Pour la première fois depuis maintenant quatre ans, une libre circulation entre le Caire et Gaza. L'Egypte a finalement rouvert sa frontière avec la bande. Une initiative qui a su combler de joie les coeurs des palestiniens mais qui n'a pas su en faire autant pour ceux des Israeliens qui ont critiqué cette initiative. Cette décision égyptienne est considérée comme un fruit du changement en Egypte et de la réconciliation palestinienne. La réouverture du point de passage de Rafah, le seul de l'enclave palestinienne qui ne soit pas contrôlé par Israël, vise à alléger le blocus imposé par Israël à la bande de Gaza depuis cinq ans, selon les autorités égyptiennes.

Selon l'annoncement par l'agence officielle égyptienne MENNA, ce point de passage sera ouvert tous les jours de 9h à 17h à l'exception du vendredi et des jours fériés. Seules les personnes sont autorisées a passé, par contre les biens ne le sont pas.  Les femmes palestiniennes de tout âge seront exemptées de visa, de même que les hommes âgés de moins de 18 ans ou de plus de 40 ans. L'exemption s'applique aussi aux Palestiniens voulant étudier en Egypte tant qu'ils ont une preuve de leur acceptation dans une université. En revanche, les hommes âgés de 18 à 40 ans ont besoin d'une autorisation de la sécurité égyptienne. La décision de cette réouverture a été  faite fin avril par l'Egypte deux jours après le parrainage par ce pays d'un accord de réconciliation entre les frères ennemis palestiniens, Hamas et Fatah.

Epargné par la révolution arabe, le Maroc n’en a pas moins connu de nombreuses manifestations. Des manifestations sereines  avaient été organisées le 20 février dernier dans certaines villes du Maroc pour réclamer l’adoption d’une monarchie parlementaire, une nouvelle constitution, la dissolution du parlement et la démission du gouvernement. Les manifestants exigeaient également la libération des prisonniers politiques , la fin de la corruption, et la vie dans la dignité. Ces manifestations étaient suivies par des rassemblements et des sit-in dans les principales villes du Maroc les 26 et 27 du même mois ainsi que le 6 mars .
 
 Ces manifestations marocaines n'ont pas connu l'ampleur des protestations tunisienne ou égyptienne ; mais elles ont néanmoins suffi à alarmer le roi Mohammed VI (nasaraho Allah ) qui a annoncé dans un important discours prononcé mercredi 9 mars,  un futur référendum populaire sur une réforme de la constitution marocaine en promettant au peuple marocain que le premier ministre aurait désormais des pouvoirs « exécutifs », une première dans ce royaume où tout est dirigé par le palais royale, , cet univers décrit par un seul mot connu de tous les citoyens au Maroc : " le Makhzen ".
Il a également promis  que son «but ultime est d'assurer les conditions d'une vie digne à tous les Marocains et de créer des emplois productifs pour la jeunesse ».
Cette initiatives a surpris les manifestants du 20 février qui réclamaient « Le roi doit régner et non gouverner. Le peuple veut une nouvelle Constitution », hésitent désormais sur la marche à suivre.
 
 Contrairement aux autres manifestations arabes, les marocains veulent que leur roi reste car ils savent qu’ils ont un roi qui les aime et qui aime son pays, et ce roi a montré cet amour jour après jour pendant plus de 11 ans de règne à travers la multitude de projets et d’évolutions que le Maroc a connu.
 
Tout de même, en tant que marocaine, le peuple marocain n'est pas parfait, il est loin d’être parfait, mais il avance jour après jour, il n’arrêtera jamais d’avancer ( inchaalah ) et un jour, ce pays sera lui aussi l’un des leaders mondiaux dans beaucoup de secteurs, car il a la volonté incassable de s’améliorer  et de défier quiconque ose s’opposer aux intérêts de ce très cher Maroc.

Gaddafi regime spurred an international push to punish its brutal reaction to the Libyan uprising movement which moved into high gear last week. After a proposal by France and Britain, sanctions like total arms embargo, travel bans on government figures and freezing of assets were being discussed by the UN Security Council in New York. A plan for investigating the Libyan government’s attack on protesters and considering the senior figures for crimes against humanity is to be undertaken by International Criminal Court.

According to a British diplomat "The urgency of this situation will be brought to bear." "We can't make do with speeches any more, we need to act." Was an echoing comment made by David Cameron, Michele Alliot-Marie, and the French Foreign Minister. As stated by Western aides they were encouraged by China’s and Russia’s response, who usually reject intervening in other states’ matters. 

A request of "no-fly zone" over Tripoli and Benghazi by the rebel Libyan diplomats to prevent strafe attacks from the air looked unlikely, amid ongoing efforts to evacuate foreign nationals. The US is also cutting off limited military assistance to Libya and had put financial institutions on notice to watch for sudden movement of funds from Libya.

Abdurrahman Shalgam, an ally of Gaddafi since the pair were teenage radicals in the late 1950s, pleaded for the outside world to do something "within hours, not days" to stop the bloodshed in the country. He compared the leader's actions to those of Pol Pot and Hitler and backed the protesters in Tripoli. In an emotional speech to the UN Security Council in New York, Mr Shalgam, who had previously remained loyal, said: "Muammar Gaddafi is telling the Libyans 'either I rule you or I kill you'."

The Arab world is going to change completely when Gaddafi will flee. There is a prediction of further revolution in the middle-east by the media and political anaylists.

La Tunisie en janvier, l'Egypte en fin janvier, Libye en  février,et d'autres pays arabes qui ont connu plusieurs manifestations. A qui le tour ensuite ? La question se pose encore pour les autres pays arabes qui sont au régime autoritaire, qu'ils s'aggissent de monarchies ou de républiques.
 
Les dirigeants arabes mettent leurs mains sur leurs cœurs, l’exemple tunisien semble se propager rapidement d’un pays à l’autre, la question qui reste à se poser : « à qui le tour ? ».
Ils ont beau traité les arabes de résignés, de morts, de soumis, tout le monde attendait un sursaut de dignité, mais à force d’attendre, les gens ont fini par perdre tout espoir. Ces peuples acceptaient toutes sortes d’humiliations, vivaient ou plutôt survivaient dans des conditions - le moins que l’on puisse dire – misérables et invivables. Taux de chômage élevés, conditions économiques et sociales déplorables, analphabétisme, pauvreté, manque de libertés, répression et la liste est belle et bien longue. 

I close my eyes.
Shut them real tight.
So I can escape,
This world,
This space,
This confinement.
I remember:
Red balloons,
My daughters sweet face.
And I question -was travesty meant to be my fate?
Lies
Loss of life.
Loss of humanity.
Prisoner.
Enemy.
They have taught everyone to hate me.
 Guantanamo:
Where the birds cry when they sing love songs.
How come they keep saying I am guilty?
I remember how they took away my name.
Assigned me a number.
They put a black hood over my face and took away my identity.
They kicked and pushed me.
Stripped me.
Searched me.
But even though I have been through all of this crap,
I am still me.
Hanging on this slight memory.
I am still me.
I will not let it fade into nothingness.
Even with all the bruises.
I am still me.
And broken dreams.
I am still me.
And tears that can fill rivers.
I’m still me.
And the only reason I am alive is because of you.
Your memory.
Your sweet face.
Forces me to survive.
My precious,
Wife.
You’re like a guiding light, in this darkened state.
I gaze at your face in my fragmented dreams.
I stare at you intensely, so I can memorize your features.
I’m trying to survive.
But with these false promises.
Kangaroo courts.
Judges who won’t adhere to justice.
Where is democracy?
In a country that promises freedom?
Advocates for human rights.
I am innocent.
I don’t deserve to be abused.
I am a silent warrior.
Yet I love to speak.
But here, there are attempted suicides and dead bodies.
People who can no longer survive,
The innocent blood that flows,
Is red.
But remember our blood is the same colour.
Bruises heal,
I am still me.
But this psychological pain glows red sports.
Quranic verses that we have memorized like our own heart beat.
I bow down and pray to Allah to keep me alive.
I have a reason to live.
Even though love seems so far away.
In a place that seems to have been invented to cause pain and murder systematically.
What is resistance to this dehumanization?
It’s to:
To witness.
To remember
To live.
To fight for others.
To pass on this story.
It has become your responsibility to remember me.
You are my storyteller.
You carry my memory.
It happens sometimes we want to forget because the pain is too much.
But please remember, for me.
In remembering we attempt to survive.
In telling others, we try to heal.                 
Guantanamo needs to be closed.
Promises made need to be kept.

So:
Promise, you won’t forget me.
Promise that you will try to get to know me before you simply cast a label upon me.
Remember me, promise?

Mayor Rob Ford happily mails out rebate cheques last week for the licence renewal tax that was scrapped by his government. This while he cut and slashed budgets of practically everything calling it wasteful spending.  Sure, some of it might have been classified as “wasteful”, but decreasing office staff just decreases quality and efficiency of the office.

The proposal to scrap the tax passed even when the TTC was attempting to raise fares. This being a big slap in the face for commuters who are obviously considered second class compared to drivers. Sure, no one likes taxes, but the only way to move this city is by pushing public transportation and trying to reduce drivers. And the license renewal tax was one way to generate that revenue. His idea of private sector funding for subway expansions could cost the city in the long run by completely changing the look of the city especially if it offers zoning change privileges.

Mr. Rob Ford it is not always about the money. 

His mother wept, cried, begged him not to go outside. He was too young to die. But, he insisted, saying, he had to do this for his children even if it meant he may never see that day. Enough was enough. There were mass protests outside all calling for freedom. 

No longer will you put your foot on my throat without me screaming. This land is mine more than it is yours. And he walked into the sunlight as his mom fell to the ground. 

They both knew he might not ever come back. And to him dying would be a lighter pain then the grief he just caused his mom. But, he had to do this, for his mom and for his future children even if that day would never come. 

Sorry, mom.

Viva viva intifada!

[The following article is not directly linked to the ISNA finance controversy reported by The Toronto Star. It is only inspired by the article.]

Where there is a hierarchy, there is politics. Masjids are no exception to this. And it’s quite visible by looking at who has been president for longer than Arab dictators have been in power or who makes the most announcements during every salaat or whose idea trumps all others. This tight reign of power breeds a secret society-like organization.

“With great power, comes great responsibility”. –  Uncle Dan (Spiderman’s Uncle)

“Power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely”. – Lord Acton

Places of worship are divine, but that doesn’t mean the people within them are as well. We have to be more active in our research and demand public and transparent paperwork. Being apathetic and throwing all responsibilities to certain individuals yields behind the scene powers. Then who are we to throw taunts and judge these people when they are exposed? Was it not us that blindly trusted them? Have we not been burned before?

So, next time you see a charity asking for your money, kindly request their financial records. If you have the time and skill set, run for positions within an organization. Fresh new ideas and faces are welcoming.

*The issue concerning misuse of zakat is commonly seen through misinterpretation of verses that state in direct translation from Arabic that zakat can be used by those who collect it and those in the path of Allah. However, this is not how the ruling works on zakat; it is meant for the poor.

It’s been a little over a year since Haiti was hit with a devastating earthquake that claimed nearly a quarter million lives, left over three hundred thousand injured, and took the homes of over a million people.

It was the first time in a long time that the world came together in a relief effort; from volunteers flying down to help in any way they could, to the practically countless fundraisers, to the minute-by-minute updates on major news networks, almost everyone wanted to get involved in one way or another.

However, the problem with our society is that soon after something stops making headlines, we have a tendency to put even the most problematic issues in the backseat.

Yes, billions have been donated in relief funds, and if you take a look at recent pictures, you’ll find that there is some improvement. But there is still a lot of work that needs to be done. 

After the earthquake, Haiti also suffered from a cholera breakout, political protests, and dangerous flooding from Hurricane Tomas. Over a year after the earthquake, there are more than a million people still living in tents.

Let’s not forget about the issues that exist even after headlines cease to cover them. Let’s keep Haiti in our hearts and prayers.

A year ago, January 18, 2010 to be precise, marked a day when two Toronto 18 accused got sentenced. One to life, and another to 12 years. Prior to this, other accused were sentenced. A year later, the crown’s appeal led to the courts boosting the sentences of two of the accused, Saad Gaya and Saad Khalid. Appeals put through from the side of the defence for  Zakariya Amara was refused as his sentence remained untouched: life sentence. Gaya and Khalid both got their sentences boosted by six years; from 12 to 18 for Gaya and from 14 to 20 for Khalid. Without the presentation of any new evidence or any changes to the case, the crown appealed on the basis that the courts needed to be ‘tougher on terror’. Taking into consideration all of the ‘added perks’ in this case, with the informants and the sting operation, it is quite surreal that this step has been taken. Many unheard of laws were put into place in this case, and right when we thought it was all over, there is yet again another turn. When the accused were sentenced a year ago, they took the sentences and saw the solid numbers as an indication of where their life was headed. This helped them mentally prepare themselves for the years to come, and plan the rest of their future accordingly. A year later, the crown’s appeal is approved without any solid basis or presentation of new evidence, and lives are once again put on hold ‘just because’ the authorities feel like it.

Having thoroughly studied this case, it is not as simple as it seems on the outset. The internal working of those in power has the ability to ruin the lives of many. Guilt or innocence is no longer even the question; a matter of rights and responsibilities of government bodies and citizens is what seems to now be in question.