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| November 02, 2007 | Friday | Shawwal 20, 1428 |
Monk power in Myanmar
Plight of migrant workers
Communion with Allah
OTHER VOICES - Middle East Press
GLOBAL oil prices continue to soar on the back of a weakening dollar and speculative trading fuelled in part by the ‘political premiums’ associated with geopolitical uncertainty in the Gulf. With the dollar hitting all-time lows against the euro with almost every passing day, oil producers are naturally looking to keep real earnings and USD forex reserves stable through higher prices. The seemingly insoluble crisis in Iraq and Washington’s increasingly shrill anti-Iran rhetoric also factor into the equation. At the same time, production in Alaska has been falling, leading to a decline in US reserves. With winter and its peak demand just round the corner, confirmation of a steep drop in American inventories sent US oil prices jumping to a record high of over $94 dollars a barrel on Thursday while London Brent closed at $90.46. It now seems that earlier predictions of oil prices crossing the $100 mark by year-end or in early 2008 may not be off the mark. Whether Opec’s commitment to raise production by 500,000 barrels a day from Nov 1 will help stabilise prices remains to be seen — that is if the promise actually materialises.
The upward trend in oil prices does not bode well for Pakistani consumers or the country’s balance of trade. The cost of petroleum products and crude oil accounted for over 24 per cent of the import bill in 2006-07 and a sustained rise in prices, as witnessed in FY06, will spell serious trouble. As the State Bank governor warned on Monday, “inflationary pressures may be further generated if … fiscal compulsions drive the government to pass through a rise in fuel prices in the face of rising international energy prices”. As it is, food inflation has assumed debilitating proportions for the poor and is hitting the middle classes hard as well. An increase in local fuel prices is bound to make goods costlier across the board, adding to the growing misery of the vast majority of the population. Anything that is transported will be vulnerable to price hikes and that applies to non-food items as well. If energy becomes costlier, the cost of production will go up, adversely impacting both domestic consumers and exporters whose products could be rendered even less competitive than they are at present.
The ‘upside’ to rising oil prices is that it could, conceivably, translate into a heightened search for alternate energy sources. In the case of Pakistan, a country with a long coastline and an agro-based economy, we would do well to concentrate on wind and biomass power. At the same time, efforts to harness coal deposits — said to be second only to those of the US — ought to be accelerated but with an unwavering eye on using the cleaner technology developed in Europe rather than being saddled with second-hand, pollution-heavy American plants. All this will take time. In the short term, the initiatives that were announced in 2005, and again in 2006, to promote the production of petrol with a ten per cent ethanol mix should be taken to their logical conclusion. The sugar mills already have the required infrastructure in place and the petroleum lobby must not be allowed to derail, yet again, what is clearly in the national interest.
MYANMAR’S monks have once again taken to the streets indicating that the demonstrations witnessed in August and September, before they were subdued by the military junta, were no flash in the pan. Thousands had rallied behind the monks when they protested against the regime’s highhandedness, and at that time it had seemed that the movement might force a political change in Myanmar. But the consequent detentions, killings and abductions by soldiers of ordinary citizens and monks put a stop to the protests. The recent march by monks in the town of Pakokku is a sign that the fire of people’s power has not quite died down, and if stoked could still lead Myanmar’s aging generals to end their four-decade rule to give democracy a chance. The question is how far the international community is prepared to go to support the people of Myanmar in their quest for democracy. While some countries, such as the US and those of the European Union, have indeed registered their protest by imposing sanctions on the regime, there are others that have chosen to disregard the excesses of the generals and the misery and poverty of those living under them. Prominent among them are China, India and Russia.
Besides having energy interests in Myanmar, these three, along with Serbia, constitute the largest suppliers of arms to Yangon. India is also interested in maintaining friendly ties with the generals because of rebel activities along its common border. Looking to their national interests and presumably subscribing to a policy of non-interference in the affairs of another country there has been no attempt by any of the three to be guided by the principles of their own nationalist movements. Whatever the fruits they ultimately bore, the Russian and Chinese revolutions were an attempt to free the oppressed. India’s independence movement against the Raj was no less. With such moorings, it is a pity that they cannot empathise with the average Myanmarese. Moreover, these pivotal actors must realise that helping the cause of democracy in Myanmar would not necessarily mean a blow to their economic and other interests.
ONE can only sympathise with those of the 4,000 migrant workers who may be deported from the UAE for their unruly behaviour during an illegal strike on Monday in Dubai. The workers were protesting their miserable work conditions and poor wages but things took an ugly turn when they attacked police vans and vandalised a building, a rarity in this tiny emirate where labour laws are strict and working conditions, especially for labourers, inhumane. However, theirs is not the first protest — and unless the government addresses workers’ concerns — it is not likely to be the last. Earlier this year in August, 500 workers protested over low wages and two years ago some 800 workers blocked a major road to protest not having been paid for four months. The international community too has taken note of poor working conditions for labourers, with Human Rights Watch last year saying that the economic boom was due to “wage exploitation and working conditions that are hazardous to the point of being deadly”. That workers protested knowing that such activity would lead to deportation shows the magnitude of the problems they face. It was reported on Wednesday that those who did not participate in acts of vandalism could return to work after signing a pledge that they would adhere to the stipulations in their contracts — in essence their protests amount to nothing. This is disappointing. The UAE, along with other Gulf countries where the situation is no different, needs to reform its labour laws and bring them into accordance with international laws.
Labourers have only their respective embassies to rely on for any kind of assistance and help is usually slow in coming. That there has been no report of outrage by the striking workers’ diplomatic representatives is an indication of the apathy workers have to contend with. Labour ministries in India and Pakistan, whose workers form a majority of the 700,000 construction workers in the UAE, must take up their issues with their counterparts in the UAE. It is their duty to protect their citizens’ rights and ensure that they are not violated.
The Islamic philosophy of life is summed up in a short Quranic verse: “Say, ‘My prayer and my sacrifice and my life and my death are all for Allah, the Lord of the Worlds.” (6:163) This is further explained. “And of men there is he who would sell himself to seek the pleasure of Allah; and Allah is Compassionate to His servants.” (2:208).
The Quran reminds, “Is he who follows the pleasure of Allah, like him who draws on himself the wrath of Allah and whose abode is Hell? (3:163) “Whoso does that, seeking the pleasure of Allah, We shall soon bestow on him a great reward.” (4:115) “Thereby does Allah guide those who seek His pleasure on the paths of peace, and leads them out of every kind of darkness into light by His will, and guides them to the right path.” (5:17)
”Allah is well pleased with them and they are well pleased with Him. They are Allah’s party.” (58:23) “And Allah has promised to believers, men and women, Gardens beneath which rivers flow wherein they will abide, and delightful dwellingplaces in Gardens of Eternity. And the pleasure of Allah is the greatest of all. That is supreme triumph.” (9:72)
According to the Holy Prophet (PBUH), Allah said, “For those who love one another for My glory, there will be columns of light that will be the envy of the Prophets and Martyrs.” (Tirmidhi) “Allah has announced that it becomes incumbent upon Me to bestow My love on those who love one another for My sake and spend for My sake.” “Allah does not accept an act unless it is exclusively meant to seek His pleasure.”(Nesai) “A person who gives for Allah and withholds for Allah, loves and hates for Allah, and contracts marriage for Allah perfects his belief “ (Tirmidhi) “Whoso loves a person for the pleasure of Allah, respects his Lord.” (Ahmad)
”On the Day of Judgment Allah, the Exalted will call: Where are those who loved each other to My glory? Today I shall give them shelter in the shade of My mercy. Today there is no shade beside My shade.” “By Him in whose hand is my life, you will not enter Paradise unless you believe, and you will not truly believe unless you love one another.” “Allah augments the honour of one who forgives, and one who serves another for the sake of Allah but Allah exalts him in rank.”
“A man set out to visit in another town. Allah appointed an angel to safeguard him on his way. When the man approached the angel he was asked: Whither are you bent? He answered: I intend to visit a brother of mine in yonder town. The Angel asked: Have you committed some valuable to him which you desire to take care of? He answered: No. I have no desire except to visit him because I love him for the sake of Allah. The angel said to him: I am a messenger of Allah sent to you to tell you that Allah loves you as you love your brother for His sake. (Muslim).
Judging human behaviour in the context of pleasure of Allah shifts the main emphasis to real motive of an apparent act. Its importance is underlined in the Quran. “The day when wealth and sons shall not avail. But he alone will be saved who brings to Allah a sound heart.” (26:8990) “To Allah belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth; and whether you disclose what is in your minds or keep it hidden, Allah will call you to account for it;” (2:285) “And there is no blame on you in any mistake that which your hearts make in this matter, but what matters is that which your hearts intend.” (33:6) There is to be an accountability of thoughts also.
The Holy Prophet (PBUH) said, “Allah has defined good and evil and has expounded their gradation. Therefore, he who makes up his mind to do good, it is rewarded by Allah for one full measure of it, and if he then proceeds to carry it out Allah rewards him from ten to seven hundred times, and even many times over. He who is inclined towards an evil deed, but does not carry it out, is rewarded by Allah for one full measure of good deed. Should he carry it out, he is debited only one evil deed.”
“Allah has forgiven my followers the evil thoughts, that come to their minds, as long as such thoughts are not put into action or uttered.” (Bukhari) “Good thoughts are good worship.” (Abu Daud)
The Holy Prophet (PBUH) said, “Motives determine the value of all conduct, and a person attains what he desires.” “On the Day of Judgment the reward will be according to the motive.” (Bukhari) “Allah does not regard your bodies and looks but looks at your hearts.” “Certainly there is a piece of flesh in body. If this is right, the whole body is right. If this is corrupted, the whole body is corrupted. Remember that piece is heart” (Muslim). “All that you do with a good motive is credited to you.” (Muslim)
Motive, while it imparts virtue to an ordinary act, can detract from an apparently good deed. Allah says, “So woe to those who pray. But are unmindful of their prayer. They like to be seen.” (107:67) The Holy Prophet (PBUH) said, “He who acts so as to boast among people will have his faults noised about, and he whose motive is to show off will be recompensed accordingly.” (Bukhari)Love for the sake of Allah and hatred for the sake of Allah gives a new dimension to human conduct and relations. It provides the most enduring and equitable basis which transcends impulsive reaction and vested interest which, in turn, are anchored in emotion and logic, not necessarily always consistent or constant.
Gujarat challenge
THE damning footage of Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal activists spilling the beans about the anti-Muslim pogrom of 2002 in … Gujarat has raised a political storm in the country. It has raised fresh questions on the moral right of Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi to continue in office.
These VHP-Dal men have admitted, during a sting operation by Tehelka newsmagazine, aired by TV channels later, that Modi had sanctioned the violence against the state’s Muslims in the aftermath of the Godhra train tragedy in which 59 passengers returning from a Hindu demonstration were killed. None other than the BJP legislator from Godhra has been quoted as saying the chief minister had given rioters a ‘free hand’ for three days. By any reckoning, this is an unpardonable action by a senior politician who has been vested with the authority to govern — the maintenance of law and order being his key responsibility. More than 2,000 people, mostly Muslims had been killed during the communal violence. The revelations seriously implicate the chief minister in the stirring of the communal cauldron…
The narration by some of the accused as to how former Congress MP Ehsan Jaffri was hacked limb by limb and burnt, how dozens of Muslims hiding in a pit in Naroda Patiya were roasted alive, and how a mob pierced out the foetus from the womb of a woman, with a sword, was too chilling and macabre to take six years after the carnage. …Some of the other revelations…presented the real face of the hard-core Hindutva activists…
The BJP’s central leadership must … take the chief minister to task. As of now, the party can’t wash its hands of the accusation that it is seeking to gain strength by unleashing a hate campaign against the minorities… — (Oct 29)
Carrot, not stick
UTTERANCES on Iran’s nuclear programme have gone up a notch, with US President George Bush saying that Iran’s acquisition of a nuclear bomb would mean a third world war.Bush is probably convinced that Iran’s hostile stance vis-à-vis Israel and its repeated threat to wipe it off the surface of the Earth will make the current Iranian government, headed by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, attack Israel with a nuclear bomb.
Such thought is exaggerated and absurd. When, even better if, Iran gets the nuclear bomb, it can be expected to act more responsibly towards the international community, including Israel.
Under no regime would Iran be suicidal. It knows that the use of nuclear weapons against any of its neighbours will invite similar retaliation, which means its total destruction.
This much being understood, the international community has to continue efforts to dissuade Tehran from developing a nuclear arsenal. The Middle East is burning with flashpoints and adding to this flammable situation does not help anybody in the region.There are two effective ways to convince Tehran to abandon its military nuclear programme. One is to convince Israel to also abandon its nuclear weapons and open its nuclear facilities to scrutiny by the United Nations…Another way is for the international community, especially the US, to offer Iran some incentive that convinces it to change course on its controversial nuclear programme. So far, and clearly showing ill intentions that do not serve anybody, the West has been relying solely on threats to induce Iran to reconsider its nuclear policy.
Tehran, after all, is aspiring to be a serious regional power with deep economic interests in the region and beyond. Bellicose statements against Iran would only inflame its leaders’ feelings and drive them to desperate moves…. — (Oct 29)
Now is the time
IF people’s obsession with cars continues at its current rate, air pollution will kill more Egyptians than those killed in road accidents each year. Since Egypt’s biggest cities are devouring the environment as urban sprawl and pollution spread, a long-term plan is needed for a sustainable future.
Scientists and environmentalists paint a bleak picture for Egypt’s future, if nothing is done. The time to prepare and prevent this happening is right now. The present environmental hazards mean that Egyptians need to rethink the way they build, operate and live in their cities, to allow citizens to enjoy a better existence. Egypt, already grappling with population pressures, needs to curb rising waste, air and water pollution, cut energy consumption and create more sustainable housing. Now is Egyptians’ chance to make a difference to their future. — (Oct 31)