds and they are about to reap their fruits. On the contrary, other misfortunate farmers, planners and strategy designers chose to progress on the same way of the global crisis as if such a crisis did not appear at all.
The world of today is giving us a slap in order to change the way we think and live. But as the slap was not that painful, we seem to be ready to turn the other cheek for another more painful slap. By this I mean, having heard about financial and food crises, we must care about our agricultural sector and work hard in order to produce our own food.
What we are waiting for. Are we waiting for more painful and less painful slaps? Or are we waiting until the hammers approach our heads? Only this will convince us to stop thinking in such a foolish manner.
Fears about global crisis
In order to avoid exaggeration, this trouble is global and it triggers fears about the financial turmoil and worsening food crisis, which has not yet ended. I don't suspect that the matter needs more intelligent thinking to help explore that this fear and trouble constitute a black cloud over our heads while it is not this cloud's job to provide us with shadow, most notably as the donor states will tend to reduce their assistance to developing nations among them Yemen.
What we are looking at while we are proud of the Arabia Flex being the possessor of great civilizations and glories. I think it is time to search for the real causes that helped produce those civilizations and glories. Why we escape admitting the real effort exerted by our forefathers and ancestors to build their civilizations and glories.
We have to understand how our ancestors built their civilization and achieved self-efficiency of food and other necessities. Being proud of the achievements and civilization reached by our forefathers is not enough, nor will it provide us food.
Source: Al-Thawra State-run Daily
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