November 28, 2004

To describe Yasser Arafat as an exemplary role model is a rank understatement. The defintion of role models seems to have undergone a transformation in the modern world where money and professional success are considered of much more worth than ideology and substance

THE death of Yasser Arafat is not just a loss to the Palestinian cause, but to the entire humanity, especially my generation that has been afflicted with a severe dearth of role models.

A couple of days back when it was announced that Yasser Arafat was recuperating, a person in my class asked a question: Why exactly are we concerned about him? According to him, Arafat had not accomplished anything significant, so what was so special about him? This incident best delineates the depravity of my generation. Our values and sentiments have become so warped that the only yardstick against which we have to measure people is the end result of their struggle in life. Financial gains, celebrity status or mere popularity have become bywords for heroism. These days, Shah Rukh Khan and Tom Cruise would draw larger crowds than a man of substance like Yasser Arafat.

My father’s generation had heroes and role models like Mao Tse-tung, Ho Chi Minh, Charles de Gaulle, Gamal Nasir, Brezhnev, and Che Guevara. These personalities inspired one to a higher purpose in life. Maybe that is the reason why they were not as materialistic and depraved as the youngsters of today. Fighting for a cause, even at the expense of one’s own personal advancement, was seen worthy and something to aspire to.

My generation has a what’s-in-it-for-me mindset. The idea that anyone can easily live out one’s dreams is not only absurd, but downright stupid.

It’s true that Yasser Arafat could not accomplish what he set out to do, that is, establish a Palestinian state. Does that make him a failure? If so, what about a man like Tipu Sultan who died having sacrificed his entire state, but who is still remembered as a freedom fighter who battled it out against the forces of imperialism? What about Ho Chi Minh who died fighting American troops, but his nation achieved independence five years after his death? Even Allama Iqbal passed away in 1930 without seeing his dream come true. Are all these men failures?

Greatness of any person cannot be measured by the end result of his struggle in life. Great men make the beginning and their greatness manifests itself after they have passed away. We have to keep in mind that while success is ephemeral and relative, true greatness can be gauged by the impact of one’s actions on future generations and their ideals. Greatness of Yasser Arafat cannot be discussed in light of the birth of a Palestinian state. He symbolized the Palestinian cause. Against world powers, controlled by the Zionists, the pro-Zionist media, and countries like an increasingly powerful and belligerent Israel, and a biased United States, he struggled single-mindedly for 40 years, never letting adverse conditions pull him down. Just the fact that the Palestine cause is alive and has not been relegated to the dustbin of history should provide testimony to Yasser Arafat’s resilience. Above all, he changed a refugee issue into a worldwide cause and whatever territory the Palestinians have managed to hold on to is largely because of him. The Palestinians have lost a leader and the world a statesman, but many have lost a father-figure. He was a person who, in spite of his vulnerabilities, was a colossus that the western powers could not pull down.

Yasser Arafat, like many leaders, has his detractors and there are those who dismiss him as a glorified terrorist. Many Palestinians, too, feel that he has been more of a hindrance to the peace cause and was responsible for corruption and was jealous of anyone challenging him. Similar allegations were levelled at the Quaid-i-Azam, Mohammad Ali Jinnah, Jawaharlal Nehru, and Mahatma Gandhi. It is very unfortunate that we have a tendency to besmirch our own leaders — leaders due to which we have achieved what we take for granted.

This could be partially put down to Arafat’s portrayal of by the popular media. The western media for most of the past four decades has tried its best to paint him in bad light. Except for a short reprieve in 1993, when he signed the Oslo Accord and were awarded the Nobel peace prize, Yasser Arafat was a hated figure in the West, and in the eyes of the media he was a terrorist at worst, and a misguided maverick at best. The negative rhetoric intensified when he refused to compromise on his principles at Camp David — the principles which eventually cost him his health, freedom and life. Sadly, we do get misled by the prejudiced views that are drummed into our ears. We forget to think about the real issues ourselves and use the biased media as a filter to our judgments. In spite of all that, Arafat could not be forgotten. For the past four years he had been in virtual imprisonment in Ramallah, a lone obstacle to Israeli forces. This action cemented his image in my mind as a courageous man who embodied the qualities of a statesman.

Those who question Arafat’s accomplishments should consider the impediments set against him, what he could and could not do. And the sad reality is that he could do little with world powers against him, and the Muslim nations were powerless to help him. Against such odds what he did accomplish was that he turned the Palestinian cause into a global issue — a monumental achievement by any manner of means. Alone, but defiant, he faced the tanks and planes that bombarded his compound while his countrymen were killed with impunity. Despite being seriously ill, he refused to leave his compound for treatment because he was afraid that he would not be allowed to re-enter Ramallah. He was persuaded to go for medical treatment once the assurance had been given by the Israeli government that he would be allowed to come back. Such selflessness at the cost of one’s life and health makes one wonder if the world will be fortunate enough to see someone like Yasser Arafat again. With his passing away we have lost another role model. We have lost a hero who exemplified dedication and determination.

Every society, especially in today’s materialistic world, needs men like Arafat to believe that there is more to life than just the pursuit of material goals. As John F. Kennedy said, “The measure of a society is not only in the heroes it creates, but also the heroes it honours.” We have to honour men like Yasser Arafat.

We need men like Yasser Arafat and Nelson Mandela who live for a cause. We have a tendency to be kind to a person after he has died. We like to think well of someone who has passed away. I may be accused of glorifying Yasser Arafat because he was an underdog. The person in my class that I initially referred to claimed that I was being sentimental while praising the Palestinian leader. I was blind to the reality and was being idealistic. But what is wrong with having ideals? Being pragmatic is good, but is it necessary that we should act pragmatically at the cost of our ideals? Should success in life be relative like everything else?

These days, the mindset of the general public, and more so of young people, is that everything is fair. Their favourite catchphrase is: “It depends” or “It’s all relative”. But should it be all relative? That means there is no absoluteness attached to what is good and what is great; and if there is no absoluteness then everything is relative. Those who think that everything is relative and everything should be measured by one’s own yardstick actually turn relativism into absoluteness. This is the problem with today’s mindset. Recently I heard someone say: “Yasser Arafat may be a good person to you; but to me he is just another leader — it’s all relative.” If everything is relative and there is no absoluteness then it just means that we turn relativism otherwise. So let us all understand what Yasser Arafat stood for, and his importance in history.

My friends say I behave emotionally when I put Yasser Arafat on a high pedestal. That is not true. He lived and died for his cause and that alone is enough for anyone to admire him. What I am doing is taking him off the pedestal and trying to paint his true picture.

Yasser Arafat was an inspirational figure that we in this cynical age will sorely miss. People like him bless this earth with their presence and never quite leave. I still have faith in the goodness of humanity because of him. The Palestinians have lost their father-figure, the world a great leader, and humanity a towering personality. Let us mourn.

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