Thousands of miles from my space, a change is happening that will be recorded forever in history. The Americans have made a daring choice of going beyond the race and prioritizing what they all missed for the past 8 years: A leader that would bring them the pride that they deserve.
But how does that affect my life here? Obviously, foreign policy was among the least priorities that concerned the Americans when they voted. Ofcourse. Their country is in an economic turmoil. Economy should come first. But how are they concerned about the world's most conflict-ridden region, and one of the most furtile land for terrorism ? The Middle East awaits daring steps from the Obama administration, and though personally I do not expect much, there are a few things that make me feel a bit more secure:
Obama is willing to talk with Iran...and to pull the troops out of Iraq.
The world has to understand that the Middle East is a highly religiously oriented region. Religious divides, tensions and civic strifes have been going on ever since the war on Iraq started. Do we need a new conflict to highten the already-spiced-up tensions? Any war with Iran would be a recipe for a regional religious divide in the Middle East. Severe consequences follow that. And for someone like me living in a coutnry like Lebanon, where religion defines you and your weight in power, any thought of a conflict with Iran would make me feel like running away from this place. Even if I have to live in some kind of far-away-in-the-middle-of-nowhere island, its much safer than staying in a community fueled by religious tensions. I've been having that feeling for the past 5 years ever since the war on Iraq started. Thanks to Bush, bloodshed is all over the place in this region, and religious Sunni-Shiite divides have been materialized and people feel increasingly insecure more than anytime before. The fact that Obama plans to have a non-offensive, less-agressive attitude towards the issues at stake here make me feel *a bit more safe* to stay in My Space for the coming few years.
Apart from that, I do not expect much of a change. I'm clearly aware that neither my country nor the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is on top of Obama's priorities for his term. I am aware that we will be receiving less American attention...and I thank God for that. *sigh*
Nad
Blogging from Beirut, Lebanon
