Political tension between countries may leave its negative impact on their citizens, encouraging some to make unbecoming or racist statements against the other country and its people. Intellectuals in every country should know that people in a country as a whole should not be blamed for the decision of its government or a group of politicians, especially when they are Arabs. During the recent extraordinary meeting of the Arab League foreign ministers, Lebanon abstained from voting while expressing its solidarity with Saudi Arabia and condemning the Iranian aggression against the Kingdom's embassy in Tehran and its consulate in Mashhad. Activists on social media then called for the deportation of all Lebanese nationals from Saudi Arabia and other GCC countries. They highlighted the generosity shown by Saudi Arabia toward the Lebanese by opening its doors for them to work and make money but they did not reciprocate by expressing solidarity with the Kingdom. It was followed by several racist statements against the Lebanese people. Even though the Lebanese government was not right in taking this unexpected decision, I am sure that many Lebanese would not support that. So it is not fair to make such racist remarks against the Lebanese who live and work among us for the wrong decision of their government. We will not be surprised if such unbecoming statements had come from ordinary people, even though it should not happen. But the most shameful thing is that such woeful statements also come from our intellectuals, who should have set a good example for others. This is not the first time such statements come from intellectuals against some foreign nationals who live among us because of the political stand of their governments. As a result of this attitude, some people and countries accuse us of racism. It is a fact that when racist statements are made in the West against Saudis and other Muslims we will be the first to condemn them and we accuse the individuals behind them as racists and rightist extremists who hate Islam and Muslims. But when our own people make such racist comments against other nationals nobody seems to be bothered. When American presidential hopeful Donald Trump called for barring Muslims from the US, everyone of us including our intellectuals made a big hue and cry about it and we described it as one of the worst racist statements. Those who condemned Donald Trump for his remarks branding all Muslims as terrorists do not see any problem with those calling for the deportation of all Lebanese from the Kingdom for the wrong stand of their government. Saudi people are well known for their generosity and hospitality. Saudi Arabia has been playing a leading role to strengthen Arab unity and solidarity. But these strange statements and demands would definitely weaken Arab unity and cause cracks in their ranks. This is what our enemies want.
