Tuesday, May 20, 2008

The two Arab Worlds

"Egypt also got outside help from the United Arab Emirates, which donated a million tons of wheat to the country last week, said the Emirates state-owned news agency WAM.

Egypt is one of the world's largest importers of wheat, and prices shot up by more than 50 percent over the last year.

The Emirates is also struggling with rising food prices. The government has signed agreements with supermarkets to keep prices on more than 30 basic commodities at last year's levels.

Rising food prices have been more difficult for Mideast countries that lack significant natural resources, such as Jordan, which has raised food and fuel prices multiple times since the beginning of the year because the government lacks the cash to continue expensive subsidies."

The Arab divide: rich and poor.

2 comments:

Peder said...

I do agree with you (from my limited knowledge base), that the Arab divide is between rich and poor. Possibly it is due to your focus on the Arab world - but, I implore you, this is a world wide problem. A vast chasm that is ever expanding and at only ever increasing rates. It is proving to be this way in North America, Africa, Asia - the world. We seem nearly to be reverting back to feudalism, where the wealthy keep the poor in their lowly positions to continue using them as pawns in their never ending fight to be king. The poor are kept wealthy enough to stay alive (barely) yet kept downtrodden to such a point they can barely rise up in resistance.

Will there ever be any but a few that care for the poor, hungry, fatherless, widows, and outcasts? Alas, I fear not. Regardless of race, nationality, or cultural upbringing to do so would be too countercultural, too revolutionary, too loving, and too much money out of the proverbial purses of the rich.

Yet do not give up the fight, these are our family, friends, neighbors and even strangers. For this could one day be us too.

Rami Zurayk said...

Fully agree.