Arab Winter in Montréal

Calligraphy-Graffiti touches me so deeply!
Arab Winter Exhibition @ Fresh Paint Gallery.

My discovery of the metropolis continues.

I did go to the open house for that physical theater class.  It was good to move in the studio, it was good to emote.  However, I couldn't help comparing the teacher with the one I had in San Fran.  I miss James Donlon!

After the open house, I made my way to another free activity I had read about on the web.  It was called ''Révolution: Bilan et Perspectives,''  and was organized by the Collectif Tunisien au Canada.


For an entire day, Cinéma du Parc turned into a cultural and political hall.  The collective had organized a full program, with conferences and debates, art exhibitions, films and documentaries, food and flags and culture.  I wondered if I might be one of the few white girls in the room.... and I was.
But it was good.


I got there just in time for the second conference, which was entitled: ''Arab revolutions and the international geopolitical situation.''  The panel consisted of three university professors: two in the field of political science and international relations, and one historian.

Serious intellectuals agree to not know what to do.

I sat in the movie theater with my little plate of Tunisian goodies and a cup of black coffee.  Then I got out my notebook and a pen, ready to delve into the topic of Arab revolutions and international relations.  I felt that I was reconnecting with a part of me I seemed to have left behind five years ago, at the term of my internship with Global Exchange.  I felt that I was back in Maine, studying international affairs and working for professor Baktiari, talking about national security and international relations, and going to conferences in West Point and meeting professors and ambassadors... getting a taste of ''the scene.''

I've actually been pondering this previous time in my life, recently, because I'm working on my résumé and all.  Thus I am revisiting, wishing to integrate the political thinker part and the creative spiritual part of me, all the while finding myself back in the region where I existed as a child and a teenager, before I did all these years of university.  No doubt, this is all a big spiral.

The first lecturer didn't move me.  In fact, I had a hard time following his talk.  He sat back and spoke from such a disenchanted place.  ''First of all, I have to state that I'm speaking from a subjective standpoint,'' said he. (Thank you Mr. Raboudi, for acknowledging that).  He explained: ''This is not an Arab Spring, as people say.  It has been a cold and bloody winter.''  He paused.  ''But I guess people need to romanticized whatever liberation movement takes place.  It gives us hope.''  (This is all paraphrased)

Yeah, I remember my bachelors in international affairs.  Disillusion and cynicism show up quickly.  Same old games and manipulations, same old diplomatic paradigms.  Any idealist is bound to hit the wall.  And it hurts so much you have two choices: to harden up, or to walk another path.

Luckily, the next panelist made me feel better.  His voice was much warmer, and he spoke clearly and intelligently.  Yet he didn't deny the stalemate and gravity of the geopolitical situation.  Leaders might have gone but the regimes themselves aren't much different.  Money is lacking; there's that humongous debt still burdening African nations.  As long as business and tourism are the main avenues for profit, power is bound to remain centralized.  The changes that need to happen for people to gain freedom and security are deeper and more radical.
At this point I'm thinking- rather, a voice is screaming in my head: ''Empowerment through decentralization! ...  Micro-financing... of sustainable communities and farming project!  Etc.''
I want to know whether those topics are even on the table over there.  Would I come off as culturally illiterate and a ''first-world-centric'' fool for talking about the potential of co-operative models, and community gardening and agriculture in the Middle East?  Probably.

The third panelist is also engaging.  He says he didn't pay much attention when the rebellions started in Tunisia, a year ago.  As a historian, he saw that ''non-organized, spontaneous movements never created sustainable changes.''  Historically, leaders will first try to repress the protests, and then perhaps make a few concessions. Nothing changes, at least not unless the bigger powers (the U.S.) decide it would benefit them.  BUT, this time, he was surprised.  The departure of Ben Ali had not been planned by the US government.  What happened is that people discovered their own power, and THAT, is revolutionary.

As he explained, ''A government falls, but the dissidents have no alternatives to propose.  In the first de-colonization wave, in the 1960s and 70s, the Left fought for socialism and nationalism.  Today, they have lowered every standard and are asking for a bare minimum.  They want dignity, and basic human rights.''

Arab Winter Exhibition.
180 St-Catherine Est. Montréal

Of course, the question was raised as to whether or not there was a connection between the Arab Spring and the Occupy movement.  Scholars were ambivalent and uncommitted with their answers:  ''There is an undeniable parallel and mutual influence, but we must remember that we're talking about different cultures.''

I personally believe there is much more than a parallel.  The 99% are demanding accountability, equality, and justice.  The 99% are pointing at fraudulous behaviors on the part of the elite, and at the absurd imbalance of power that results from that.  This is not very different from what caused uprisings in North Africa.  We are talking of about neoliberalism, centralism, and fraud and hypocritical propaganda.




It is true, the roaring of ''civil society'' has a different meaning in countries that have been ruled by dictators.  For Tunisians to debate and speak freely about politics is a big deal and it should be celebrated.
Still, the root causes seem to be the same.

Why is it so hard to see, that the counterweight to neoliberalism might be localism-communautarism?  That the continuous use of highly centralized energy resources is bound to centralize power in the hands of the few?

One lecturer said, '' Civil society must organize at a national level to come up with coherent demands and alternatives.''  I disagree.  While cultural nationalism can be an beautiful and powerful thing, I don't believe it is the best solution when it comes to economics.  Bioregionalism makes more sense.



Throughout the day, I thought about what my friend asked me before I left for the event:  ''Ève, can I ask you... what is your interest in going there?''

Houssem and another friend tell me about freedom of speech
in Tunisia, pre-Jan.14 2011.

I went there because I wanted to inform myself on what happened in North Africa, and what is going on now.  I like to try to understand what is going on in the world, and to know what aspirations other human beings may have.  I want to hear about what they dream of, what they think about, what they hope and what they see.  I want to fraternize with people of different cultures, because our home, the planet, has gotten smaller and the family is getting bigger... and family ties can become a powerful thing when calamity arises.  Suffering is an essential part of existence.  We're all in it together.
I went there to expose myself to the debate, and experience that phenomenon: flashes of knowing.  When a statement makes me react at the core, not emotionally though, rather intellectually, creatively.  It's not something I have control on; sometimes my brain synapses seem to spontaneously connect to create new pathways, and visions appear and they make so much sense.  Perhaps not in the immediate future, but in the long run, I can see things unfold.
I went there to gather new perspectives and challenge my own opinions.  I went there to refresh my memory on the realities we have to deal with.  I know I can easily forget the gap between my visions and what life is really like, down on earth.  So I make sure to keep exposing myself to real life, like power dynamics, and the problem of ''evil'' (though I'm not quite able to accept the idea of evil as an intrinsic phenomenon.  I've come to consider that it has its roots in fear.), and the conundrums tied to agriculture in general.
At the same time, however, it's a way to fuel the fire and the flame alive.

This Algerian woman raises the crowd with her rapping and singing!

Please feel free to comment, ask question, enter the conversation.  I might be wrong in many ways... I am asking to be challenged and enlightened... I am hoping to generate thought, in you as in myself...

Thank you.