The Near East, The Middle East, The Far East and even sometimes the Far Asia…
We didn’t know that the Middle East, which is in fact, too close to us, is far and the place called the Far East is far away to us.
The colonialist West mentality-West doesn’t express a geographical meaning here-, began to decide the name of the places since it got the region, called East, under its thumb. We didn’t know that our southern neighbors were placing at the middle of the East or Cyprus was in somewhere that was near to Europe. It seems like that a line had been drawn beyond Greece; the left side is western, modern and civilized. The rest? Go to the Hell! Eastern, dirty, wild, uncivilized and Muslims.
The “Apartheid” is made for once: “We” and “they”.
East is always thought in terms of the necessities of Europe. After once The West chose the East as the target point, it created new concepts and new ideas: East and Eastern, Arab, Muslim, Indian, Chinese, terrorist and many others. All these had been refreshed in every era and while sometimes Jesus was being used as the supporter of West and Europe concepts, then concepts of human rights and democracy were emphasized by Westerns. Did people were killed, where? In United States, sir. The individual is the most magnanimous creature and in 21st century, human violations should be prevented. What about the events in Iraq, in Afghanistan and in Palestine? They are not human. Because they don’t understand anything from democracy and modernism. But, sir! They are living on the oil, what will happen? Yes, they don’t know these concepts, but somebody should teach to them!
You know after what happened: One million people have died in Iraq; civilians were killed in Afghanistan “accidentally”. It’s ok, no problem. According to Westerns, these people died for the sake of democracy.
This is the Western mind… Poor Democracy Martyrs!
The western man, who scorns us: According to us this is a duty for humanity. We don’t want deaths of children and we don’t want discrimination of women. Everybody should be able to use their basic human rights. Human rights are universal…then a smile comes…but they are for the humans. In other words for those, who we think as humans. The rest is only a pretext. Democracy is a pretext. Civilization is a pretext. The magnificent thing is imperialism. What is magnificent is the money that comes from the oil. What is the magnificent is the maintenance of the West hegemony. What understands the man, who sits in London, in New York, in Paris, in a Starbucks Café and drinks his coffee while reading his newspaper, from the conditions of a woman that lives in Camp of Satilla in poverty, of a human whose home is collapsed by Israel in Gaza or of a man who lost his child in civil war in Iraq.
The idea that is based on the imaginary geographies such as “our country” and “their country” doesn’t need the latter to believe this difference. What is important is creation of this difference in the side, which uses the word of “us”. After this difference is created once, the other side takes the name of “they” with all its lands, languages and thoughts and the other side becomes alienated to “us”.
We are Easters. The role, which is given to us, is this.
Vive la petrol!
Vive la democracy!
Vive la civilization!
Nail ELHAN
