مركز الشرق والغرب للدراسات والأبحاث

From Development to Relief: Who on God’s earth is benefitting from the status quo in the Arab World?  

(by Abdelghani Jbara)

The unresolved political and security situation in the Middle East, North Africa and the Sahel is extremely worrying. 

The revolutions and uprisings of the Arab Spring have heralded the dawn of much a needed change. However, many internal and external factors have conspired to divert the positive energy of the Arab Spring and to aggravate the security situation in the region

Instead of catering to their development needs, Arabs have now been relegated to: seeking relief assistance to deal with a growing refugee crisis, seeking financial aid to restructure their ailing economies, or bleeding important financial wealth that could be used to finance their development efforts.

The United Nations has called the Syrian crisis the "worst humanitarian disaster" since the Cold War. Indeed, Syria is now a battle ground with people who escaped death been displaced internally or externally and in need of urgent and continuous relief assistance. Meanwhile, its neighbors, Jordan and Turkey, are overwhelmed by the influx of refugees and the exponential growth of their basic needs. And though the prospects in Tunisia are a bit encouraging, the situation in Libya, Egypt, Sudan, Yemen and Syria are far from been normalized.

In Yemen, Libya, and Sudan, the political situation is far from been settled as some regions are harboring secessionist tendencies and powerful groups and tribes are vying for influence. As per Egypt, The economic situation is dire despite been eased thanks to the financial help granted by some Gulf States. Finally, Tunisia, whose constitution was passed and promulgated, is still facing economic uncertainties as its public and private sectors performed poorly since the beginning of the Arab Spring.

The Gulf countries are not faring well either. Their involvement in the Syrian conflict to counter the growing interference of Iran and their support for Yemen, Egypt, Jordan and other countries is causing them to bleed important financial resources that could have been diverted to other strategic ends such as diversifying their oil-dependent economies. 

Even Iran is not far advanced. Its interference in Syria and Arab affairs has caused The Iranians and their protégé Hizbola to loose crucial Arab support and popular base. Today, and despite Iran's agreement with the 5+1 group during the Geneva I talks, its economy is suffering from rising expenditures and weak oil sales due to the embargo in place.

On a human level, people who were coexisting with each other peacefully are drifting apart. Sunnis have been pinned down against Shiites, secularists against Islamists, and states against tribes and powerful groups with large popular bases. Furthermore, national dialogues are being suspended, and secessionist tendencies are on the rise in Libya, Yemen and Sudan.

So a question persists: Who on God’s earth is benefitting from the status quo in the Arab World?