To me this is an iconic photo – one that teared me up to be honest – of French President Emmanuel Macron hugging a protester in Beirut/Lebanon – despite the pandemic & the mask – during his recent visit after the tragic explosion that threatens the country. However what this photo represents for me is something more profound; it represents a desperate appeal by someone representing the new generation not just in Lebanon but throughout the Middle East – an appeal for Freedom & Dignity – from a generation that is being systematically blocked by a group of corrupt religious ideologues and/or power grabbers/political hacks who continue to rule with a stone age mentality; it’s that same group that in a moment of inspiration triggered the Arab Spring only for it to be hijacked by that same group of hackers once again. This young generation in the Middle East and beyond should finally have the confidence/courage to make change happen because it won’t happen by itself nor will your mental comfort zone help materialise a brighter future – change is necessary and you are the only ones who can make it happen cause guess what; the future is yours entirely. It is also necessary for the EU & the west to change the ignorant self-defeating foreign policy “strategically” adopted for years called National Interest which translated directly to National Financial Incentives we see today and try to be an advocate for this change rather than be an obstacle to it because tell you what you’ve got your calculations screwed up big time as I mention here.
Hope that makes sense and helps in some way.
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Progressive Governance Initiative (PGI); Incentivising Change