The year 2011 would not have it otherwise; it thus registered surprises, activated revolutions, and acted in favor of the oppressed and the wronged. It is a year during which the Arab populations rebelled against the governments of the tyrants and murderers. The year 2011 insisted on ending the suffering of the Arab people within a few days, consequently ensuring the fall of dictatorships, the prosecution of tyrants and the introduction of reforms which would have never seen the light had it not been for the strong will and patience of the Arab citizens, who – for many years – were described in the media as being “the Arab street.” Moreover, this year would not leave without seeing sheikhs and clerics issue odd and uncanny fatwas, prohibiting people from enjoying a decent and honest living, which are described by the former as being decadent. I sense pangs of sadness and pulses of overwhelming joy when looking back at the events in 2011. I am sad when I recall the departure of friends and honest men who left us in this exceptional year, and overwhelmingly happy when I recall how Arab countries got rid of dictatorial governments and tyrannical leaders who killed and oppressed the people throughout decades. Each among us has characteristics and names for 2011. It is thus dubbed the year of the revolutions, the year of the popular uprisings, the year of transformations, of deaths, of liberation from fear, of freedom, dignity, justice, the regaining of the popular rights and the Arab spring. It is the year that prevented the leaders from sleeping, shook the chairs beneath their feet, and forced them to flee, to hide in pits or go to prison. Who can forget the sentence uttered by the former Tunisian president to his people as he was fleeing to Jeddah: “I understood you, I understood you”? Who can also forget the expression uttered by that elderly Tunisian who said after Ben Ali escaped: “We grew old while waiting for this historical moment”? Who can forget the desperate attempts deployed by former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to remain in power, and the attempts of his regime to convince the people of what he failed to do throughout his term? He even said: “I never sought power,” at a time when he was eager to stay until the last moment. Who can forget the “hallucinations” featured in the speeches of the late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and his description of the Libyan youth as being “vermin” and “rats”? Gaddafi's speeches combined excitement, disdain, funniness, insanity and mistrust, until he was found in a pit he was digging for his people. Among his most famous expressions heard in his first speech was “we will march by the millions to cleanse Libya inch by inch, home by home, house by house, alley by alley!” Eventually, he was taken out of a sewage pipe like a rat! As for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, he delivered two lengthy speeches which were interrupted by applause, 44 times during the first speech and 20 times during the second. Both speeches failed to appease the popular disgruntlement toward his government or absorb the anger toward the practices of his regime. Hence, the bloodiest regime in the Arab world is about to leave and will be punished sooner or later. On the other hand, Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh's speeches each Friday featured outsmarting and maneuvering attempts, along with contradiction between the wish to stay and the announcement of his departure from power. Each and every Friday, he thus kept mobilizing his supporters to confront his oppositionists to the point where he was detonated – along with a number of his officials – in Al-Nahdain Mosque, before finally signing the Gulf initiative. 2011 is over after it registered itself as being an exceptional year, while along with the collapse of Arab governments, Western governments also departed – the last of which being Berlusconi's government in Italy. 2011 will remain a turning point in the history of the Arab populations and humanity. There is no doubt that 2012 will not extinguish the flame of the popular revolutions and will not diminish their spark. It will likely witness new uprisings, confrontations and tensions in this alarming region, while only the governments that have immunized their domestic arenas, granted rights and freedoms to their people, know what these people want, lack and desire, how to deal with the aspirations of the youth and handle the files of poverty and unemployment will manage to stay. The world is changing and the margins of the social networking channels are expanding, in parallel to freedom of opinion and thought. What is confirmed is the survival of the fittest, and the fact that the next few years will sweep away those who do not respect their people's rights, choices, dignity and liberty. [email protected] twitter | @JameelTheyabi
