I don't want to be a dissident. But in the same time, I don't want to go back home and be silent again.
Jamal KhashoggiRead
Criticism of the Middle East should not be directed only at Saudi Arabia. Human rights abuses are happening throughout the Arab world.
Interpretation
Criticism of human rights should encompass all countries, not just a select few.
Jamal Khashoggi emphasizes the need for a broader perspective when discussing human rights abuses in the Middle East. He argues that while Saudi Arabia is often scrutinized, it is important to recognize that similar injustices occur in other Arab nations, suggesting that attention should be given to all countries in the region to foster a more comprehensive understanding of the human rights landscape.
In practice
During a panel discussion on Middle Eastern politics, one could use this quote to emphasize the need for comprehensive human rights advocacy.
I don't want to be a dissident. But in the same time, I don't want to go back home and be silent again.
I just want to be a free writer. I think I am serving my country and my people by providing an independent narrative.
I have left my home, my family, and my job, and I am raising my voice. To do otherwise would betray those who languish in prison. I can speak when so many cannot.
I would like to see evolution in my country, not revolution. It is much better for us to work together with the government to transform Saudi Arabia for the future.
The Arab world needs a modern version of the old transnational media so citizens can be informed about global events. More important, we need to provide a platform for Arab voices.
The Arab world is facing its own version of an Iron Curtain, imposed not by external actors but through domestic forces vying for power.
The highways are crowded with people who drive as if their sole purpose in getting behind the wheel is to avenge every wrong done them by man, beast or fate. The only thing that keeps them in line is their fear of death, jail and lawsuits.
And she thought then how strange it was that disaster--the sort of disaster that drained the blood from your body and took the air out of your lungs and hit you again and again in the face--could be at times, such a thing of beauty.
Man is now able to soar into outer space and reach up to the moon; but he is not moral enough to live at peace with his neighbor!
The world begins anew with every birth, my father used to say. He forgot to say, with every death it ends. Or did not think he needed to. Because for a goodly part of his life he worked in a graveyard.
Quarreling over food and drink, having neither scruples nor shame, not knowing right from wrong, not trying to avoid death or injury, not fearful of greater strength or of greater numbers, greedily aware only of food and drink - such is the bravery of the dog and boar.
Who? Who is but the form following the function of what, and what I am is a man in a mask.
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