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Why a Global Solidarity Movement for Secular Society? - Thursday, October 15, 2009 But is there a solution for the dilemma? - Tuesday, September 15, 2009 The Egyptian regime: From modernization to bequeathal - Monday, September 14, 2009 A statement to the people (part 1 of 2( - Thursday, April 09, 2009 Revision not Regression - Sunday, March 08, 2009

Fatal torture 'widespread' in Syrian jails - Wednesday, August 31, 2011 Israel mulls arming 'trained' settlers - Tuesday, August 30, 2011 Yemeni defence minister escapes mine blast - Tuesday, August 30, 2011 EU chief: UN bid 'for Palestinians to decide' - Monday, August 29, 2011 Palestinian on stabbing spree in Tel Aviv - Sunday, August 28, 2011

Gaddafi's final act Flagging real change Suffering and strategy Israeli game over

People power

Middle East Arab Nations Israel Syria Egypt Nile River Cape First-Half Profit Drops on Less Middle East Construction Bloomberg Revenue from the Gulf and Middle East region declined 17.5 percent to 66.1 million pounds. Revenue from construction support services in the area declined to 42.8 million pounds from 58.5 million pounds. The Gulf and Middle East contributed 20 percent ... Iran makes a u-turn on Syria Asia Times Online There is, in other words, an inevitable element of risk in Iran's new policy that could adversely affect its regional fortunes, depending on the dynamic of political change in Syria and elsewhere in the Middle East. Related Articles Libya: Gaddafi loyalists refuse to surrender - live updates The Guardian 8.32am: Welcome to Middle East Live. Here's a morning run through of the main developments: Muammar Gaddafi is not finished yet. He still poses a threat to Libyans and the revolution. He still has pockets of support in Libya and supporters outside ... Related Articles Perspectives from South Asian and Middle Eastern women artists Stamford Plus Magazine By Sacred Heart University Sacred Heart University's Gallery of Contemporary Art will kick off its 2011-2012 season with the exhibit, Fluidity, Layering, Veiling: Perspectives from South Asian and Middle Eastern Women Artists, at an opening reception ... powered by

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. In 2009, the Arab world imported food at a cost of more than $31 billion. This cost will more than double during the next 20-25 years, especially if population growth continues at the same rate. For example, Egypt, the most populated country in the region, with 82 million people, imported 70% of its basic food needs. Many Arab states, especially the most populated ones, are not far away in food import like Egypt. Keep in mind that the world demand for food, especially in the developing nations of Africa and Asia, is also increasing and this will lead to price increases of food globally. It is interesting to note that the cost of food imported in the Arab world in 1970 was equal to $2.1 billion. During the past four decades, the cost of food imported increased by more than 15 fold. There are several factors that contribute to the lack of increasing food productivity in the Arab world. One factor is the meager financial investment in the agricultural sectors in various Arab states. Also, the lack of knowledge and scientific research in the agricultural sector do not provide the know how in many Arab countries in terms of improving agricultural productivity. Secondly, more than two-thirds of Arab land is classified as barren desert and is unsuitable for cultivation. Of the less than one-third of the land that is under cultivation, 85% depends on the

annual rainfall. Most of it takes place along the seashore land in the region. Furthermore, the region has been experiencing droughts with longer duration that have lead to a lower agricultural productivity. The other 15% of the land depends on irrigation from the flowing water of the Nile and the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers. The three major rivers start beyond the national boundaries of the Arab world. It is also of interest to note that the flow of water of the three rivers is now creating tension. An example is Egypt's recent conflict with the Nile River basin countries because of water sharing, which has been covered in the news. Also, Syria and Iraq have been talking with Turkey regarding the slowing of water flow in both the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers due to the construction of dams in Turkey. Iraq, which has been impacted more than Syria, began to rely more on food imports, which is a reversal of its former role of being a food exporter. The third factor that also negatively impacts agricultural cultivation in the Arab world is the global weather changes and the increase in temperature. This has lead to an increase in dryness and droughts in the Middle East and North African region. Such situations are increasing the possibility of further desertification of the region. The fourth factor, which has also contributed to lower food productivity in the Arab world is also attributed to the scarcity of water. In previous posts we have noted that 19 of the 22 Arab states are classified as water poverty stricken. In conclusion, the population growth in the Arab world needs to be curtailed in order for future generations to survive. Posted at 1:36 PM 0 comments Labels: Population

Jul 22, 2010

Population Explosion in the Arab World
Population growth in the Arab world has been increasing steadily and creating difficulties for economic development, especially in the most populated states. As of 2009, Arab population exceeded 350 million people. If the rate of growth continues, it is projected to reach 400 million people by the year 2015 and 650 million by the year 2030. However, the population growth rate varies from state to state. It fluctuates from 3.69% to .98%. The United Arab Emirates have the highest growth rate (3.69%) with a population size of 4,599,000 people. They also have one of the highest GDP (PPP) in the region: $54.433 per person per year. The state of Oman ranked second with a rate of growth of 3.14% and a population size of 2,845,000 people. Its GDP is above the average of $22.816. Jordan ranked third with a rate of growth of 3.04% and a population size of 6,316,000 people. It has a high population density and low GDP, which is $4,901 per person per year. There are ten Arab states with a population growth rate between 2.0% and 2.97%. Egypt has a rate of growth of 2.03% and a population size of 82 million people. Its GDP, $5,138 per person per year. Yemen has a rate of growth of 2.97% and a population size of23,586,000 people. its

GDP is among the very lowest at $2.335 per person per year. Eight states fall between Egypt and Yemen in terms of rates of population growth. However, their GDP varies from $2,000 $600 per person per year for these states. The rest of the Arab states (8) have rates of population growth that vary from 1.9%-0.98%. Tunisia has the lowest population growth rate, which is 0.98% and a population size of 10,432,500 people. Its GDP is $7,520 per person per year. Tunisia is among the few states that implemented a successful family planning and birth control program several decades ago. In a previous post a reference was made to Egypt's family planning and birth control program, which was officially implemented decades before Tunisia but so far has turned out to be a failure. Jordan just recently adopted a family planning and birth control program with an aim of lowering its birth rate to 2.5 babies per woman by the year 2017 and 2.1 babies per woman by 2030. The present rate is 3.6 babies per woman (www.aljazeera.net, 7/17/2010). Nevertheless, the second lowest population growth rate, 1% is in Lebanon, which has a population size of 4,224,000 people and a GDP of $10,109 per person per year. The GDP (PPP) in the Arab world reflects a big gap between the haves and the have nots. The gap fluctuates from $74,882 in Qatar with a population of 1,409,000 people to Somalia's GDP of $600 per person per year and a population size of 10,112,453. For comparative purposes, the USA GDP is $46,400 per person per year. The highest GDP (PPP) in the Arab world is reflected in the Arab oil producing countries of the Gulf region. This situation reflects a wide gap in terms of the distribution of wealth in the Arab world. These countries also have a low population size and population density by comparison to the rest of the states in the Arab world. The negative consequences of both the uneven distribution of wealth and the high rates of population growth have produced instabilities and a grim future outlook, especially for the younger generations. In the following post, emphasis will be placed on the impact of population growth on food production, scarcity of water resources, education and the high rates of illiteracy, unemployment and poverty, the shortage of housing, and crowded transportation systems. *All statistics were used based on UN demographic data, World Bank and US Central Intelligence Agency's records. Posted at 3:43 PM 0 comments Labels: Illiteracy , Population

16, 2010
International Population Day
The United Nations just celebrated International Population Day (7/11/2010) and issued its annual demographic report. The report revealed that Egypt ranked number ten in terms of its population growth and fourteenth in terms of population density.

Recently, the Egyptian Prime Minister Dr. Ahmad Natheef, noted that birth rates doubled in 2008 to reach two million new born. Furthermore, he said that Egypt's population in 1979 was 40 million and in 2008 reached 80 million. He continued to elaborate that the government's strategy is clearly to control the population growth by providing the necessary means to implement that policy and to convince parents to limit their number of children to two. However, the Minister of Health, Dr. Hatem Jebali, noted that the government has failed to reach its goal in terms of population growth. The new government strategy of family planning and birth control is to achieve the 2.2 babies per family by the year 2017, which are 3 new born per family at the present time. (al masry al youm 9/12/10) Family planning and birth control have a long history in Egypt. It began during the 1930s when the population size was 15,921.000 according to the 1937 census; however, more government emphasis was placed on family planning and birth control since the 1952 revolution. During the past sixty years, every president from Nasser to Saddat and Mubarak made family planning and birth control the cornerstones of their policies. Regretfully, and despite government policy, Egypt's population continues to grow and is expected to reach $125 million by the year 2030. Even if the Egyptian government will succeed in limiting birth rate to two children per family, from a demographic theoretical point of view it will take nearly fifty years for Egypt population to stabilize that is where the birth rate will equal the death rate. The chances for this to happen are very slim. Posted at 2:39 PM 1 comments Labels: Population

17, 2010
Egypt: The Rich Get Richer and the Poor Get Poorer

During the past four decades a new economic trend began to emerge with the privatization of the economy. This led to a new, negative economic consequence, impacting the majority of the Egyptian population. Recently the Egyptian government issued a report reflecting that the economic gap between the rich and poor continued to widen. This means that the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer.

This situation negatively impacted not only the economic condition of the vast majority of the Egyptian population but also their educational, social and health conditions. For example, the report revealed that:

1) 34% of the poverty stricken between the ages of 20 and 25 did not attend school at all, compared to only 1% of the same age group of rich families. 2) 97.9% of children of well to do families finished elementary education and 91% of them graduated from high school, while only 56.7% of poor children were able to complete their elementary education and only 50% graduated from high school.

The impact of poverty on the Egyptian population was also reflected in a research project that was sponsored by UNICEF (February 2010) in the Middle East. The research focused on the impact of poverty on children and their deprivation of many basic needs. The report revealed that more than one-fourth of Egyptian children (7 million children) were deprived of many of their basic needs, which is in violation of the agreement which the Egyptian government has signed The International Children Rights of 1989.

The director of UNICEF in the Middle East noted that more than half of Egyptian children under the age of 18 are living on less than two dollars a day. The UNICEF report concluded by stating that the Egyptian government has failed to provide even basic needs in education, health services and sanitation (www.middle-east-online.com 4/18/2010).

Poverty, unemployment and the absence of transparency and democracy are the major factors behind the public uprising we have recently been observing in Egypt. The UNICEF report also revealed that 86% of the poverty stricken population is dissatisfied with their economic conditions and are unable to cope with the continuous increases in the cost of living. How can an average family live on 3,017 Egyptian pounds per year (the equivalent of nearly $512.10)? Posted at 3:22 PM 1 comments Labels: Education , Population

24, 2010
The Arab World Food Sufficiency
During their annual meeting in 2009 in Doha, Arab leaders discussed the problem of food sufficiency in the Arab world. Arab countries are not food sufficient. They rely on imports to meet their needs. The leaders called for a meeting of experts the following year to formulate a strategy for agricultural development in Africa. They did. Ministers of Agriculture, Arab League Representatives, and member of the African Union met in Sharm el Sheikh on February 15, 2010. The participants agreed to form a technical committee,

which will develop a policy for agricultural development in Africa. They also recommended the creation of a consortium whose members will be recruited from Arab financial institutions, African development banks and some Arab investors to raise $50 billion to be invested over 15 years for the proposed project. The project will be presented to Arab leaders at their upcoming meeting in Libya in the Sprint of 2010. The suggested project is very important and should be supported by every Arab leader for the following reasons: First, Arab countries rely on food import to meet their basic needs. They spend around $30 billion on food import every year. This project should also be viewed in light of the population growth. Demographers anticipate that Arab population will double or exceeds 650 million people by the year 2030. Second, the global weather change and the increasing temperature have already impacted the Arab world. There are less rainfall and longer draught period. Since only1/3 of Arab land is suitable for cultivation and depend on rainfall, the global weather change will in turn have a negative impact on food production. It should be of interest here to stress the fact that nearly all-Arab countries are classified as water poverty-stricken. With less rainfall in the region and an increase in temperature, the possibility of more desertification is expected in the region. The proposed $50 billion to be invested in agricultural development should be doubled. Arab oil producing countries, which have invested more than $1.3 trillion in Western economies and lost nearly $300.000 billion of their investment during the economic melt down (2008-09), could easily raise the funds for the proposed project. Food sufficiency for the Arab world is a policy that needs to be implemented in order to maintain political and social stability in the region. . Posted at 4:21 PM 0 comments Labels: Agriculture , Population

20, 2010
Population Growth in Egypt
In 2009 the population in Egypt exceeded 83 million people, and it is expected to reach 100 million people by the year 2025. In a speech delivered at the American University of Cairo (al ahram, 2/15), Prime Minister Natheef noted that the population growth in Egypt is creating major obstacles to the economic growth and human development of the country. He, furthermore, said that due to Egypt limited natural resources, the government has faced difficulties in improving the quality of higher education, scientific research and innovation.

The recent UNICEF Report reflects the negative consequences of Egypt population growth (al ahram, 2/17). It points out that 39% of Egypt population consist of children under the age of 15. Out of which 5 million children are living in unhealthy shelters lacking fresh water or sewage facilities, and 1.6 million under the age of 5 are malnourished. Population growth in Egypt has always been a problem. At the time of the 1952 revolution, the population in Egypt was of what it is now. During the past six decades, presidents Gamal Abdel Nasser, Anwar el Sadat and Hosny Mubarak, have all stressed the dangers of such growth and the negative consequences it will inflict on the country, economically, socially and politically. For six decades the government stressed family planning and birth control without great success. There are major factors that contribute to such growth: - High rate of illiteracy especially among women in rural areas - Early marriages of young girls sometimes before they reach the legal age of 17 - Ignorance of religious leaders who oppose government policy, especially in rural areas. The official stand of Al Azhar supports family planning and birth control From a demographic point of view, if Egyptian families limit their birth to two children, it will take 50 years for Egypt to reach zero population growth. This means that the birth rates would balance the death rate. It is primordial for the Egyptian government to seriously examine and re-assess its present defunct family planning policy Posted at 8:58 AM 0 comments Labels: Population

21, 2009

Poverty in the Arab World

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reported that more than one billion people, world wide, do not have enough food for their daily supply. This represent 1 out of 6 of the world population. The report also referred to poverty in the Arab world where forty million people are experiencing shortage of food on a daily basis, ie 13% of the Arab world total population. Furthermore, 100 million people in the Arab countries are living below the poverty line. This is equal to one third of the total population of the Arab world. There are a number of factors that contribute to the poverty in the Arab world: 1. The uneven distribution of wealth. The income per capita reflects a wide gap between the people. It ranges from $65 per person / year to $53,000 per person /year. 2. The corruption at all levels of government institutions which was recently reported by

Transparency International (Al Jazeera.net, 11/18/09). 3. The failure of a development strategy in the agricultural sector where only 30% of the agricultural land is under cultivation. 4. The large amount of the money from the sale of oil invested by Arab governments outside the Middle East and referred to as the Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF) if used in the Arab world could have created jobs for the millions of young unemployed. It is, however, invested in the USA and Western Europe. More than $ 1.282 trillion were invested in US banks and of course billions of dollars were lost as a result of the 2008 economic melt down (The Middle East magazine , October/09). 5. Unemployment in the Arab world has been estimated at an average of 15% of the labor force by the Arab Employment Organization ( Al Ahram, 11/4/09). A high percentage of the unemployed are college graduates. This high unemployment rate is definitely the major factor which might lead to political and social unrest in the Arab world, as well a factor towards the rise of international terrorism. It is certainly a highly explosive time bomb that we all should be aware of. Posted at 9:59 AM 0 comments Labels: Agriculture , Population , Poverty

31, 2009
Decline of the Educational System in the Arab World -Egypt
Illiteracy in the Arab World exceeds one third of its population, and statistics on illiteracy vary from country to country in the region. In a previous post (10/24/09), I have referred to the poor quality of education in the Arab world, in both higher academic institutions as well the lower levels. The Economist (10/17/09) referred to a comparative study conducted on the educational system in the Arab World. The study "Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study, TIMSS," is issued every four years. The latest issue, 2007, states that "out of 48 countries tested all 12 participating Arab countries fell below the average. More disturbing, less than 1% of students aged 12-13 in ten Arab countries reached an advanced benchmark in science, compared with 32% in Singapore and 10% in the US, only Jordan scored above the average." In Egypt, which used to carry the torch of education in the Arab World, the situation is deteriorating at a rapid rate. The poor performance of students, especially in math and sciences, is attributed to several factors: 1. population growth is a big challenge to the Egyptian government. There are not enough

schools build to meet the increasing number of students. Classes are over-crowded, which hinders the learning process. 2. government budget allocated for schools to meet their basic needs, is relatively small. 3. teachers are not properly trained. Hence, the quality of teaching is poor, a situation that is of concern to many parents. The number of private tutoring is on the increase, and only parents with certain means can afford to hire private tutors. 4. large number of schools are physically and structurally unfit to be used. Some structures are endangering the life of students due to their very poor conditions. Recently, it has been noticed in the Egyptian media that some schools do not have proper facilities to be used by students. A quick survey of an Egyptian newspaper reflects the intensity of the problem. The followings are some specific points highlighting the decaying conditions of some schools: 1. In 1999 the Egyptian Governor of Buhayra ordered the partial demolition of EDCO (Secondary Agricultural School) for safety reasons. The school used to provide 25 class rooms serving 400 students. After the demolition 6 class rooms were left. Most of the classes are held in the open and chemical labs are unavailable for students. The Governor maintained that he has, since 1999, requested the Ministry of Education to rebuild what was demolished. His requests were never taken into consideration (Al Masry Al Yom,10/30/09)! 2. There are 450 students who are attending school in a barn due to the lack of facilities ( Al Masry Al Yom, 10/12/09)! 3. In Daqahliya, a condemned school liable to collapse, is attended by 770 students ( Al masry Al Yom, 10/31/09). According to this report, the Ministry of Education, for the past ten years, has turned down requests to build a new school! 4.In Al Muhandiseen, a middle class residential area in Cairo, garbage piles are blocking the entrance to an elementary school ( Al Masry Al Yom, 10/14/09)! 5. In the governorate of Ismailiyah, water services were cut off in Sarabiyum school because water bills were not paid (10/19/09)! 6. In Port-Said, 120 students are attending schools in shacks and use the street corners as their public facilities (Al Masry Al Yom 10/22/09)! 7. Garbage piles are surrounding Khalid Ibn al Walid school in Cairo, and students have to close windows to avoid foul smells( Al Masry Al Yom, 10,19/09)! The above are only few examples listed in one newspaper in less than a month. The Ministry of Education in Egypt is failing on two accounts: to secure the safety of students in many schools, and to maintain a successful system of education. The results of bureaucratic obstacles are reflected in the high rates of students drop-out, and the rising rate of illiteracy. A large number of students graduate from schools with poor education in math, sciences and even the basic knowledge of standard Arabic. It is a fact, that in any society the education of the younger generation is the most important investment for future development. Hence, it is of the utmost importance for the Egyptian government, specially the Ministry of Education, to seriously re-evaluate its educational programs. Will it be able to face such an important challenge? 12:20 PM 0 : , ,

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