Monday, July 04, 2011

7 Arabs Wary of Palestinians



You can hate the game, but not the player. While the majority of Arabs support the Palestinian cause and want to see it resolved, there are those Arabs who do not have warm feelings toward Palestinians. Despite this, along with the Arabic language, the Palestinian cause unites most people of Arab descent. Nevertheless, there are groups of Arabs that will forever remain wary of Palestinians. Here they are:

  1. The 1975 to 1990 Lebanese: civil war is an ugly business and in Lebanon, the Palestinians are the everlasting punching bag. Now, I’m not saying that some Palestinians didn’t play a divisive role in Lebanon’s civil war, but the Palestinians are definitely Lebanon’s scapegoat. Unfortunately, this will never change until Lebanon’s Palestinian refugees are allowed to either return to Palestine or are given the ability to live dignified, productive, and free lives in Lebanon.
  2. The 1990 Kuwaitis: now, I don’t know what the Palestinian leadership was thinking when they supported Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait. Supporting an occupation or being silent when you see one happening – especially when you have been placed under occupation yourself – won’t help endear anyone to your cause. Despite repeated apologies and a number of initiatives, some Kuwaitis will always remain skeptical of Palestinians.
  3. The 1970 Indigenous Jordanians (bedouins): remember when Palestinian militants harassed Jordan’s young king and shook his (corrupt) regime to its core? King Hussein took no prisoners and bombed the hell out of Palestinian refugee camps. Until this day, grudges still exist. It does not help that the Palestinians in Jordan have a superior soccer team that, more often than not, defeats those dirty bedouins.
  4. The Naive Arab: he (or she) watches their country’s state-sponsored news and truly believe that their respective despot is doing all he (never she) can to free Palestine, feed the hungry, protect the refugees, and heal the sick (they also walk on water, too!). In reality, all these despots do is talk (sometimes out of their mouths, but mostly from their asses). Yet, these naive Arabs refuse to see their dictators in a negative light, and look forward to the day that they liberate Palestine.
  5. The Paranoid Egyptians: now, these people are hilarious. they have no clue of the social and tribal makeups of the areas bordering Palestine, and get freaked out by news of smuggling activities, weapons and drugs tunnels. There are even people in Egypt who believe Hamas is the one closing the Rafah crossing, not the other way around. They tend not to mind that their sworn enemy enters their land with no visa, and would rather look down on those “dirty Gazans.” Of course some of their fears are rational, but paranoia is never helpful.
  6. Other Arab Expats: they live around the world alongside many Palestinians, and they envy the Palestinian expats for their success despite all odds. Sure, some Palestinian immigrants can hardly be considered saints, but they are hard workers. These jealous Arabs like to mumble about an existential “affirmative action” policy for Palestinians, and they also believe in some magical “Palestine Card” that exists to prevent Palestinians from being deported (how can you deport someone that doesn’t have a country of origin?). As my grandpa used to tell me, “if the poor takes a large shit, the people would want to know what he had for dinner.”
  7. The “Me” First: you know those suit-wearing and soft-spoken Arabs, the ones you find in Palestine and countries bordering historic Palestine. They’re running governments under the banner, “Palestine is complicated, but hey, you can enjoy Mc burgers and fries if you wanna…” They are loved in the West, and they lead their political lives by the motto: let’s dance until the music stops. They cannot stand all the tragic news form the Palestinian territories so they try to make it into the news by making the world’s biggest kabob, bowl of Humus, Flag…etc. This policy is often in place to help cover up for the traitors and uncle toms running the country and opening up casinos for “tourists”. They mistakenly think running countries is like running brothels, something they are very familiar with.

[Tarboush Tip: Andrew]

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