To editor: Our leaders are our product [Archives:2003/636/Letters to the Editor]

Ali Jin
[email protected]
This is in response to the editors of the YT who responded to the letter saying that most of the Arab leaders were propped up by the West in the first place and hence the Arab people should not be blamed for their pathetic situation today. All I have to say to is that is the most pathetic excuse of all (with all due respect). We keep hearing that the so called “elite” in our government do not represent us. How come, I ask? I am a Yemeni (of mixed heritage) living in the West (and very much integrated with the Yemeni population here). Trust me, the problem is in us. Our leader is a Yemeni, all our ministers are Yemenis, each and every one of those corrupt government officials are Yemenis, each and every one of those people responsible for our sorry situation in Yemen are Yemenis (in other words, each of the million of culprits for our sad situate is a Yemeni). No matter how much the West may have helped in bringing the top leaders to power, the real culprits (the millions at the bottom of the food chain) are all ordinary Yemenis. So, we have no one to blame for our pathetic situation but ourselves.
Trust me, when a people really believe in change and justice, they can do miracles. The problem with our Arab society is that we have lost all our honor and sense of justice and equality. To make things worse, we pathetically use our religion to excuse ourselves of any responsibility. We keep saying, it is Allah's Will. As the saying goes here in the West, if anyone beats the heck out of a Muslim, they say, “it is Allah's Will!” as well.

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