Cronicle of the day

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Resistance and Renewal
-- "We Are Condemned to Hoping" -
Final day of the Arab Meeting
by Nadia Aïssaoui and Larbi Bouguerra <nadia@echo.org>

The final session of our meeting took place in the morning and was spent collectively drawing up a kind of declaration summarizing the major ideas that have come to light during the meeting. This was aimed at the media representatives who were present and represented a forum for mutual discussion, highlighting the main issues and challenges that the Arab World must face in the coming millennium.

Here are two notable paragraphs from this declaration:
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"The will to continue the struggle within our Arab countries with a view to building a rule of law, of freedom and justice, and to adopting democracy as a culture, as a system of values and a political system that allows all people, men and women, to plan a future for themselves, to express their opinions, to secure their rights and to fight any kind of discrimination based on their religion, the community to which they belong, their race, gender or the color of their skin."

"We reaffirm that within our major cause lies the Palestinian cause, not only as a symbol of the struggle of our peoples for freedom and independence, but also because it is a truly human cause and a symbol of the fight against the forces of hegemony, colonialism, racism, and denial of human rights. On this basis, we appeal to all free men and women and to all the world's intellectuals to show their solidarity with the Palestinian people, their continuing battle and their Intifada for their own independent state with Jerusalem as a capital, and for the return of their refugees back from exile to their historical homeland, through the application of international legal rulings."

Beyond the declaration
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However, above and beyond the discussion on the declaration, certain concerns were strongly expressed on the real difficulty of putting into practice collective procedures and mobilizing the dispersed resources. There were diverse reasons for this: the clear lack of financial means, the feeling of discouragement and the narrow margin of liberty held by the more dynamic agents of civil society, particularly young people and women.

As a consequence, the participants strongly expressed their desire and their hope to create new opportunities for meetings and discussion as much as possible, as they consider them to provide rarely found breathing space in which exchange and mutual strengthening are essential elements.

It was agreed to make maximum use of the "Majalat" journal, published by the Cultural Council of South Lebanon within the framework of the Alliance. This will provide a space for exchange and discussion of any thoughts and self-determined and innovative proposals. The idea of setting up and permanently developing a Web site was widely agreed upon.

The meeting drew to a close in a warm, family atmosphere at the home of Ziad Majed in the village of Khirbit Silm. His parents and family extended us an unforgettable welcome.

>From South Lebanon, the Arab World, 24 June 2001
Continental Meeting of the Arab World