Europe’s refugee crisis is dominating the media, raising the question of what to do with people who fled their homelands with hopes of a better tomorrow for themselves and their families.
In the pan-Arab daily Asharq Al Awsat, Fayez Sarah said that most conversations, analyses and news were about the wave of Syrian migrants. News reports focused on tragedies, such as the deaths of Syrians in the Mediterranean and the hardships suffered by illegal migrants, but they also covered illegal immigrants in Turkey, Libya and other countries falling into the nets of human trafficking and smugglers who defraud them of their hard-earned money.
“Some have sold all their belongings at the lowest prices, while others borrowed money from relatives and friends and others had saved penny after penny – amounts that could go to waste, along with their souls,” he wrote.
“All this happened under the nose of the world, and no one moved a finger, a matter that encouraged the Assad regime to persevere with its policy and push Syrians to leave their country. It perfected this policy and strengthened it by adding to their hardships in areas under his control and in those outside his control.
“As radical practices and extremist groups rose, the Assad regime increased the killings and destruction, pushing Syrians to leave their country, whereas the extremism practised by those groups is similar to the practices carried out by the regime: persecuting Syrians, destroying their property and driving them to seek refuge in neighbouring countries.”
He said these developments in Syria have been met by silence and a lack of concern from the international community, with many regional and international bodies attempting in vain to find a solution to the seemingly endless conflict. These combined effects have caused the exodus of Syrians.
In the pan-Arab daily Al Hayat, Hazem Saghieh said famine and death caused by a bloodthirsty dictator, an unmerciful civil war, intolerance calls to expel certain people from their countries have prompted hundreds of thousands of Syrians, Iraqis, Libyans, Tunisians, Ethiopians, Eritreans, Somalis and Afghans to seek “the European El Dorado”.
While he said a no-fly zone in Syria could have prevented the exodus, the tragedy is affecting many other countries.
“The French demographer Alfred Sauvy had invented the expression ‘Third World’ in 1952, to mimic the ‘Third Estate’ that suffered in France from the rule of the nobility and the clergy – a driving force of the 1789 Revolution. Similarly, ‘Third World’ was coined to play a similar role in the United States, leader of the ‘First World’, and Russia, leader of the ‘Second World’”.
In the 1980s, the third world concept was replaced with the concept of “south” to describe countries with low GDPs and low per capita incomes, rising demographics, lower status of women, malnutrition, illiteracy, lower spending on health, poor availability of potable water and a lack of services and housing in mega-cities, he explained.
“Before all these standards, it is essential to build a citizenship that respects citizens while establishing viable countries,” he said.
“This is where achievements of ‘liberation’ led us, followed by the slump of oil prices and the persistence of civil strife, expelling people from their own countries as though they were bones thrown to the hounds.”
Translated by Carla Mirza
CMirza@thenational.ae
The specs
Engine: Dual 180kW and 300kW front and rear motors
Power: 480kW
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh359,900 ($98,000)
On sale: Now
Rashid & Rajab
Director: Mohammed Saeed Harib
Stars: Shadi Alfons, Marwan Abdullah, Doaa Mostafa Ragab
Two stars out of five
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What you as a drone operator need to know
A permit and licence is required to fly a drone legally in Dubai.
Sanad Academy is the United Arab Emirate’s first RPA (Remotely Piloted Aircraft) training and certification specialists endorsed by the Dubai Civil Aviation authority.
It is responsible to train, test and certify drone operators and drones in UAE with DCAA Endorsement.
“We are teaching people how to fly in accordance with the laws of the UAE,” said Ahmad Al Hamadi, a trainer at Sanad.
“We can show how the aircraft work and how they are operated. They are relatively easy to use, but they need responsible pilots.
“Pilots have to be mature. They are given a map of where they can and can’t fly in the UAE and we make these points clear in the lectures we give.
“You cannot fly a drone without registration under any circumstances.”
Larger drones are harder to fly, and have a different response to location control. There are no brakes in the air, so the larger drones have more power.
The Sanad Academy has a designated area to fly off the Al Ain Road near Skydive Dubai to show pilots how to fly responsibly.
“As UAS technology becomes mainstream, it is important to build wider awareness on how to integrate it into commerce and our personal lives,” said Major General Abdulla Khalifa Al Marri, Commander-in-Chief, Dubai Police.
“Operators must undergo proper training and certification to ensure safety and compliance.
“Dubai’s airspace will undoubtedly experience increased traffic as UAS innovations become commonplace, the Forum allows commercial users to learn of best practice applications to implement UAS safely and legally, while benefitting a whole range of industries.”
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Stars:Robert Pattinson
Director:Matt Reeves
Rating: 5/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
Read more about the coronavirus
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
Joker: Folie a Deux
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson
Director: Todd Phillips
Rating: 2/5
TRAP
Starring: Josh Hartnett, Saleka Shyamalan, Ariel Donaghue
Director: M Night Shyamalan
Rating: 3/5
UAE v Ireland
1st ODI, UAE win by 6 wickets
2nd ODI, January 12
3rd ODI, January 14
4th ODI, January 16
Company%20Profile
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THE BIO: Martin Van Almsick
Hometown: Cologne, Germany
Family: Wife Hanan Ahmed and their three children, Marrah (23), Tibijan (19), Amon (13)
Favourite dessert: Umm Ali with dark camel milk chocolate flakes
Favourite hobby: Football
Breakfast routine: a tall glass of camel milk