- Image courtesy of Reuters
I see the Xiajiang Region as the silent Tibet of China. The ethnic majority in the region are predominantly Muslin. Perhaps this is the reason that they have been associated with al-Qaeda. The Eastern Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM) is the Islamic extremism that threatens this region which has been created by the lack of control over the regions wealth, by the majority Uighur ethnic group. Some say that Chinese Imperialism has allowed the migration of the Han ethnic group into the region. The Han population expanded from 5% in 1949 to 40% in 2008. The tension between the two ethnic groups is becoming greater. Wealth and poverty appear to have an impact on the social issues of the region. The Han are well-educated and appear to dominate the high earning jobs, while the Uighur remain the working poor. The Chinese authority argue that they have raised standards in education in the region. Save the Children have worked extensively with children who have been affected by HIV.
The knowledge on the ideology of Al Qaeda is limited and exists as a collective, in the sense that it creates a whole. It is as though the individual does not exist and he could be comparable to the politician of capitalism and communism in the sense that he has little empathy for humanity. Osama Binladen has his own idea of how life could be for the people who choose to follow his fight. But what is his ideal? It is apparent there is no specific answer in the west. What was made clear from The Frontline Cub debate, Inside Al Qaeda on Wednesday 5th January 2011, was that Osama Binladen was anti-ideology. He rejected a written philosophy as a way of rule and maybe this is where is weakness lies. Now, if he is dead, the groups that are developing as part of the Jihad struggle, have no clear boundaries, no clear philosophy of why they are here and what their future holds. Or maybe Osama Binladen is more powerful as dead man, only time will tell. I am left feeling non-the-wiser about it’s internal mechanisms. I feel I was given no clear definition of the ideology of Al Qaeda, other than the main point of view is islamic. If terrorism is the weapon of the weak, then capitalism is the weapon of the strong and according to Adam Plett’s blog, capitalism is winning.
As I read Adam Pletts blog from the Frontline Club, I was struck by the photographs he has taken of the western consumer goods available to the Afghan people. He talks of Brittney Spears DVD’s and rows of pink dolls with buggies. As a westerner living in western culture, I dream of shielding my children from such ills. Where as now in Afghanistan, the people are beginning to embrace a culture which I understand is so loathed by Osama Binladen. So, who is winning the war on terror? From the photo’s I have seen, the western ideal of consumer goods is sweeping through Afghanistan. It is this possibility that is contributing to winning the war. From a western perspective, Afghanistan needs structure. The Taliban destroyed the 3000 year history of the region. Thus creating a blank space for them to build upon, a space where the Koran was inforced and education in the broadest sense was limited.
The transformation of the Caribbean undertook in 1492 is so relevent as it can be comparable to the transformation of Afghanistan. In context it was over 500 years ago and I am a great believer in not living in the past because it cannot be changed. Russia occupied Afghanistan for which led to the development of Al Qaeda in August 1988. When Al Qaeda began to maintain rule they wanted to implement a way of life, a way of life that was not either communist or capitalist. Their idea that capitalism exploits and communism humiliates would form part of an ideology. So if neither of these systems work, what does? I need an alternative and I’m left wondering if Al Qaeda have the answer. Both capitalism and communism are imperial powers, enforcing an ideal throughout society.
On an individual level I think we need to be mindful that the men joining the struggle of Al Qaeda were once babies. The first five years of a child’s life shape who they become. I often wonder what war and violence does to the psyches of those children who grow in war ravaged countries. I think the violence is normalised and their childhoods are stolen from them as soon as they take their first breath. For some reason I feel responsible to break the violent cycle of war for those children. They deserve running water and an education that will allow them to make choices in their life because when we have a choice we have power. It’s not the poppy fields of Afghanistan that empower the people but sadly Imperialism takes a different view. individually, a person is given a sense of belonging because the beliefs the group hold is the same as theirs. They look into a mirror and finally they see themselves as part of something greater than themselves in isolation. Joining Al Qaeda means joining something that is on a global scale, it is powerful.
I know little about what it means to be a Muslim, although I do know what it feels like to be persecuted. Not because of my ethnic origin, or my religious beliefs but because of my working class roots. When people meet me I am foremost my south-east london accent which people will have their own preconceived ideas about. Next I am a women, so my breasts would come with another set of preconceived ideas. I am educated but my reputation adopted at school will always haunt me. A pupil who lacked concentration and motivation and who wasn’t ready to learn. That’s why I’ll never make it as a writer.
The preservation of my own way of life was taken from me a long time ago, Margaret Thatcher made sure of that. I am a post baby-boomer whose future will either be spent working into my 80′s or sitting in my own shit. I was lucky enough to have grown in family whose philosophy was to speak out for those who are in a worse position than I. Now I am here to battle for my own existence as the next two decades become the age of austerity.
I don’t want power today, I just want the females in my life to feel the freedom of humanity as they run through the fields of life. To remove the shackles that the men in their life planted, deep within their minds, to haunt them, until they die.
Girligorgeous 2011
