Dr. Khaled M Batarfi
“The Gulf oil is not just yours… it is Allah’s gift to all Arabs and Muslims. Therefore, such a waste of resources bothers us, and we have the right to hold you accountable,” argued an Arab friend. “It is high time we exercised guardianship over the Gulf states. From now on, all financial decisions must go through a board of directors and a general assembly, representing all Arab and Muslim nations,” he announced. Others agreed.
They contended that the Gulf recent military and economic deals with the United States were draining Arab and Muslim resources and showed how weak, incompetent and wasteful we were!
I told them: Less than a century ago, when your countries were ages ahead of us, our camel convoys would wait outside the walls of your bristling cities, selling fat, milk and cattle. Then, you looked down on us, and never thought of sharing your fortunes with your Arab and Muslim brethren. But when Allah gave us our own fortune, oil, you suddenly remembered the mutual bond of religion and blood, and granted yourselves sharing rights!
However, we did not treat you as you treated us. Instead, we have shared our treasures, opened our gates, supported your governments and armies, and invested in your economies. And still, despite the arrogant, ungrateful and treacherous attitude of some of your elites, we still do. Because, this is our holy duty and that is the right thing to do. You are closer to us than others. You deserve better place and space than any. But it is unacceptable when some of you forget that this is our money, and demand shares, interfere in the way we manage our economies, and claim custody.
Remember that our resources are smaller than yours, but we have managed them well and invested in what benefits us — and you. We have developed our countries, taught our children, strengthened our armies and solidified our security, without forgetting our duty toward fellow Arabs and Muslims, and less privileged nations. On the other hand, your governments have stolen your wealth, and wasted the rest on destructive policies, oppressive police, and defeated armies. Little was left for development, and that is what put you behind the rest of us.
Your capital and best minds have migrated to better and safer environments for study, work and investment, including ours. They were escaping corrupted militant police states, with nothing to offer but slogans, propaganda and conflicts.
You have to answer to your historical and strategic wrongs, bothers and sisters. You have to confront yourselves with the realities of a bitter history. The mistakes of your leaders and your submission to dictators are what led you to this end, not the Gulf! The failure of your development projects and corruption are what changed your fortunes from prosperity to poverty, not the Gulf! Your wars and evil alliances are your doing, not the Gulf states!
Who brought wealthy, sophisticated and powerful Egypt that loaned Great Britain and the United States in the 1940s to its current humble state? Who made the land of the two great rivers, Iraq, that once ruled half the world, (with caliphs and kings from our deserts, by the way!), into such poor, broken, Persian occupied land? Who handed the keys of Umayyad Capital, Damascus, to Tehran, Moscow and even southern Beirut? Who destroyed a great nation and sent two thirds of its population to refugee camps? Who sold happy Yemen to poverty, illness, ignorance — and Iran? Who turned the rich and beautiful North Africa to an exporter of boat refugees and oppressed minorities in Europe? The Gulf states never had a hand in all the above. In fact, if it wasn’t for their support, the situation would have been much worse.
I told my Arab intellectual friends: “We help and assist as much as we can. We consult and advise if we were asked. But we are not prepared to carry the responsibility of your sins, or allow any interference in our affairs. Always remember, that hospitable Arabs extend their generosity in one hand. On the other they hold their swords. Those who respect us enjoy our hospitality. Those who violated our rights receive the sword. The choice is theirs.
— Dr. Khaled M. Batarfi is a Saudi writer based in Jeddah. He can be reached at kbatarfi@gmail.com. Follow him at Twitter:@kbatarfi
