The others are bound to wake up, carry on Tunisia

Hassan Al-Haifi
Published:24-01-2011

“Yes, brothers and sisters in Tunisia, thanks a million for making us realize that there is some vitality left in a nation killed by a combination of authoritarian dictatorial and oppressive machines that make the feudal kings and the Catholic Church of Europe during the Middle Ages seem like angels sent from Heavens to deliver Mankind!”, said Alia, as she put together a combination of her best homemade cookies for light snacks for her children.

Nabila stretched her hand to dig for the chocolate chip cookies, which her mother buried by some other new cookies she has just learned to make, : “Mom, nothing will ever top your chockos, as far as I am concerned. Mom, don’t delve into matters that could mean we will be deprived of your chockos as the lynch men of the regime take you away from us into an unknown cell bloc in the name of ‘national security” and/or ‘anti terrorism’ in order to placate an American foreign secretary, who has trouble getting on a plane, let alone managing the international affairs of a fast declining power.”

“Notwithstanding the comment about Hillary’s gait, I am at a loss to think what we would do without Mom’s cookies and pies, commented Ahmed as he ran down the stairs also hitting the bottom of the cookie pile as he grabbed a handful on his way to the door, continuing, “I just can’t wait until our people take a hint from Tunisia and realize that ‘Allah does not bring change upon a people, until the people bring a change upon themselves’, as the Lord has rightly said in the Final Heavenly Scriptures to come down from the Throne of the Al-Mighty – No! Make that all the Arabs from the Atlantic to the Indian Ocean. Look, Algeria is already nominated to follow their fellow North African Arabs in Carthage, then Egypt, then the Sudan, then Yemen – although the regime here is trying very hard to show it has some ‘popular support’ – with its puppets, who continue to sell themselves cheap, at the expense of their people’s freedom and the state treasury, intermixing with protestors to show that there is a ‘two sided’ story here.”

Nabila remarked: “Dictatorships are a one sided story, no matter where they are and no matter how much they raise the pictures of the dictators they serve, which are by the way printed at Government presses and costed at five times their normal costs. How long can these crooks continue to rob their people, even at bad times for them as well, an even as their thrones are being challenged by the masses they have literally bled for decades?”

The father began to feel a sense of rebellion brewing at his house: “Hey people, be careful, the first one they will come for is yours truly. But then, I can’t blame you and the kids; the whole country is fed up from Sa’ada to Aden. Yes, we need a change, for sure. But how this Tunisian Tsunami going to hit Yemen remains to be seen. The point to make here is that the present status quo is absolutely unsustainable any more. But the tide will be big and powerful and not just a ripple.”

But dad, the Arab League just came out with substantial remedies for solving the plight of the discontent and hungry that are bound to calm the whining masses of les Miserable’s throughout the Arab World. On the other hand before Hillary fell on the plane, she assured the world that Yemen is on the roster of allies against terrorism. Whatever that means, it certainly is understood to mean that Obama and friends are in favor of the status quo here in Yemen. It seems that is what she hinted to the “opposition” she met. Never mind that it was the creators of this unlivable status quo who actually imported terrorism into Yemen, systematically, over the span of their hold on authority, thanks to Saudi prodding and support.”

Alia continued talking, noticing that the chocolate chips continue to have first ranking among her cookies: “That is the kind of senseless blind support all these dictators in the Arab World are so happy to sing about, while their subjects have lost the knack for even singing the “blues”, whether inner city or rural.”

Her husband said: “Alia, now I know you have lived in the USA, you seem to know their culture so well, not to mention knowing how footloose they are.”

Alia was not distracted by her husband’s play on semantics about his wife: “ Hillary’s fall has nothing to do with dancing. She fell because, Madeline Al-Bright did for her husband, what she could not do for Barack Obama, manage America’s foreign policy with her feet in steadfast mode.”