Humble Obama and our leaders
“THE former American president Barack Obama was born on August 4, 1961. His mother was American and his father a Kenyan,” columnist Qais Al-Osta wrote for Al-Jarida daily.
“However, he continued his study in the US and graduated from the Harvard University’s Faculty of Law -- the first black student to be the editor-in-chief of the university’s Law Magazine.
“In 2004, Obama was elected to the Senate Council from the State of Illinois. He also worked as advisor to the civil rights movement in Chicago – one of the biggest cities in the US.
“On Nov 4th, 2008, Obama was elected US president after defeating the late John McCain in the presidential race. He took the reins of power in the United States on Jan 20, 2009, and four years later was re-elected to the White House defeating his Republican Mitt Romney. But two terms in office Obama was succeeded by the Republican President Donald Trump in January 2017.
“However, the presidency of Obama remained distinguished. His popularity was low among the peoples of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) following the signing of an agreement with Iran because following this agreement Tehran was able to spread its influence in the region.
“But it is needless to say that it is impossible to analyze this topic because some of us believe that the US policy is based on favoritism, love and hatred. However, we tell these people that ‘here there is no gentleman policy’ because it is vital for us to know that America throughout the world works to serve its interests.
“In this connection we say during the years of Obama’s administration it is noteworthy to mention the surprising fact is that he tactfully communicated with various denominations of the Americas – a continent size country of 300 million people.
“For example, a trip from New York City to San Diego in California, takes about six hours. In spite of this fact, president Obama, paid visits to many US cities and states to meet the people. He once even accepted an invitation by a restaurant owner in Austin City of Texas to attend the inauguration ceremony – a trip that takes about four-and-a-half hours.
“The question that may impose itself here is, how president Obama managed to remain committed to all internal activities in addition to his overseas assignments which were full of disputes, wars and other problems throughout the world.
“The other question is, can we as citizens in a small country the size of the State of Kuwait, see HH our Prime Minister having dinner in a restaurant with a group of ordinary citizens to know their opinion over the national economy or the pension programs or the roads network or the other issues which have remained suspended for fifty years? To be more humble, let us ask: Can we meet with an undersecretary without any ‘wasta’.”
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“We hear the Iranians regularly chanting ‘Death to America’ and ‘death to the great Satan’ reflecting the deeprooted enmity between Washington and Tehran, which dates back to more than 50 years,” columnist and professor Dr. Hisham Al-Awadhi wrote for Al-Qabas daily.
“But the history, tells a different story, that the Iranians are in consensus for loving and respecting one US citizen, Howard Baskerville. In this connection, we say the former president Mohammad Khatami in 2005 unveiled the bust of Baskerville during a big ceremony and as such we wonder what the story behind this American is.
“As a matter of fact, Baskerville is a young man from Nebraska, who came to Iran in 1907 to work as a history teacher at a private school in Iran. During that period, Iran witnessed an acute struggle between the ruling party and the opposition when the latter demanded the enactment of a specific constitution – particularly those who were encouraged by the American Revolution and the US constitution of 1776.
“However, the Iranian dream was realized with the election of the Iranian parliament in 1906, but when the new Shah took power in Iran, the country witnessed a popular revolution. In this context, we say the City of Tabrez where Baskerville worked as teacher resisted the rule of the Shah and the Shah ruled with an iron fist and exposed the residents of Tabrez to famine.
“Baskerville realized there was a common element between the Iranian constitutional revolutionaries and the
American Revolution, and he rejected to play the role of observer only, and he joined the revolutionaries although his attitude in this connection had raised the dissatisfaction of the then American consul in Iran, and the latter called him to remind him that in his capacity as a US citizen, he reserves no right to intervene in Iran’s internal affairs to which Baskerville responded saying ‘I am an American citizen and I am proud of my belonging, but I am also a human being, and I will not hesitate to sympathize with the people of the city, because I can’t stand idle and see the suffering of people who are struggling for their right’. He went on to say, ‘the sole difference between me and this people is the place of birth and this is not a big difference’.
“However, after ten months of the siege, the people of Tabrez, started suffering from famine, and a group of men attempted to break the siege and smuggle food for the besieged people, but once in a while Baskerville also was attempting to bring the food into the city, and he died at the age of 24 when one of the snipers shot him in the chest.
“Consequently, Baskerville was buried in Tabrez. For his part, an Iranian teacher Mohsen Rahimi said ‘although many years have passed after the passing away of Baskerville, his popularity is steadily increasing. He added ‘Baskerville shall remain in our hearts and minds as a real hero who stood against the oppression”.
“In spite of the increasing number of people who converge on Tabrez to visit its traditional markets and its red and turquoise mosques, most of the visitors place wreathes on the grave of Baskerville in the Ashouri cemetery. Not just that, these visitors in the evening sit in the famous café that is named after Baskerville.
“But under the bust that was inaugurated by the former Iranian president Sayed Mohammad Khatami, the following is written in Persian ‘Baskerville … is a nationalist … and history maker’.”
“Successive news about the referral of the boards of directors of cooperative societies to the Public Prosecution is no longer a surprise. Such news has become common and familiar because of its frequent recurrence,” columnist Abdulrahman Al-Awwad wrote for Al-Sabah daily.
“Recently, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Societal Development Abdul Aziz Shuaib announced that he signed the minister’s decision to refer nine cooperative boards of directors to the prosecution for financial and administrative violations. He asserted the ministry has not and will not hesitate in punishing anyone who manipulates or exploits the interests of shareholders.
“These repeated financial and administrative irregularities in the boards of directors of cooperative societies are considered a dangerous phenomenon not only because they constitute a serious infringement and blatant violation of the sanctity of the funds of important and vital institutions such as cooperative societies, but also because they reveal the view of some on public work — that it is an opportunity for profit and benefit, even if it is done through theft, looting, embezzlement and all ways or methods of obtaining forbidden money.
“It is truly a great tragedy that we have so many preachers, religious bodies and institutions, sermons, lectures and lessons, yet we have largely failed to reduce this dangerous phenomenon of corruption or stealing money from others — public money owned by the State or parties in which the State contributes a share while the other share belongs to shareholders.”
“Yesterday, Kuwait buried the remains of a number of our righteous martyrs who defended the homeland during the sinful Iraqi invasion on Aug 2, 1990. Words are not enough to be grateful to them,” columnist Dr Hind Al-Choumar wrote for Al-Anba daily.
“They deserve to have their names on the streets and schools in honor of their memory and in recognition of their sacrifices.
“The image of honoring and bidding farewell to the martyrs must remain engraved in the memory of every citizen, especially those who were referred to the Public Prosecution because of suspicions of profiting or encroaching on public money because the homeland is precious and it deserves a lot from us. A person without a homeland cannot live in abundance.
“Successive generations must be made aware of the importance of the homeland, the sacrifices of the martyrs, and how the homeland can be built and preserve its safety and stability through the solidarity of its sons and daughters.”